Furon Seeks More Gains From Acquisition

LAGUNA NIGUEL — After it acquired Medex Inc. 15 months ago, Furon Co. did such a good job squeezing out excess costs that the new unit--expected to break even in its first year--ended up contributing 6 cents a share to the bottom line.

Now, Furon is turning its attention to increasing revenue at Medex, a maker of medical devices similar to the engineered polymer components Furon makes in its other businesses.

The Medex acquisition opened up the higher-margin medical-device market to Furon, which has traditionally sold such items as fluid-control valves to the truck-building, chip-equipment, petroleum and assorted other industries. By introducing manufacturing efficiencies, Furon managed to cut about $9 million in annual overhead at Medex.

Investors, happy with the results, bid Furon’s stock up to a recent high of $25.38 a share from a range of $10 to $12, adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split, at the time of the purchase. It closed Wednesday at $24.19 a share, up 69 cents.