DEDICATED TO EXCELLENCE: SERVICE • QUALITY • INNOVATION
ESTABLISHED 1953
Turn Medical is a medical equipment company from San Antonio, Texas, founded in 2018 by industry veterans with extensive experience in medical device manufacturing. The company aims to develop life-saving products for underserved markets in the healthcare industry that lead to superior patient outcomes, improve caregiver safety, and reduce the overall cost of patient care.
Turn Medical founders Chris Niederkrom, Eric Barta, and Kevin Wilson were first inspired by a New England Journal of Medicine study that found that placing patients with pulmonary complications in a prone position reduced their mortality rate by 50%.
Driven by this insight, they began designing what would become their first product: the Pronova-O2, an automated proning system for critical care settings. This innovative device allows medical staff to easily and safely rotate patients from their back to their stomach, improving outcomes and easing the burden on healthcare providers.
As a hands-on team with some manufacturing background, Turn Medical initially manufactured its first-generation prototype in-house to validate its concept. However, as they moved toward advanced prototypes, they recognized the need for specialized suppliers.
In particular, they needed a versatile fabricator with experience in medical sheet metal fabrication. The Pronova-O2 requires 650 total parts, and approximately half of these would be sheet metal. The right partner would have the capabilities to produce a variety of parts with the precision and reliability necessary for a life-saving medical device.
Niederkrom, Turn Medical’s co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, enlisted a consultant to identify potential fabricators, but he wasn’t satisfied with the first several options he explored.
“I’ve been working in this space for a long time, so I can spot a good metal fab group when I see one,” he said. “I just wasn’t as impressed as I needed to be with a group that I was about to spend a lot of time developing a product with.”
Refusing to compromise, Turn Medical continued their search, focusing in particular on Texas sheet metal shops. They soon discovered All Metals Fabricating. From the first meeting, Niederkrom knew they had found the perfect partner for medical sheet metal fabrication.
“At the end of the meeting, I could tell I wasn't going to go anywhere else,” he said. “They felt like a perfect fit. I always want suppliers who are not just good businesses but good people—and Billy and Lance are exactly the sort of people we respect and want to work with.”
Lance Thrailkill, CEO of All Metals Fabricating, shared that enthusiasm from the start. “When we first met with them, we were fascinated by the results of the product and inspired by the team's passion to start this company and save lives. Seeing their vision and heart—and seeing the impact of their product—motivated us to take on the challenge of building their systems.”
All Metals Fabricating stood out for its ability to provide:
With 40 suppliers total for the Pronova-O2, Turn Medical didn’t want to add more complexity to their supply chain. They needed a single manufacturer capable of handling all their custom metal fabrication.
They now leverage AMF’s full spectrum of capabilities, including precision welding services, laser cutting, punching, bending, grinding, hardware insertion, powder coating, milling, and CNC lathe services.
Because of his history of partnering with manufacturers, Niederkrom understands how significant design for manufacturing (DfM) support can be to a project’s bottom line. With the team at All Metals, they’ve made a variety of changes to their design to make the product simpler to manufacture and more cost-effective without sacrificing any functionality.
Niederkrom said he trusts the expertise of the All Metals quality department, having seen the team at work firsthand and experiencing their consistent, reliable results. He’s even developed a close relationship with the quality team specifically—they sometimes contact him directly to work through questions quickly.
The high-mix, low-volume nature of the initial Pronova-O2 project poses a challenge that many fabricators would struggle with. However, All Metals Fabricating has the capabilities and processes to efficiently manage prototyping and adapt to frequent revisions.
When the Pronova-O2 is ready to move into full-scale production, All Metals can seamlessly transition to higher volumes. Turn Medical can continue its growth without disruption, retaining all product knowledge in-house and eliminating the need to onboard a new fabrication partner.
Turn Medical has been so impressed with All Metals that their partnership is now built on a rare level of trust. Niederkrom notes that he has given All Metals a level of flexibility he has never granted another supplier, allowing them to move forward with orders before finalizing pricing because he knows they’ll be fair and transparent. This relationship streamlines manufacturing and enables faster production as Turn Medical aims to grow quickly.
The Pronova-O2 has successfully launched and has already been used with over 500 patients. Turn Medical continues to grow at a rapid rate, and they remain committed to scaling their medical sheet metal fabrication with All Metals Fabricating. For Niederkrom, the decision to partner with All Metals has been a clear success.
“Anytime anyone asks me about metal fabrication,” Niederkrom says, “I always recommend All Metals.”
At All Metals Fabricating, we’re proud of our medical sheet metal fabrication partnership with Turn Medical, and we’re always looking for more mission-driven businesses to support. Do you have an exciting project in your pipeline? Request a quote and let’s discuss how we can help.
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