Sherrill tours growing Parsippany prosthesis company to tout U.S. manufacturing gains

PARSIPPANY — U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill toured a growing medical technology company on Tuesday, using it as a backdrop to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the federal CHIPS Act, which provided $53 million for high-tech research and manufacturing projects in the U.S.

Sherrill, a Democrat who represents Parsippany in Congress, carved time from her House August recess to tour Onkos Surgical, a maker of bone and joint prosthetic implants that moved its headquarters and manufacturing to Morris County eight years ago.

"Wow, I was here four years ago and to see what you have accomplished in that short period of time is incredible," Sherrill said during a town hall meeting with Onkos' employees that followed the tour. "It gives me a great sense of pride that you are located right here."

When the company first moved into the Halsey Road building in 2015, it started with four employees and occupied only the first floor. Since 2019, the staff has doubled in size to about 70, according to Onkos Vice President Gordon Ballard.

The company has now leased the entire 15,000-square-foot building, expanded staff and spent up to $3 million to build out the property and add equipment, said Brad Tyler, vice president of finance for Onkos.

"We were barely using the bottom space," CEO Patrick Treacy recalled. "Most of the building was empty."

The most recent expansion facilitated the June launch of Onkos' JTS Extendible Prosthesis, a lower-leg implant designed for pediatric patients with bone cancer, and moved manufacturing from overseas to New Jersey. The technology includes 3D modeling and printing and instrument design technology that can produce custom titanium implants that fit a patient's specific condition and anatomy.

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The JTS impact, for example, can be lengthened as young patients grow without the need for surgery. Instead, physicians can use a magnetic driver to extend the implant during an outpatient visit.

"Pediatric sarcoma patients, who are candidates for the JTS growing prosthesis, often have complex treatment cycles in which we need to deliver precision designs in a very specific treatment window," Treacy said. "Our investment in manufacturing innovation and design expertise will make a big difference in the future for these surgeons, patients, and families."

Sherrill used the occasion to celebrate the anniversary of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which was passed to bring back American manufacturing jobs, strengthen fragile U.S. supply chains, and invest in STEM education and R&D.

To date, the CHIPS and Science Act has helped to create tens of thousands of jobs, generated an 80% increase in manufacturing construction, and spurred more than $231 billion in private sector investments in semiconductor development, Sherrill said.

While Onkos has not received direct funding through the act, it's the kind of high-tech, high-paying employer that the government is working to encourage, Sherrill said.

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"We’re seeing the force of the government’s push to reshore American manufacturing and create these jobs here at home," she said.

County College of Morris President Anthony Iacono, who joined Sherrill's tour of the Onkos facility, was pleased to see three of his graduates working at the company.

"It excites us to see our alums here, one engineer and two machinists −makes my day," said Iacono, who opened a new Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center in 2021 as part of an expansion of the modern vocational curriculum at CCM. "It's a company we would love to work more closely with so more students get opportunities and we meet our responsibility to employers in the area of providing a well-educated workforce."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com 

Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mikie Sherrill tours Parsippany NJ Onkos plant, touts CHIPS Act