US medical device maker Align eyes China expansion

Regarding China as one of its most important markets, US-based medical device manufacturer Align Technology looks to make China play a greater role in its global strategy, said a senior executive of the company.

"China to Align is the second-biggest market after the US, and our role in China is not only for China," said Junho Han, vice-president and managing director of Align Technology in China.

According to Han, Align Technology invested $140 million in Ziyang of Sichuan province in building a production base, manufacturing medical devices including clear aligners and intraoral digital scanners. Currently, the base is a production hub in the Asia-Pacific.

Apart from serving the China market, the Ziyang plant also handles production orders from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, with plans to expand to wider markets in the region, said Han.

Han said China is very important for Align Technology because it has a number of advantages, such as the market size and comparatively low penetration of clear aligner.

China's orthodontic market has undergone rapid development in the past decade. In 2023, nearly 4 million people underwent orthodontic treatment, making the market scale exceed 60 billion yuan, said a report by China Insights Consultancy.

"Even 3.5 million new cases are still small if you consider the entire population of China. We believe more and more patients will get a better benefit from this treatment process, so more patients will have an opportunity to get our treatment," said Han.

The report by China Insights Consultancy projected stable growth of the industry and expected the clear aligner market to expand from 12.1 billion yuan in 2023 to 33.5 billion yuan by 2030.

Optimistic about China's economic outlook, Han said he is impressed by China's innovations in technology. For multinational companies such as Align Technology, China is not just a market, but a key country for exporting technologies to all over the world, he said.

"I respect the China industry, China technology, Chinese patients' high intelligence, and we seek to collaborate together to make the market bigger and better," Han said.