Our Story…

The Wright Medical Group, Inc. story began over fifty years ago with the founding of a small, family-owned orthopaedic company in Memphis, Tennessee. Through five decades of innovation and evolution, that small company has grown into a global orthopaedic network specializing in quality hip, knee and small joint implants, as well as biological skeletal repair solutions.

Wright Medical’s origins can actually be traced back to the inception of the orthopaedic industry. In 1895, DePuy Manufacturing of Warsaw, Indiana was the first orthopaedic company to open its doors. A Memphis area sales representative for DePuy, Don Richards, went on to pursue his own orthopaedic endeavor.

He founded Richards Manufacturing in Memphis and employed an enterprising sales representative named Frank O. Wright. Through his many discussions with doctors, Wright learned that many patients in leg casts were plagued with chronic back pain due to the use of a rigid steel heel in the foot of the cast. Wright devised a rubber walking heel as a solution to this problem and the orthopaedic community was very receptive to his idea. With a dream of rubber walking heels in mind, Wright left Richards in 1950 to establish Wright Manufacturing in Memphis.

Over the next several decades, Wright Manufacturing’s product line grew to include a variety of orthopaedic devices. In 1977, Dow Corning Corporation bought the company, changing the name to Dow Corning Wright. Along with a new name, the company added a new small joint implant line to its product offering. By combining Wright’s expertise in orthopaedics with Dow’s knowledge in silicone, the company gained a leading edge in the small joint market.

In 1993, a private investment group obtained ownership of the company. Under its new name, Wright Medical Technology, the company continued its innovation in large and small joint orthopaedics. By the mid 1990s, Wright Medical had added a line of biological skeletal repair products to its core offering. In 1999, ownership shifted again when Warburg Pincus Equity Partners acquired a majority interest in the company, providing capital resources to fuel Wright Medical’s continued growth and success. Along with this new ownership came a strategic organizational structure placing Wright Medical Group, Inc. at the head of an expansive orthopaedic network. On July 13, 2001, Wright Medical Group, Inc. stock began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The Wright Medical Group, Inc. family of companies includes Wright Medical Technology, Wright Medical Europe, Wright Medical Japan, and Wright Medical Technology Canada. Wright Medical Group, Inc. employs just over 730 employees worldwide, including nearly 500 at its headquarters in Arlington, Tennessee.

Company Timeline…

• 1895 DePuy Mfr. Started in Warsaw, Indiana; First Commercial Orthopaedic Mfr.
• 1905 J. O. Zimmer joins as DePuy’s First Sales Rep
• 1925 Don Richards (J.O. Zimmer’s first cousin) joins DePuy
as a Sales Rep in the Memphis Area
• 1927 J. O. Zimmer forms Zimmer --Warsaw, IN 1934 Don
Richards forms Richards Mfg. Co. --Memphis, TN
• 1944 Frank Wright Becomes the Memphis Area Sales
Rep. For Richards Mfg. Co.
• 1950 Frank Wright forms Wright Mfg. Co. in Memphis
• 1975 Wright Moves to Arlington, TN, just outside of Memphis
• 1977 Acquired by Dow Corning
• 1993 Sold to a Private Investment Group
• 1999 Acquired by Warburg Pincus
• 1999 Italian Company Cremascoli Ortho Group Merges Into Wright
• 1999 Parent Company Wright Medical Group, Inc. is formed and F. Barry Bays, a 35-year orthopaedic device industry veteran, joins as President & CEO
• 2001 Wright Medical Group, Inc. completes a successful initial public offering of stock on the Nasdaq stock exchange