Got An Implant? Upper Saddle River Medical Company Probably Made It

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. — Triangle Manufacturing, a medical manufacturer tucked away off Route 17 in Upper Saddle River, may be an important part of your life.

Craig Morgan of Oakland programs a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine on a production floor at Triangle Manufacturing.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Phil Vierno of Cresskill, associate manufacturing engineer, works on a design.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

A production floor at Triangle Manufacturing in Upper Saddle River.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Programmer Mirek Tofilski visiting in the tool room on a production floor. The tool room is manned by veteran machinists who work on older machines still useful in building prototypes and improving processes.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

John Quarno of Independence, tool room technical coordinator, at work.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

In the tool room at Triangle Manufacturing in Upper Saddle River.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Inspector Roman Mikula of Yonkers, N.Y. inspects a knee implant.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

A row of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines, each equipped with an array of tools. A CNC manufactures things. It is programmed to employ each of the tools, as needed, in sequence.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

An array of tools.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Machine Operator Nora Ciurlizza of Passaic.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Hand trimming a plastic part infused with vitamin E.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Material Handler Mike Tomkowid of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in the shipping area.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Father and son Neal Strohmeyer, right, and Dax Strohmeyer are CEO and president of Triangle Manufacturing, respectively.
Photo Credit: *Lorraine Ash*

Lorraine Ash

01/25/2017 2:01 a.m.

If you’ve had surgery. Or have an implant in any part of your body.

The 62-year-old, family-run company makes medical instruments and implantable devices — or pieces thereof — for many companies.

Including some of the largest biomedical leaders in the world.

“See this?” asks Kristin Leone, the company’s digital content coordinator. She holds up what looks like an extraordinarily long acupuncture needle.

“It clears out tear ducts,” she said.

She lifts a drill guide hook used in knee surgery.

A spinal awl. A hip cup and stem.

A tool used in craniofacial surgery.

Triangle makes it all.

The company was founded by the late Willie Strohmeyer in a Rochelle Park garage in 1955, along with two other men who were bought out early on.

Since there three founders, the company name is “Triangle,” Leone explained.

Back in the day, though, Triangle was about aerospace engineering and manufacturing, reflecting that era.

“In the last 20 years, they’ve geared toward medical manufacturing,” Leone said.

“That’s become very big, very popular and very much in need since people are living longer.”

Statistics tell the story:

Triangle operates out of 107,000 square feet of space in four adjacent facilities.
The company has increased its work force 167 percent since 2005.
Its 250 employees have 1,638 collective years of experience in the field.
It makes 10,200 implantable hip, knee, shoulder and spinal components every month.

The work, Leone said, is perennially interesting for the whole company. There are always new devices to make, different materials to master.

Triangle Manufacturing is still in the Strohmeyer family.

Diane Strohmeyer Hurley, daughter of the founder, is director of strategic sourcing.

Neal Strohmeyer of Tuxedo Park, New York, son of the founder, is CEO.

Dax Strohmeyer of Upper Saddle River, grandson of the founder, is president.

Changing the guard in a family business is a challenge, according to Dax Strohmeyer.

“The transition – in our case, father to son – is easier when both family members are prepared as well as they possibly can be,” he said.

For Neal Strohmeyer, the biggest challenge was letting go.

“I was spending more of my time here than was necessarily healthy for Dax,” he said.

“Also, I was holding myself back from what I intended to do in retirement, which was still relatively unclear.”

Now Neal doesn’t come to the office every day. But he’s still involved in strategic planning.

Recently, the company was a finalist for the New Jersey Family Business of the Year Award bestowed by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Silberman College of Business.

Triangle Manufacturing offers tours of its facilities.

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