I agree based on what I've seen. Can you explain Paragon's business model a bit more? I understand they sell to OEMs, but it seems they're sitting on a lot of stock, or they have been over the last year, and we've had a destocking cycle.

Over time, you become aware of the overall value stream because you're involved upstream. This involvement gives you relational leverage and visibility into programs that may relate to those you are already producing for a particular OEM in a given market segment or application. The relationship you've earned is difficult to discard. As you probably know from your research, once something is sourced in a medical device environment, it's quite sticky and hard to move. This is not isolated to Paragon but is true throughout the industry. It's challenging to revalidate assets and move the work, so you endure the program development phase and eventually move into the production matriculation phase and asset validation.

I agree based on what I've seen. Can you explain Paragon's business model a bit more? I understand they sell to OEMs, but it seems they're sitting on a lot of stock, or they have been over the last year, and we've had a destocking cycle.

If you're Stryker, and I'm interfacing with you, and I've earned my relationship over a number of years, most of Paragon's clients are long-term. I'm not aware of any client we've lost; we've fired a couple, but none have left us. Due to this relational dynamic between Stryker and Paragon, for example, I'm treated, just as they are, with favored nation status.