Partnership Built on Process: Why the Best Results Start Before the PO

Balloon manufacturers often think of purchase orders as the starting line, but by that point, the real work should already be started with initial development efforts. At ReCurve Medical, we’ve learned that the strongest partnerships are forged before a PO is signed: when collaboration, design alignment, and process control take center stage.

That’s where we help our partners build confidence. Because when you get the process right early, every order that follows runs smoother.

Why Early Engagement Matters

The path from concept to commercialization is rarely linear. Too often, OEMs bring in a manufacturing partner after a design freeze when changes are most costly and least effective. At that stage, small gaps between design and process control can quickly escalate into major risks like missed tolerances, unanticipated yield loss, or delayed validation.

Engaging early creates an opportunity to engineer for manufacturability before the first prototype. It allows our team to review design specs, recommend process parameters, and flag potential challenges in extrusion, bonding, or forming. This approach ensures that when the product moves to scale-up, the process is already built for consistency.

Our Approach to Balloon Co-Development

At ReCurve Medical, we operate like a true extension of your R&D team when co-developing a project. Our engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams work directly with OEM partners to define and document process boundaries that align with clinical intent.

Together, we:

• Translate clinical requirements into measurable specs that drive process design.

• Evaluate DFM early, ensuring tight specs are achievable at scale.

• Run iterative trials to verify yield, wall thickness, and mechanical performance.

• Lock down process documentation that supports downstream validation and regulatory submission.

By the time a project reaches the PO stage, every variable, from material selection to cycle time, has already been verified and proven capable. Check out this article for more on our development process.

Transparency as a Competitive Advantage

Trust is built on visibility. We provide our partners with direct access to process data, yield trends, and quality metrics throughout development. This transparency fosters better decision-making and accelerates technical alignment.

Rather than hiding behind reports, we invite collaboration through open documentation, shared process controls, and clear communication channels. When both teams see the same data, there’s no guesswork.

Building for Long-Term Success

The best partnerships don’t end when validation does. They evolve with continuous feedback, data sharing, and process optimization. We view every project as a long-term investment where the foundation of trust pays dividends through stable manufacturing and repeatable quality.

When a partner’s next-generation design arrives or the company is gearing for commercialization, we’re already ready with a process built, proven, and aligned with their goals.

Start Before the Start

The most successful launches happen when development and manufacturing move as one. By engaging early, aligning on data, and co-developing process capability, OEMs reduce risk and gain confidence that every unit produced reflects the same precision as the first prototype.

At ReCurve Medical, partnership is a process, not a transaction. Let’s build yours together.

Contact us to discuss how early collaboration with ReCurve can strengthen your development timeline and accelerate your path to validation.