Sagentia Acquires Quadro Design Associates

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sagentia, a global innovation, technology and product development company, today announced it has acquired Quadro Design Associates. Quadro works with clients to improve the effectiveness of their product design, making sure they go to market with the confidence of achieving commercial success. The company will now operate as an independent but integrated division of the Sagentia Group.

“It’s really fantastic that a leading technology company is recognizing the value of industrial design.”

With industrial design and usability fundamental and increasingly essential ingredients in innovation and product development, this acquisition demonstrates Sagentia’s desire to grow its share of the global product development market.

Sagentia’s Managing Director, Dan Edwards, comments: “We have enjoyed collaborating with Quadro for several years, and are delighted to now formally welcome them into our team. The value this brings – having design and technology staff co-located – is clear to our clients. Quadro has significant experience across all three of our key target sectors – consumer, industrial and medical. And as the medical/healthcare industry increasingly focuses on usability of medical devices we know the time is right to invest in human factors and strategic design capability.”

Quadro takes a unique approach to industrial design, focusing not just on the product but on designing the user experience. The team uses a variety of research techniques and methodologies to identify future needs and translates this into successful products and services that not only attract the end buyer but are also easy to use, deliver on all required functionality and can be easily disposed of.

Professor Phil Gray, Managing Director at Quadro, says: “This collaboration is a great opportunity for us to work with leading scientists, technologists and engineers to create world class products and services for our clients. It is also a great springboard for us to achieve our ambitious growth plans.”

Morag Hutcheon, Design Director at Quadro, adds: “It’s really fantastic that a leading technology company is recognizing the value of industrial design.”

The acquisition is part of Sagentia’s growth strategy, which is focused on following market demand. The news follows Sagentia’s recent expansion and relocation of its U.S. headquarters from the Cambridge Innovation Center to a larger location in Boston’s financial district as it continues to grow its U.S. presence. Sagentia and Quadro will also be presenting together on what consumer driven design concepts mean for the medtech industry at BIOMEDevice, April 10-11 in Boston.

About Sagentia
Sagentia is a global innovation, technology and product development company. We provide outsourced R&D consultancy services to start ups through to global market leaders in the medical, industrial and consumer sectors. With global headquarters in Cambridge, UK, and U.S. headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, Sagentia works with clients from opportunity discovery through to concept generation and full product development and transfer to manufacture. We deliver science and technology innovation and work with clients to develop next generation products and services that provide commercial value and market advantage. Further information can be found at: http://www.sagentia.com. Email us [e-mail]

About Quadro Design Associates
Professor Phil Gray and Morag Hutcheon FRSA founded Quadro Design Associates, an international strategic industrial design consultancy, in 1998 to help companies develop their business through the effective use of design. Phil is Visiting Professor of New Product Design in the School of Engineering and Information Systems at Middlesex University.
www.quadro-consult.com