Frequently Asked Questions

Sterling currently operates 4 manufacturing facilities in North America, covering 150,000 square feet (or 14,000 square meters). Our facilities are located in Central Michigan in the United States and Southern Ontario in Canada; our Headquarters are located within the Greater Toronto Area.
Learn more at our Facilities page.

There are numerous reasons:

1. Supply chain security: COVID revealed just how fragile global supply chains are. By manufacturing in North America, at the heart of the world’s largest consumer and healthcare markets, transport and shipping lead times are significantly decreased, both inbound and outbound.
2. Regulatory standards: North America has the highest quality standards and regulations in the world, something that Sterling embraces, forming part of our core identity.
3. Innovation: North America remains at the forefront of global innovation, hosting the world’s top universities, research institutions, and technologies, giving us the ability to remain ahead of the curve and innovative

Typically, we do not design original devices “from scratch”; instead, we optimize our clients’ proprietary designs for scaled manufacturing. Sterling’s Design Transfer process captures every nuance of our clients’ original design. Then, our Design-for-Manufacturing (DFM) team offers manufacturing and assembly recommendations that can improve quality, repeatability or reduce costs when manufacturing at scale. We collaborate with our clients at every step.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, a type of contract manufacturing relationship wherein complete products are manufactured & assembled to exact specifications, finished and ready-to-ship, for their client. Medical Device OEMs focus specifically on manufacturing within the strict regulatory and quality frameworks that govern medical device production.

Contract manufacturer is a general term for manufacturers who are contracted to produce parts (components, sub-assemblies, etc) or complete products for their clients. Sterling is a contract manufacturer that focuses on production of complete devices, including assembly, often in an OEM relationship with clients. In some cases, we fabricate key components or sub-assemblies for our clients.