Performance Health Buys Thera Pearl

Pain management company also announces merger with Cramer Products.

• By David Kopf
• Nov 19, 2014

Sports therapy and pain management company Performance Health, manufacturer and marketer of Thera-Band, Biofreeze, Perform and Hygenic branded products, has announced two key business moves: It has acquired hot and cold therapy product maker Thera Pearl LLC and entered into a merger with sports medicine company Cramer Products Inc.

The Thera Pearl buy will add the newly purchased company’s Pearl Technology, which lets users products chill or heat its products, which conform to the body while providing the doctor-recommended 20 minutes of hot/cold therapy.

Thera Pearl was ranked 41 on Forbes magazine’s list of most promising companies and landed at 209 on the 2013 Inc. 500|5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America with 2,017 percent growth. The company will continue to operate from their headquarters in Maryland.

“ Thera Pearl brings proven strength and additional scale to our emerging retail business,” said Marshall Dahneke, president and CEO of Performance Health. “The alignment for us is both natural and exciting as Performance Health is well positioned to introduce and promote Thera Pearl’s unique portfolio more broadly while Thera Pearl’s emphasis on resolving pain and promoting wellness is entirely aligned with our other key brands.”

“ Thera Pearl is excited to join Performance Health and its portfolio of brands that share the common goal of offering innovative wellness products,”

“In just six years, Thera Pearl has experienced substantial growth by developing a successful product pipeline that appeals to both retailers and consumers,” said Thera Pearl president Daniel Baumwald. “As part of Performance Health, we hope to continue that growth by gaining greater access to channels that reach the healthcare practitioner community.”

Performance Health’s merger with Cramer Products includes all branded products from Cramer, Active Ankle, Stromgren and Cosom. Cramer Products is a long-established company supporting the athletic training (AT), sports medicine (SM) and team markets. Cramer Products also reaches into retail, primarily through chain sporting goods stores.

“Combining Cramer Products with Performance Health provides benefit to both organizations, leveraging our complementary sales channels and go-to-market strategies,” Dahnekesaid. “Each company will cross-promote and cross-sell the other’s product lines through their respective sales channels, taking advantage of each other’s market leadership and strong legacy brands.”

This partnership will result in little initial change in how each company conducts business with their primary stakeholders. In general, ‘it’s business as usual’. The products historically purchased from Cramer will continue to be purchased from Cramer and vice versa.

“Bringing our two companies together makes sense on multiple levels and it should favorably impact all of the professions and customers we serve,” added Thomas Rogge, president and chief executive officer, Cramer Products. “This merger joins two like-minded, value-based market leaders that support professionals through education, research and innovative products”