Our bold beginnings
Enovis Corporation began as Colfax Corporation in 1995 and was founded by Steven and Mitchell Rales, two brothers who had previously created Danaher Corporation. Steven and Mitchell grew Danaher from a group of discrete manufacturing businesses to a leading science and technology innovator with a market value of more than $100 billion.
Embracing this successful approach, the Colfax team embarked on a journey to build a world-class global enterprise by acquiring good businesses and then improving and expanding them into great businesses. Their first acquisitions, including IMO Industries, Inc. and Allweiler AG, joined together to become a high-performance pumps company called Colfax Fluid Handling.
Adopting the proven principles of continuous improvement, Colfax developed Colfax Business System (CBS) as the company’s operating model, based on the Danaher Business System and Toyota Production System. CBS became the foundation of Colfax’s culture, and its implementation set the stage for rapid growth in the decades to follow.
Dramatic growth and diversification
Entering the new millennium, Colfax was poised for significant expansion, which it successfully achieved through organic growth and complementary acquisitions.
At the beginning of 2012, Colfax became a diversified industrial company via the acquisition of Charter International plc. Charter brought to Colfax two premier global franchises – ESAB and Howden – and created a multi-platform enterprise providing solutions to customers around the world.
By 2015, Colfax had significantly grown its revenue to more than $3 billion (from less than $250 million in 2000) and appointed Matthew Trerotola as CEO. Mr. Trerotola continues to be the CEO today. The company also solidified its corporate capabilities with strong talent processes, a powerful business system, and a disciplined acquisition engine. Between 2015 and 2019, this dynamic combination powered margin and growth improvements, and it was a driving force behind the addition of 15 new businesses, strengthening and expanding Colfax’s three global platforms.
Our transformation
In a compelling next step that marked a pivotal point in the company’s journey, Colfax made a significant investment and acquired orthopedic solutions leader DJO in 2019. This bold acquisition created the company’s new medical technology platform, providing Colfax with a tremendous runway for growth aligned with healthcare trends around the world.
The company divested the more cyclical parts of its portfolio – Colfax Fluid Handling and Howden – after driving substantial growth and improvements.
Bright future
In 2022, Colfax separated from ESAB and rebranded to Enovis Corporation. In recognition of our successful history of growth and innovation, the distinctive “O” in our new Enovis logo was deliberately carried over from our Colfax logo as it represents continuous improvement – a cornerstone of our business’s success that will continue at Enovis.
Enovis symbolizes the powerful combination of innovation and vision fueled by our passion for continuous improvement and reinforced by our drive to develop clinically differentiated solutions that generate measurably better patient outcomes and transform workflows.
As we enter a new decade, Enovis is stronger than ever and poised to become one of the world’s leading medical technology companies.
“As Enovis, we are pursuing an aggressive innovation and acquisition agenda with the goal of growing substantially in the coming years. By building upon our strong orthopedic foundation and successful legacy of continuous improvement, we are well-positioned to create a high-value, high-growth medtech business that extends in and beyond orthopedics.”— Matthew L. Trerotola, Chair and Chief Executive Officer
