In front, from left, are Sidney Nelson, Tippecanoe Valley High School; Elizabeth Heckaman, Warsaw Community High School; and Sarah Poorman, OrthoPediatrics engineering director. In back, from left, are Brian Hodorek, president and CEO of Ignite Orthopedics; Carson Parker, TVHS; Claire Reichenbach, Raquel Brouwer, McKale Hagg, all of WCHS; and Todd Speicher, president and owner of Instrumental Machine & Development. Photo provided.

News Release

WARSAW — The Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy held their Jan. 11 meeting at the Kosciusko Health Services Pavilion, where the students learned about the orthopedic industry in Kosciusko County.

Todd Speicher, president and owner of Instrumental Machine & Development, started the morning session with the history of IMD, which was founded in 1991 in a garage. IMD develops and produces instruments used in orthopedic procedures. Speicher spoke about how IMD has grown over the years and the various roles he has had with the company. Speicher encouraged the students to not be afraid of taking a career risk and to put effort into investigating the company they work for and take advantage of the advancement opportunities that are available.

Sarah Poorman, OrthoPediatrics engineering director, shared how her passion for orthopedic product development led her to her current job. OrthoPediatrics was founded in 2006 to focus on specific orthopedic needs for children. During Poorman’s college years, she took advantage of her college’s COOP program for three different rotations. She was able to graduate from college with an engineering degree with valuable work experience and encouraged the students to do the same. Poorman explained some of the tasks she performs in her daily work routine and also gave examples of products she has helped to develop to fix children’s bone deformities.

Brian Hodorek, president and CEO of Ignite Orthopedics, also took advantage of internship opportunities as he was pursuing his engineering degree and stressed the importance of how that experience helped in his career development. Hodorek shared his work history at Warsaw orthopedic companies and how his desire to work in research and development and focus on one product led him to become the co-founder of Ignite Orthopedics in 2017. Ignite has developed products for the elbow and shoulder and has then sold those product designs to other companies. Ignite’s shoulder system has the first 3D printed stem in the orthopedic industry.

In conclusion, Hodorek stated the importance of several local orthopedic companies working together to make the development of their products possible and successful.