by Ben Stanley
In a conference room across the hall from a wall covered in framed patent licenses at the Titan Spine headquarters in Mequon, company president Kevin Gemas digs through a box of spinal implants — some donut-shaped, some long and grooved — and describes them in a way that evokes a diagram of the evolution of man.
The bone-colored, plastic spinal implants are the past, he explains. The rough-surfaced, titanium implants made by Titan Spine are the future — for a few key reasons. 
The company’s biggest roadblock in the 10 years since it was established has been overcoming a negative image of titanium devices that currently permeates the market, he says. He much prefers the company’s new problem: scaling.
“That’s our challenge right now,” Gemas said. “We can’t make enough.”
In February, Titan Spine announced it had increased sales 51 percent in 2015. Last year, its global sales totaled $33.5 million. Titan, which has 61 employees, more than 400 hospital customers and 110 distributors worldwide, also has a presence in Germany and Spain.