Varex Imaging: expanding x-ray imaging. Published: Nov 2 2026 Summarize with AI Varex Imaging continues to meet the demands of the X-ray imaging market with cutting-edge solutions while expanding its global presence. Expanding X-ray imaging. The medical device manufacturing sector continues to be driven by an innovation-led global ecosystem. Amid the upward trajectory, however, the landscape still faces significant geopolitical challenges, such as tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Alongside ongoing conflicts worldwide and persisting supplier disruptions, this poses significant obstacles for medical device companies with a predominantly international sales base, as is the case for Varex Imaging (Varex). For example, China's restriction on rare earth metals has caused huge fluctuations in the price of tungsten, zirconium, rhenium, gadolinium, and more, which are all used extensively in the company's leading cold cathode technology and X-ray tube manufacturing. Despite these adversities, Varex has seen increased activity in this market over the last 12 months thanks to the sector's growing technological advantages and government-backed funding across the US and the globe, specifically for stationary medical computed tomography (CT) and baggage scanning. Cold cathode technology is particularly well-suited to stationary applications such as these because they use a stationary anode with low milliampere requirements. As a result, implementations such as baggage scanning are a natural fit for the technology's qualities. Next-generation imaging. Since featuring Varex last year, the company has maintained its position as the world's largest independent manufacturer of X-ray imaging components. Its industry-leading cold cathode technology has led it to develop an a-emitter multi-beam X-ray (MBX) tube, enabling faster, more robust, and flexible imaging system architectures. Expected to have a major impact on the market, the company recently built an MBX demonstration unit to increase understanding of the technology's applications among operators. This allows companies to identify what features best suit their application requirements, such as focal spot, pitch, or the number of emitters. Elsewhere, Varex recently introduced liquid metal bearing (LMB) X-ray tubes into its operations. Having been a conventional bearing company for a long time, Varex is evolving to use LMB because of certain attributes the market is demanding, enabling it to give customers what they want. Indeed, LMB tubes are becoming dominant across two areas of the X-ray imaging market. The first is cardiovascular imaging, as the technology operates at low volume; this is beneficial because the application requires the tube to be in close proximity to the operator's head, making reduced noise levels important. Another advantage of the LMB tubes is their ability to run continuously at high speeds. This means when a doctor requires a high-powered X-ray shot, they don't have to wait for the tube to be boosted or spun at a higher speed. The LMB tubes typically accommodate a very high patient throughput and significant power capacities. The technology is now moving into CT imaging as well, primarily because big companies are looking for longer-life technologies. LMBs work by using a spiral groove which acts as a pump when the inner anode rotates at high speeds, forcing the liquid metal into the bearing gap to ensure the two metal surfaces of the rotating shaft and sleeve do not touch. Contact between the two metal components only occurs briefly when the rotation stops and starts - known as landing. Varex tests how many landings the technology can withstand before it freezes up, which is important to medical device manufacturing markets across the world because power in many countries can be expensive. Therefore, the company helps identify the optimum levels to accommodate sufficient operating time and reduced landing occurrences, ultimately extending the lifespan of cardiovascular imaging machines. Domestic capabilities. Alongside the continued growth of cutting-edge technologies such as cold cathode and LMB, Varex is joining the industry's push for more local capabilities, particularly as nations across the globe endeavor to meet the requirements of government tenders. For example, government-run hospitals in China are increasingly seeking domestically made products. Therefore, by utilizing local suppliers, Varex can manufacture more Chinese-made products, which ultimately looks more favorable to the government. This is not just the case in China, as governments across the world are backing products that utilize domestic employees and suppliers. For instance, despite much of its major infrastructure still being in the developmental stages, the Indian government are still seeking domestically made products. For Varex, in-country original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have many practical advantages. By utilizing a regional supply chain, rather than international, the company minimizes logistics costs, creates more favorable service conditions for customers, and makes the returns and quality management process easier. With a local supplier network in the countries it serves, Varex can circumvent the low overhead and high labor costs experienced at its base in Salt Lake City and across the US, while simultaneously adopting a highly automated and cost-effective process. Solid training foundations. In order to develop the skills and training needed for facilities in places such as India, Varex has utilized a leased brownfield facility as a staging ground to upskill employees and prepare operators for the company's 'made in India' products. Varex uses the brownfield facility for all long lead-time training items; it can take months, if not years, to acquire some of the necessary skills for building X-ray tubes. To date, Varex's brownfield facility has been operational for a year and a half, and will continue to be so for approximately another six months. The company will be able to transfer a highly skilled staff base from the brownfield facility to its greenfield facilities in India, which is currently in the process of opening and will commence operations immediately after completion. This training model not only creates a better understanding of the product but also builds demonstrated capability. Alongside this, the company has sent subject matter experts to India before the opening of the greenfield facility to allow them to train on-site. It has also made sure to duplicate the equipment they trained on in the brownfield facility, so each operator is ready to run the equipment in the new facility as soon as possible. Varex is currently in the process of obtaining the correct certification for the facility's operations, including Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) registration. Growing global presence. With a growing portfolio of products and operational facilities, Varex has achieved an enviable geographic reach. For example, alongside its expansion into China and India, the company has also been consolidating its European presence. Having acquired Claymount in 2015, now known as Connect and Control, Varex has merged the operations of the company's factory in Doetinchem, Netherlands, with its own factory in Willich, Germany - which has become the main base for its European presence. Corresponding with its site in Wuxi and two sites across India in Visakhapatnam and Pune - building flat pile detectors and X-ray tubes, respectively - the company is well positioned to serve its global client base with an extensive international footprint far into the future. This company profile was produced by the editorial team at North America Outlook, a publication within the Outlook Publishing global network of B2B industry magazines. Outlook Publishing showcases organisations and leadership teams shaping sectors including manufacturing, mining, construction, healthcare, supply chains, food production, and sustainability. 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Waygate Technologies and Varex Imaging announce exclusive partnership to accelerate the transformation of field radiography to digital. Waygate Technologies, a market leader in nondestructive testing (NDT) solutions for industrial and energy infrastructure inspection, and Varex Imaging, a global leader in X-ray imaging components and detector technology, have signed an official partnership agreement to enhance their offering of advanced digital field radiography solutions. As part of the partnership, Waygate Technologies will become the exclusive distributor of Varex industrial X-ray detectors developed for field radiography applications. This leverages Varex Imaging's proven detector expertise and technology leadership to accelerate the adoption of digital field radiography. Varex Imaging in return gains access to the vast international distribution and services network of Waygate Technologies across numerous industrial sectors. The strategic alliance between the two companies aims to transform the field radiography segment from traditional film to advanced digital radiography (DR). By creating a comprehensive one-stop-shop for digital detectors, software and services, both partners will modernize industrial inspection workflows and increase efficiency in field radiography. Digital radiography offers superior image quality, faster turnaround times, and improved data management compared to traditional film, enabling customers to enhance the safety of their assets while reducing downtime and streamlining reporting processes. "Waygate Technologies is proud to marry our NDT and deep sector expertise with Varex Imaging's leading flat panel and flexible detector technologies, which have set a new benchmark for performance and usability in digital field radiography", said Gwen Pabst-Kroezen, General Manager of Imaging Solutions at Waygate Technologies. "Field radiography presents unique technical challenges, from portability and robustness to delivering consistent high-quality imaging performance in demanding environments", commented Jesse Merkley, Senior Vice President Industrial Business at Varex Imaging. "This partnership brings our unique detector technology together with Waygate Technologies' application expertise to address these challenges and help move the industry decisively from film to digital." Seamless customer transition and new Weldpack Pro digital weld solution. The partnership will go into effect immediately. Existing customers of Varex Imaging field radiography business will be informed of the partnership and supported through a structured transition process to Waygate Technologies customer and services channels, guided by a comprehensive conversion plan. As part of the partnership, Waygate Technologies will assume global after-sales service and training responsibilities, allowing Varex Imaging to focus resources on detector platform innovation and next-generation industrial imaging technologies. In a first joint effort under the partnership, the companies are launching a new package solution for weld inspection of any pipe size, called Weldpack Pro. Designed to preserve the simplicity and familiarity of film-based radiography workflows while delivering the advantages of a digital solution. The Weldpack Pro combines options for two sizes of a new bendable detector and a new small-size flat panel detector to offer reliable weld inspections on smaller pipes than before, at low-operational rather than investment costs. The Weldpack Pro will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the ASNT Conference and Expo, which will take place October 12-15 in Columbus, Ohio. Interested visitors and customers can stop by the Waygate Technologies booth, No. 413, to learn more about the new partnership with Varex and the Weldpack Pro solution.