When Boston Scientific Corp., a medical implant manufacturer, paid $27 billion in the spring to buy Guidant Corp., another medical device company, the consolidation was but one of many that the industry will undertake as it continues to develop innovative products.

The Boston Scientific and Guidant project will create a global leader in cardiovascular devices, and one of the largest medical technology companies in the world. In a related transaction before this acquisition, Guidant and Abbott Laboratories Inc. closed the acquisition by Abbott of Guidant's vascular intervention and endovascular businesses.

In June, Philips Electronics announced it would buy its top supplier, Intermagnetics General Corp., an MRI company, for $1.3 billion, in anticipation of MRI technology's use in molecular imaging. Earlier this year, Philips paid $690 million for Lifeline Systems, a provider of personal emergency-response systems.

The industry's growth activities will be driven by new companies with innovative new technologies that are working hard to fund their ideas to bring the products to market, says Chris Delporte, director of member relations and communications, Medical Device Manufacturers Association, an association comprised of manufacturers of medical devices, diagnostic products and health care information systems. “It is impressive to see the number of startups and the numerous technologies they are working on.”

These product developments run the gamut, from new technologies for drug-alluding stents to orthopedic devices to hemostatic agents made from shrimp that are standard Army issue for soldiers in the Middle East. HemCon, a Portland, Ore.-based medical device company, uses chitosan, developed from shrimp shells, to stop bleeding and seal wounds.

Another Portland-based company, SAM Medical Products, which makes splints and slings, including a force-controlled circumferential pelvic belt that stabilizes pelvic fractures, is developing a hemorrhage control product that is a granular powder, mainly made from marine polymers, which interacts with red blood cells to clot and block the flow of blood.

Looking Forward

What is notable about the growth of the industry is that lesser known locations across the country are emerging as areas ripe for medical device development and manufacturing.  Delporte notes areas such as Utah, Colorado and the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

Of course, the traditional device centers, such as Massachusetts, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and Northern and Southern California are growing as well.

As medical device companies uncover less well-known industry clusters, they have found skilled workforces to support new product launches and expansions of product lines. Officials at Tyco Healthcare, which manufactures medical devices and miscellaneous molded components, believe they have found an ideal base of employees at their Norfolk, Neb., plant. The average employee tenure is 13.6 years, and some employees have nearly 45 years of service.

Tyco International bought the Norfolk facility in 1998, which was originally opened in 1961 by Roehr Products Co., Inc. The facility has been owned by four different groups in its history.

“The most important asset in any company is the people,” writes Tony Weber, Tyco Healthcare Norfolk's new plant manager, in an e-mail correspondence. “The people in Norfolk have a work ethic that is truly hard to find. They have a dedication to work that is evident in the long tenures of our associates.”

The work ethic of these 501 full-time workers is vital to Tyco as it continues to expand its operations and employee base to meet the needs of new product line launches and additional 1 milliliter Luer Lock demands. The company expanded its facility in 2005 by 10,000 square feet, for a total of 236,000 square feet.

“The expansion itself cost roughly $500,000,” Weber writes. “However, the investment in the facility in fiscal year 2005 was roughly $19 million, with approximately $23 million for this fiscal year.” The company has created 35 full-time positions during the last year and predicts hiring 12 more workers in the next 12 months.

Northeast Community College, and others located in the area, provide education and growth opportunities, allowing many of Tyco's employees to acquire degrees while working. “This provides the company with well qualified internal candidates for development to new levels of responsibility,” Weber writes.

A large pool of candidates is in place to support medical device companies selecting the Greater Reading, Pa., area. There are 167 surgical and medical equipment manufacturing companies located in proximity to the city's center. There are also more than 50 pharma and biotech companies located in the area, some as close as 10 miles away.

“We are a viable alternative for expansion needs,” says Jon Scott, president and CEO, Berks Economic Partnership, which has a niche of medical devices as part of its biopharma cluster. “We are not trying to steal companies from their home bases. As companies discover they have workforce or expansion needs or new product development, we find that we are close enough to Philadelphia and key centers in New Jersey to draw upon talent pools.”

The skills of medical device workers, and their ability to receive continuous workforce training is important to Flagstaff, Ariz., companies, W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (makers of Gore-Tex and thousands of other products); and Machine Solutions, Inc. (a leading process and testing equipment supplier to catheter and stent manufacturers worldwide.)

“Our business retention and expansion manager is probably the most successful person in the state, with a track record of 100 percent in securing training funds,” says Steve Jaronik, business development recruiter and marketing manager, Greater Flagstaff Economic Council. “At last count, there was more than $800,000 in training grants made available to our companies for training.”

Jaronik says Coconino Community College works closely with companies to train their employees. A good source of employees also comes from the students and graduates of Northern Arizona University. What's more, W.L. Gore's Flagstaff facility, which is the company's site for development and manufacturing of implantable medical devices, and Machine Solutions, have had success in hiring local high school graduates and training them for their companies. Machine Solutions has conducted an expansion dedicated to new product development and custom manufacturing.

As the medical device industry continues to develop new technologies and launch new product lines, as well as conducting billion dollar acquisitions, it will discover skilled workforces located throughout the country that are ready to support growth efforts.

For complete details about the organizations featured in this article, visit:

Berks (Pa.) Economic Partnership, www.gobep.com

Greater Flagstaff (Ariz.) Economic Council, www.gfec.org

Medical Device Manufacturers Association, www.medicaldevices.org

Tyco Healthcare, www.tycohealthcare.com