
The Heraeus Medevio Center of Excellence in Costa Rica [Photo courtesy of Heraeus Medevio]
The 118,400-square-foot, two-story facility will add 500 jobs in Cartago’s La Lima Free Zone, with the contract development and manufacturing organization saying the phase III expansion cost $35 million.
“Cartago’s exceptional talent pool and highly skilled labor force have enabled us to expand and explore new ways of supporting current and future partnerships,” said VP of Operations Anna Jansen, the site’s leader, in a news release. “I’m excited to grow our team, now and into the future.”
The Center of Excellence “was designed to optimize space for strategic, long-term manufacturing projects, adding an ISO class seven clean room on the first level, an ISO class eight clean room on the second floor, corporate offices, meeting rooms, and cafeteria,” Heraeus Medevio said. Operations are expected to start in July.
“The site’s expansion will drive innovation for Heraeus Medevio’s partners in the design, development, and manufacturing of electrophysiology sub-assemblies and finished devices, neuromodulation leads, catheters, guidewires, snare kits, and vascular components,” the company later continued. “With the addition of Heraeus Medevio’s first electrophysiology assembly line and the site’s first R&D laboratory, Heraeus Medevio will expand its end-to-end design and development services, helping its customers overcome complex challenges and bring better medical devices to market faster.”
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The Heraeus Medevio site now totals 226,000 square feet. Phase I opened in 2017, followed by construction of Phase II in 2022 and 2023.
“Expanding the Costa Site has been a key pillar in Medevio’s global strategy,” Global Operations EVP Markus Kriegl said. “The distinctive level of talent, proximity to our customers, and vibrant ecosystem enable a simplified supply chain, efficient collaboration, and strategic manufacturing capacity for our valued customers.”
Heraeus Medevio Costa Rica had 650 employees as of January, according to CINDE (the former Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency). The organization said the new building’s construction project has an Ecological Blue Flag for environmental conservation and public health, and that the FDA-registered site is ISO 13485 and ISO 50001 certified.
“We are committed to investing in the space and resources needed to meet our customers’ needs and grow our company by double digits annually,” Heraeus Medevio President Heiko Specht said. “This expansion will help our current and future customers bring better medical devices to market faster and contribute to Heraeus Medevio’s vision of improving 100 million lives every year.”
Previously: Heraeus Medevio adds solar panels at Costa Rica facility