Fremont, Calif. – June 14, 2010: Nitinol Devices & Components, Inc. (NDC) has announced plans to establish a new center for R&D and manufacturing in one of the premier Free Trade Zone industrial parks in San Jose, Costa Rica, later this year. The plant will produce medical guide wires that combine the company’s core expertise in Nitinol processing technology with value-added extrusion, coating, and assembly operations for medical device companies. NDC plans to hire 30 employees in the first year of operations.
“Costa Rica presented the best combination of operating cost, workforce talent, and tax advantages as we considered our options to establish a low-cost manufacturing facility for our rapidly growing company,“ said Jeff Lenigan, Vice President of Operations at NDC. “This plant establishes a pathway to greater expansion as we outgrow our facility in Fremont, California. The company’s growth is driven by both production and Research and Development, so we expect R&D activities to be performed in our new facilities as well.”
“This is a great addition to the medical devices cluster in Costa Rica,” says Gabriela Liobet, Director General of CINDE. “The NDC announcement is one of the first of many expected this year, each reinforcing the maturity and expertise of the human capital available in the country. We are very pleased to welcome a company that is enlarging the base of R&D in Costa Rica.”
In addition, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel González said that companies like NDC are the future of the medical devices sector of Costa Rica. “We continue to improve the business climate of the country so as to be able continue to attract companies that help increase the labor opportunities for Costa Ricans.”
“Costa Rica enabled us to move quickly to establish a manufacturing site with clear direction on how to establish a company here” expressed Mitchell Tatum, the plant’s General Manager. NDC began considering Costa Rica as a potential site for their low-cost manufacturing location six months ago.
“In addition, Costa Rica has some of the best security and infrastructure in Central America. The ease of setup combined with the reliable, educated work force makes Costa Rica a great choice for us to establish a facility here”. By the end of the first year, Mr. Tatum anticipates investing $3.5 million in the Costa Rica facilities.
“We have an aggressive plan that leads to delivering product to our customers from our new plant by the first quarter of 2011,” said Mr. Tatum. NDC will initially require manufacturing and quality engineers as the plant is established and processes are validated. Production manager, supervisors, technicians, and line operators will also be hired. “We are looking for talented and motivated technical and production employees that thrive in a small company environment.”. NDC expects to hire 30 employees within the first year, expanding to 200 in their long-term strategy.
NDC is a privately held medical device company headquartered in Fremont, CA, USA. NDC provides manufacturing, research, development, and technical support on all aspects of the Nitinol technology and processing, and is aggressively expanding its capabilities to meet the growing demand for Nitinol based products. For more information: www.nitinol.com
