Medtronic moves on plans -- Company will add 600 jobs, new office building in Memphis

September 14, 2006 --

Medical device maker Medtronic is moving forward with plans to add 600 jobs in Memphis over the next five years and invest roughly $40 million in a six-story office building and a new parking deck, a company spokesman said.

The company has already begun work on a parking deck at its campus near the Memphis International Airport and is scheduled to appear before the city Land Use Control Board today in what's expected to be a formality.

Meanwhile, another area medical device maker, Arlington's Wright Medical Technology, plans to announce details of an expansion of its campus later this year, spokeswoman Renae McElwain said Wednesday.

The investments in buildings and salaries represent success for the Memphis area, which is competing with other areas to keep existing bioscience companies and attract more.

Cities benefit when they gain biotech workers, said Larry Jensen, a former chairman of the Memphis Regional Chamber who now heads Commercial Advisors, a real estate advisory firm.

"They have, many of them, advanced degrees, and it brings a knowledge base to your community that attracts other knowledge-based people," he said. "The salary and benefits and impact on your economy are obviously a benefit."

The median salary of Medtronic's new workers would be about $55,000, the company has said.

Medtronic, based in Minneapolis, employs 1,200 people at its spinal division in Memphis.

Company spokesman Bert Kelly said the firm, whose Memphis branch was formerly known as Medtronic Sofamor Danek, is investing to support more spinal research and development as Baby Boomers age.

"You'll see that demographic start to become very large and seeking out therapies for diseases in their backs," he said. "So we see that as a growing area."

The company plans to hire more engineers to design new products, plus a range of other staffers to support the research and market the inventions, he said.

The firm produces complex systems of rods and screws to counter spinal diseases, but anticipates greater investment in biologics, or organic remedies to cure similar problems, he said. The firm already produces a bone growth product called INFUSE.

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Medtronic

Headquarters : Minneapolis

Local employees : 1,200

Products : Medical devices and biological products to cure diseases of the spine.

This article is ﾩ 2006- Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN)