Manufacturer Nipro aims to dominate diabetic market

Fort Lauderdale- based Nipro Diagnostics could have been a corporate headquarters casualty in 2010, when predecessorHome Diagnosticswas acquired by Osaka, Japan- basedNipro Corp.

But thanks to Scott Verner, who was named its president and CEO after the purchase, the diabetic- testing equipment maker remains in Fort Lauderdale — and 400 people have jobs.

During 2011 and 2012, Verner planted even deeper roots in the region by investing $ 100 million in real estate and manufacturing operations in Broward County. He now champions the region, sitting on the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance’s CEO Council, which promotes Broward County as a destination for corporate and regional headquarters.

“Nipro is one of our success stories,” said June Wolfe, president of the South Florida Manufacturers Association in Pompano Beach, recalling how the company started asHome Diagnostics in 1985.

The company is “a good example of what today’s manufacturing is,” Wolfe said. “The jobs require a higher education and provide the way of living. “We need a thousand more.” Nipro, namedFlorida’s top manufacturer by the Florida Manufacturing Association in 2011, makes FDA- approved blood glucose monitors and testing strips that help diabetics monitor their glucose levels. The company recently acquired a manufacturing company in New Hampshire and Verner has further plans for acquisitions and innovations to expand its product line.

“We’re creating an ecosystem to provide diabetic patients with everything they need to care for themselves,” Verner said. “We’re going to do it all.”

The company is responding to a growing market. Diabetes, a chronic disease caused by the body’s inability to produce or use insulin, affects 26 million people in the U. S. That’s 8.3 percent of the population — up 3 million since 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can lead to serious complications including blindness, kidney damage and amputation.

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