Firm plans $100M growth
Microport expansion will add 171 Arlington jobs
MicroPort Orthopedics Inc. said Tuesday it will spend $100 million and create 171 jobs as it ramps up high-tech operations in Arlington.
The announcement came as the company’s board of directors met for the first time at medical device manufacturing facilities acquired from Wright Medical Group Inc. in January.
The expansion will be phased in over five years as the company upgrades product design, manufacturing and training facilities in suburban Memphis. It will boost MicroPort’s Arlington workforce to nearly 800 people and position the company as a force in the Memphis medical device industry.
Device makers in the area include Smith & Nephew Plc’s 1,700-employee Orthopaedic Reconstruction unit and Medtronic Spine’s 1,300 workers. Wright now employs 550 in Memphis and Arlington.
MicroPort Orthopedics chief executive officer Ted Davis said investing in “very high dollar capital equipment,” including robotics and automation, will increase production within Wright Medical’s former footprint. Plans call for a “world-class training facility” where surgeons, primarily from within the United States, will receive training on the implants.
The expansion was announced by Gov. Bill Haslam and the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which is providing a grant of undisclosed terms for the expansion.
“It’s basically pursuant to a FastTrack economic development grant,” Davis said. “It’s a deal that is supported by Arlington, Shelby County, the state of Tennessee and MicroPort. It’s most appropriately characterized as a commitment by the state to the commitment MicroPort has already made.”
Davis would not discuss wage scales for the jobs being created, but said they’re “high- quality, high-tech jobs” in the upper range for medical device manufacturing in this area.
Wright Medical split its OrthoRecon hip and knee implant unit last fall from a growing division that makes foot and ankle products, called Extremities-Biologics. Wright moved its headquarters to East Memphis and began expanding its remaining manufacturing and distribution facili- ties in Arlington.
MicroPort’s parent in China, MicroPort Scientific Corp., bought the hip and knee business along with most other Arlington facilities, including Wright’s former headquarters, for $290 million.
MicroPort Orthopedics plans to expand sales of Arlington-made products in Asia and North America. MicroPort Scientific, based in Shanghai, ranked 46th in profits in 2011 among China’s 100 largest pharmaceutical companies.
Davis said early results in the Asian market are encouraging. “We feel like we’re off to a good start,” he said.
Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman hailed the expansion as “huge news” for a town of 12,000 that is growing rapidly and facing new revenue needs to fund a school system starting this fall.
Wissman said MicroPort’s commitment to Arlington hasn’t wavered since the transaction was announced, dispelling fears that the town might lose jobs as Wright moved headquarters employees to Memphis.
“I think any time you hear of a merger or buyout you do have some red flags raised about ‘What does this mean for us? Are they packing up and leaving?’ ” Wissman said.
“But again, they gave us their assurances they were in it for the long haul. They know ‘Made in America’ in the orthopedic business is a must,” Wissman said. “Them establishing their orthopedic business here is a win-win for everybody.”
After the sale closed, Wright committed $15.4 million to relocating its head offices to East Memphis and adding 52,000 square feet to its remaining 45,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution plant at Arlington. Wright employs about 900 worldwide, including 550 in Memphis and Arlington.