All of a sudden, Mentor, Ohio, has become a hot spot for job growth in medical device and equipment companies.
STERIS Corp. (NYSE: STE), the maker of contamination-control technologies, as well as sophisticated operating room equipment, is closing a leased facility in Erie, Penn. and plans to transfer most of the 240 jobs to Mentor as part of an headquarters expansion, according to the News-Herald.
In late 2006, STERIS began to shutter its Erie plant that employed 450 people, moving many of the jobs to a new plant near Monterrey, Mexico, to save money. Now, the technology maker will transfer remaining research and development, equipment planning and design, customer service, training, and finance, among other departments to Mentor from Erie, the News-Herald said.
The move, expected to begin in about six months and to be completed by the end of next year, is necessary to improve service to customers who now must travel to several locations, STERIS spokesman Stephen Norton told the Plain Dealer. The move will end STERIS’ presence in Erie.
To accommodate the job growth at its headquarters, which already employs about 800 people, STERIS plans to meet with Mentor City Council next week to talk about an expansion, the Plain Dealer reported.
Just last week, US Endoscopy, which is located across Heisley Road from STERIS, was approved for an estimated $870,000 job creation grant from Mentor for its own $4.7 million expansion, the News-Herald reported. US Endoscopy makes endoscopic products aimed at unmet needs in the growing market for minimally invasive surgical procedures of the digestive system.
US Endoscopy is expanding so it can design, make and sell even more endoscopic products. Of course, the medical device maker that employs 330 would have to hire more people to expand — 150 in the next four years, according to Tony Siracusa, chief operating officer for US Endoscopy.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
That company also has applied for an $1 million Ohio Third Frontier grant to push some of its gastrointestinal products into urology and cytology procedures. That expansion “will involve significant research and development, product testing, regulatory approvals and certifications,” the company said in its letter of intent (pdf) for the grant. “Significant job creation at the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility would occur at the end of the Third Frontier project.”
Word is, one man is behind both companies’ local jobs incentives: Ronald M. Traub, economic development director for Mentor. Traub did not return an email seeking comment on Friday.
