Stryker Embarks On $130 Million R&D Expansion In Michigan
By Jof Enriquez,
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Stryker is building a $130-million corporate campus in Portage, Mich., near Kalamazoo, where the medical device manufacturer is headquartered. The expansion creates 105 new area jobs for engineers and scientists over the next three years, officials said.
The new campus will include a customer experience center, functioning showroom, state-of-the-art research and development lab, and a bio-skills lab for research and new product development, as well as sales, marketing, and support function offices. The 485,000 square-foot facility will be built on 288 acres of industrial land bought for $8.5 million in October from pharmaceutical company Pfizer, according to MLive.
New R&D facilities and programs are a top priority for Stryker, in order to generate strong internal product pipelines in "not only the spine segment, but across all [product] categories," CEO Kevin Lobo told analysts earlier this year.
Stryker's new property is bordered by East Milham Avenue, Ramona Avenue, and Portage Road, adjacent the company's main headquarters at Airview Road, and near other existing Stryker facilities in the area.
"The city of Portage is very pleased to assist Stryker grow, meet their goals and achieve their mission to make healthcare better," said Mayor Pete Strazdas, according to MLive. "Working together, we can improve our local quality of life and tax base.
"A world-class company is building a world-class campus in a city and region that gets it – efficient government and services and a place where people want to live, work and play," he continued.
Michigan state officials said Stryker was considering other states for this expansion, but ultimately decided to do it in Michigan, its home since being founded in 1941 by Dr. Homer Stryker, a Kalamazoo, Mich., orthopedist. Today, Stryker is active in 100 countries with over 27,000 employees worldwide, including 966 in Michigan.
Officials said $1 million in state economic development support from the Michigan Strategic Fund will be extended to Stryker, which is expected to use the money to offset recruiting and training costs. The company is also set to return in the coming months to seek additional state aid for the project, reported the Detroit Free Press.
In addition to Michigan state aid, Stryker reportedly also has received tax breaks from the city of Portage and Kalamazoo county officials over the past few years.
"The proposed Michigan Business Development Program Performance-based Grant incentive package will help offset recruiting cost and training cost along with continue to strengthen the long-term relationship with the Kalamazoo region and Stryker Corporation," wrote Mike Gietzen, Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) Business Development Project Manager, to board members of the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Michigan is one of the states with the highest number of medical device companies. Medtech is the largest sector in Michigan’s biosciences industry, and is home to global brands such as Stryker and Terumo, along with hundreds of other small to mid-size medical device and equipment companies, according to AdvaMed. The medtech industry there directly employed more than 11,000 people, with a total employment impact of 40,000 jobs across the state, and generated over $10 billion in output and $2.5 billion in personal income in 2012.