Heredia, Costa Rica. January 30, 2020. The worldwide leader in the development, manufacture, and sale of innovative medical devices used in infusion therapy and critical care applications, ICU Medical, Inc., announced a US$13,2 million investment at its Costa Rica manufacturing facility. The operations were visited by the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, and other national dignitaries marking the company’s 20th anniversary in the country.
The investment, which will include a new infusion pump manufacturing line and a state-of-the-art sterilization plant, is expected to add 100 new jobs to the company’s current 2,300 employee base in Costa Rica. Also, the $1,2 million investment in 4,054 solar panels will allow ICU Medical to generate 6% of the company’s monthly energy consumption. The 1.6 electric megawatts generated by the panels will be equivalent to the power consumed by approximately 770 homes in Costa Rica. It will be the largest rooftop solar panel project in the country.
Over the past 20 years, the company invested more than US$200 million in the plant to improve operations.
"The permanence of this type of companies and new investment decisions confirm that the country has favorable competitiveness conditions for investing. These 20 years of experience in Costa Rica gives proof of the human capital quality and great potential and leadership we have as a country in the medical device industry," emphasized President Alvarado.
During his visit, President Quesada, along with Dyalá Jiménez, Minister of Foreign Trade, and Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE ), recognized ICU Medical as one of the pioneering companies in Costa Rica’s medical sector.
The team at ICU Medical’s Costa Rica plant manufactures the award-winning Plum 360, and LifeCare PCA infusion pumps in addition to more than 800 types of intravenous sets. The company also maintains an integrated corporate shared services center that supports operations in Latin America and Europe with research and development, purchasing, quality, technical support, calibrations, occupational health, safety, finance, human resources, and information technology services.
The Minister of Foreign Trade, Dyalá Jiménez, said: “During the last five years, medical devices have become one of our main export products, positioning us as regional leaders in terms of quality, efficiency, experience, and product innovation. This result has been able to attract and make viable investments from leading companies in these production processes. ICU Medical, with over 20 years in the country, has ranked internationally as a leader in medical device design, manufacture, and distribution. We are proud of Costa Rica’s strategic position, and of working together. We, at the Central Government, celebrate this news, and wish the company success.”
“It is with great pride that we celebrate the 20th anniversary of ICU Medical’s Costa Rica operations. Our Costa Rica site has grown into a global center of excellence for our market-leading Infusion Systems business and is emerging as an important location for shared services,’’ said Christian Voigtlander, Chief Operating Officer of ICU Medical. “We are grateful for the support of the government and of CINDE, and our close working relationship. Looking ahead, we intend to drive further investment and growth in Costa Rica in close alignment with ICU’s overall growth as a company, " he added.
Pioneers of the medical industry in Costa Rica
Over the past 20 years, ICU Medical has grown from 840 employees, two clean rooms, and five final production lines to more than 2,300 employees, ten clean rooms, and 13 final assembly lines. Also, the plant now boasts 63 molding presses and more than 100 high-volume automated pieces of equipment, making it the most complex Life Sciences operation in Costa Rica, manufacturing between 60 and 80 thousand smart infusion pumps and more than 90 million intravenous sets.
“ICU Medical Costa Rica is a vertically integrated facility that manufactures most of the components required to produce intravenous sets and infusion pumps. We use state-of-the-art equipment and specialized automated subassembly processes that include laser, ultraviolet, and ultrasonic welding technologies,” explains Isaías González, Site Director at ICU Medical’s plant in Costa Rica. “We are proud of our world-class efficiency levels and an occupational safety record that is ten times better than the global industry standard.
CINDE’s Managing Director, Jorge Sequeira Picado, said: “ICU Medical demonstrates Costa Rica’s capacity to integrate a company’s whole supply chain, which strengthens a dynamic sector whose exports have increased, in the last ten years, 14% annually. By the end of 2019, this sector already had sales abroad for US$3,700 billion. We congratulate ICU on its 20 anniversary and hope its footprint continues expanding in years to come.”
About ICU Medical
ICU Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICUI) is one of the world's leading pure-play infusion therapy companies with global operations and a wide-ranging product portfolio that includes IV solutions, IV smart pumps, dedicated and non-dedicated IV sets, and needle-free connectors, along with pain management and safety software technology designed to help meet clinical, safety and workflow goals. Also, the company manufactures automated pharmacy IV compounding systems with workflow technology, closed system transfer devices for hazardous IV drugs and cardiac monitoring systems to optimize patient fluid levels. ICU Medical is headquartered in San Clemente, Calif. On Feb. 3, 2017, ICU Medical completed the acquisition of the Hospira Infusion Systems business from Pfizer. More information about ICU Medical, Inc. can be found at
www.icumed.com.
Media Contact:
CINDE
Carlos Morales
(506) 2201-2830
cmorales@cinde.org
