U.S. medical supplies firm opens $8 million facility in Costa Rica

MicroVention, a U.S. subsidiary of Japanese Terumo Corporation, on Wednesday opened a new manufacturing facility in Costa Rica, the first outside the United States.

The plant is the first neurovascular manufacturing facility in Costa Rica, and is located at the Coyol Free Zone in the province of Alajuela. At a cost of $8 million, it will operate as an extension of MicroVention’s facilities in Tustin, California.

In its first stage the firm hired 150 employees, but the company plans to create 500 jobs in the next two years.

“This is the first company specializing in the neurovascular segment, and we are excited to welcome MicroVention to Alajuela province,” said Gabriela Llobet, general director of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), at an opening ceremony also attended by Costa Rican Vice President Luis Liberman and Science and Technology Minister Alejandro Cruz.

According to CINDE, more than 15,000 people currently work in the Life Sciences Sector in Costa Rica, with 51 medical device companies producing orthopedic, cardiovascular, women’s health devices, and other medical supplies.