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.
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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.

“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.

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.