Medical extrusion and component maker Zeus Co. Inc. announced April 13 that it's opening a catheter manufacturing facility in Arden Hills, Minn., as part of a geographic expansion.
The Orangeburg, S.C.-based company, which makes precision polymer extrusions and custom tubing, has been expanding in catheter markets. The Minnesota plant is opening two years after Zeus bought a San Jose, Calif.-based catheter maker, CathX Medical Inc.
"The Minnesota facility is an important step in our geographic expansion for several reasons," said Steve Peterson, president and CEO of Zeus.
"The state has a long track record in medical device innovation and locating closer to customers will support deeper collaboration across early-stage catheter design and development," he said. "Furthermore, this facility allows us to scale catheter manufacturing significantly to meet growing global customer and market demand."
The new site is scheduled to open in the summer. It's a 75,600-square-foot plant with an advanced 2,000-square-foot research and development lab. It will also have a 3,700-square-foot clean room to design and develop new catheter prototypes.
The company said it will be dedicating a 2,100-square-foot space in the facility to on-site melt extrusion capability and will have a 1,100-square-foot area for braiding and coiling, as well as a 1,500-square-foot lab for advanced laser cutting, ablation and welding of metals and polymers.
"This facility opens the door to expanding our end-to-end catheter design and manufacturing capabilities, all under one roof," said Suresh Sainath, general manager for the catheter solutions division. "It also represents a building block for future strategic collaboration between our catheter and polymer customers, enabling industry-defining catheter innovation going forward."
Zeus worked with the city of Arden Hills and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as part of the Minnesota Job Creation Fund. The new facility is expected to create more than 100 jobs.
The company said the plant location is based on the proximity to current customers and the access to transportation.
The Minnesota facility is a part of the company's larger growth in catheter markets. It expanded its San Jose plant in mid-2022, extending the footprint by 32,000 square feet and adding 7,000 square feet of clean room manufacturing.
It said the Minnesota site marks phase two of its expansion.
Zeus employs 2,200 worldwide, with facilities in Aiken, Columbia, Gaston, Orangeburg and St. Matthews, S.C.; Branchburg, N.J.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; San Jose, Calif.; Guangzhou, China; and Letterkenny, Ireland.