BUFORD, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Theragenics Corporation®, a leading medical device company serving the surgical products and prostate cancer treatment markets, today announced that it has leased a manufacturing facility in San Jose, Costa Rica. The facility, located in Coyol Park, will primarily manufacture components utilized in the Company’s vascular access product line. Theragenics Costa Rica Limitada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Theragenics Corporation, will operate the facility. The 17,200 sq. ft. (1600 sq. m.) facility, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2014, will allow the Company to support growth and provide customers with a broader value line of products.
Bernal Rodriguez has been hired as the Plant Manager of Theragenics Costa Rica, Limitada. Bernal brings over 20 years of expertise in manufacturing and was most recently the Plant Manager of Microvention’s plant in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Company expects to hire up to 50 new employees over the next several months as it ramps up operations.
“The opening of our facility in Costa Rica expands our footprint and provides us with manufacturing capabilities we did not previously have,” stated Frank J. Tarallo, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “This will allow us to be closer to our vascular access customers. Costa Rica is a country that understands and supports the medical device industry, and our facility there will deliver the same quality, dedication and service that have been our foundation for years.”
Mr. Tarallo continued, “As we previously announced, we have refined our plans for moving certain portions of our Galt Medical operations offshore. These revisions result in maintaining a greater presence in the current Galt facility to better support our customers.”
Commenting on the hiring of Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Tarallo stated, “We are very pleased that Bernal Rodriguez has joined us to lead our manufacturing operations in Costa Rica. Bernal is a seasoned medical device professional who has led the startup and operations for several plants in Costa Rica.”
Theragenics Corporation operates two business segments: its surgical products business and its brachytherapy seed business. The surgical products business (www.cpmedical.com, www.galtmedical.com, www.needletech.com) manufactures and distributes wound closure, vascular access, and specialty needle products. Wound closure products include sutures, needles and other surgical products. Vascular access includes introducers, guidewires and related products. Specialty needles include coaxial, biopsy, spinal and disposable veress needles, access trocars, radiofrequency devices, implanters, introducer products, and other needle-based products. The surgical products segment serves a number of markets and applications, including, among other areas, interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, orthopedics, plastic surgery, dental surgery, urology, veterinary medicine, pain management, endoscopy, and spinal surgery. Theragenics’ brachytherapy business manufactures, custom loads, markets and distributes “seeds” used primarily in the minimally invasive treatment of localized prostate cancer. The Company’s brachytherapy product line (www.theragenicsbrachy.com) includes its palladium-103 TheraSeed® device and its iodine-125 AgX100® device. For additional information visit www.theragenics.com.
