Oberg Medical Expands Costa Rica Operations

Oberg Medical, a full-service medical device contract manufacturer providing implants, instruments, and complex assemblies, recently announced plans for the expansion of its Costa Rica manufacturing operation.

Company officials said the move was to better serve the expanding device market in Central America and provide “cost optimization solutions” for U.S. OEMs.

“We have been a manufacturer in Costa Rica since 2001 and have seen firsthand the growth of the medical device sector in country. As more of our OEM partners look to Central and South America for growth opportunities, we are expanding our presence in the country to provide them cost-effective manufacturing solutions,” said David Bonvenuto, executive vice president and general manager of Oberg Medical.

The company has more than 100 employees in Costa Rica today and officials noted that trade school programs have been used to attract talented employees. In addition, good relationships with investment, government and in-country supply chain partners for materials and services have given the company “the confidence” to expand Costa Rica operations, Bonvenuto added.

Oberg will expand from 24,000 square feet to more than 50,000 square feet within its current home, the Metro Park located just outside of San Jose. The larger facility will support the firm’s growing precision implant and instrument manufacturing, with added capacity in the milling, wire EDM, turning, quality inspection, and related secondary operations areas. The expansion is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012.

The growth in Costa Rica comes on the heels of more than $5 million of capital investment into its United States-based medical business over the past year along with an additional $2 million of capital investment in Costa Rica. The U.S. investment included the completion of its facility-wide process validation initiative and the addition of approximately 15 CNC milling machines, EDMs, and lathes.

“As a manufacturing partner in the medical device market, we have made a significant commitment to expanding our manufacturing capacity and production footprints both in the U.S. and Costa Rica,” said Shawn Schafer, vice president of Sales and Market Development for Oberg Medical. “We believe our commitment to both the U.S./North American market as well as to the Central/South American market provides OEMs the ability to better integrate and optimize their supply chain and product costs in these respective markets,” Schafer added.

The company’s U.S. operations are located in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa.