Island manufacturing

SYNOVIS LIFE TECHNOLOGIES, INC., a medical-device manufacturer based in Minnesota, has commenced operations at a new facility in Puerto Rico.

The production facility occupies 22,000 square feet in Dorado, a town on the island's northern coast. Synovis will use the site to make complex microwire

Featuring a 7,600-square-foot Class-100,000 clean room and a manufacturing space comprising 3,000 square feet, the Puerto Rican facility houses 27 workers - a total that is expected to rise to 100 within two years.

Fariborz Boor Boor, president and COO of the company's interventional unit, characterized Synovis' foray into Puerto Rico as a "phased approach," and said the initial step was complete. "The Puerto Rico plant duplicates manufacturing capabilities while providing greatly needed additional capacity for the interventional business." Boor Boor noted that the addition of a Caribbean facility would not reduce the firm's domestic work force, as additional orders have warranted the demand. "We also expect our Puerto Rico plant to attract new business from U.S. manufacturers located there," he added.