Medical device makers with operations in Orange County added 1,560 employees over the 12 months ended July 30, for a growth rate of 8.1%, according to Business Journal research.
Four companies joined this year’s ranking of device makers, stretching it to 39 that combined to employ 20,826 people, up from 19,266 last year.
New entrants include No. 9, Biosense Webster, No. 30, Pro-Dex Inc., No. 31, Acclarent Inc., and No. 35, Mentor Worldwide LLC. We overlooked the growing surgical equipment maker, Pro-Dex, last year. As for the Johnson & Johnson companies, Acclarent and Mentor moved to Irvine in 2015, and Biosense in April.
n Edwards Lifesciences Corp. remains at the top of the list with 4,279 employees. It and the other top four companies—No. 2, Applied Medical Resources Corp., No. 3, B. Braun Medical Inc., and No. 4, Alcon Research Ltd.—increased their combined workforce by 1,244.
• No. 5, Beckman Coulter Inc. in Brea, fell one spot after cutting 100 employees to end the period with 1,000.
Edwards, an Irvine-based heart valve maker, increased local employment nearly 12% to 4,279.
Rancho Santa Margarita-based Applied, which makes minimally invasive surgical products, expanded its workforce by 335 to 2,797.
B. Braun and Alcon, both based in Irvine, added more than 200 employees, bringing their OC employment up to 1,631 and 1,100, respectively.
• Glaukos, a glaucoma-treatment device maker in San Clemente, showed the highest percentage growth of any ranked firm, up almost 44% to 168.
While its workforce expansion was slightly below the previous year’s 50% increase in employees, Chief Executive Tom Burns said growth is consistent with its office and manufacturing space expansion. It moved its headquarters from a 24,000-square-foot office in Laguna Hills to a 38,000-square-foot office in San Clemente and is also expanding outside of the U.S.
Glaukos plans to add workers in sales, marketing, manufacturing and administrative functions, Burns said.
Top Two
Edwards added 456 employees, most of them in research and development and manufacturing.
“The year-over-year increase in Orange County hires reflects our commitment to investing aggressively in research and development for structural heart disease and critical care technologies,” Corporate Vice President of Human Resources Christine McCauley said via email.
Edwards spent 16% of sales on research and development last year, significantly higher than the industry average, according to the company. McCauley said it will continue to hire additional talent in OC.
A company spokesperson added that Edwards plans “to hire as many as we did during the prior-year period.”
Applied added 335 employees at its OC campus, up nearly 14% over a year earlier. The vertically integrated company doesn’t outsource or offshore operations. It develops, manufactures and distributes its products.
Its European headquarters is based in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, where it now has manufacturing capabilities with the recent construction of an approximately 66,000-square-foot plant.
J&J Cluster
Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J. has assembled quite a network of companies in OC.
Biosense Webster, which makes devices used to diagnose and treat irregular heart beat; Acclarent, which makes devices for chronic sinusitis; breast implant maker Mentor; and No. 13, Johnson & Johnson Vision—totaled over 1,400 employees.
Johnson & Johnson Vision, the parent company’s new vision care platform comprised of its disposable contact lens division, and Santa Ana-based Abbott Medical Optics Inc., made no change to OC employee headcount.
• Interventional Spine Inc. in Irvine ranks No. 39 with seven employees, down 36% from 11 employees a year earlier. Chief Executive Walter Cuevas said the company is in the process of winding down operations following the sale of its technologies to Johnson & Johnson in December.
Interventional Spine, which makes minimally invasive surgery technologies for spine infusion, sold its assets to Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Synthes Products Inc. in Raynham, Mass. in January.
Movement
No. 8, Medtronic Heart Valves in Santa Ana, had 26.5% employment growth to 850. Workers were added in “manufacturing, R&D and support functions,” primarily in tissue engineering and manufacturing, according to a company spokesperson.
The local facility makes Medtronic surgical heart valves and designs and partially makes transcatheter heart valves.
The spokesperson said the company anticipates continued hiring next year.
• Irvine-based patient-monitoring device maker Masimo Corp. held its spot at No. 10. Masimo added 60 employees, growing nearly 10%.
• Other strong performers include No.16, Endologix Inc. in Irvine, which grew 28.6% to 450 workers; No. 30, Pro-Dex, which increased employees by 24.6% to 81; and R&D Medical Products Inc., No. 34 with 44 employees, up 15.8% from a year earlier.
Endologix, which develops and manufactures minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders, announced in May that there will be a delay in the schedule it previously gave to investors for its Gen2 Nellix Endovascular Aneurysm Sealing System in the U.S. It estimates commercialization around 2020 after meeting with the Food and Drug Administration. It’s hiring for regulatory affairs talent, according to a company job listing.
• Other companies that fell on the list include No. 28, Halyard Health, and No. 32, Freedom Innovations LLC, both in Irvine. Halyard Health laid off 11 employees and was down 11.6% to 84 employees. It makes products used in infection prevention, surgeries, respiratory health, digestive health, pain management and intravenous therapy. Freedom makes prosthetic feet and knees.
• Employment at No. 11, Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. in Tustin, was flat at 634 employees. It was acquired by Canon Inc. in Tokyo in December. It will make further integration updates available in January.
