Ottobock North America, Minneapolis, Minnesota, announced that after 55 years in the state, it is relocating its regional headquarters to Austin, Texas. The company also announced that its fabrication and service facility in Plymouth, Minnesota, will be relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah, where it currently has a manufacturing facility, and its warehouse and logistics facility will move to Louisville, Kentucky. With the move to Utah, Ottobock will increase its current workforce there by 80 employees and receive a tax credit of about $400,000 as incentive for the move.
Karen Lundquist, Ottobock’s North American director of communications told Minneapolis’ Channel 12 news that moving the fabrication and services operations to Utah will help the company become more efficient by having the fabrication and manufacturing divisions in the same location, “so the people who create the products are also able to see how people are using the products.” She said the addition of these functions should be in place by June or July of this year.
“Our first priority is the well-being of our employees, and plans are in place to help them through the disruption that inevitably occurs during any corporate move,” Lundquist said. “We are also committed to continuing to provide our customers with the high level of service they have come to know and depend upon.
“Ottobock is honored to have been part of Minnesota’s medical device community,” she continued. “We are proud of this history, and our success stems from the diligent work of our employees who impact lives around the world. As Ottobock looked to the future, we sought locations that will help us to best serve our customers in the decades to come. Regional expertise and an environment where our employees and the organization could flourish were our top considerations, as is our continuing commitment to improving patient outcomes and supporting clinical excellence.”