Olympus grand opening signals new job creation
Minnesota's medical device industry is growing with the addition of the Olympus Surgical Innovation Center in Brooklyn Park. It's a company expansion that signals job growth for the northwest metro.
At a grand opening celebration in Brooklyn Park that included local and state dignitaries as well as the Olympus Corp. president from Tokyo, taiko drums and a 300-year-old traditional Japanese ceremony called Kigami Biraki were used to herald the arrival of the global technology company.
"We believe medical technology is one of the great strengths of our present and future economy," said Governor Mark Dayton. "Fortunate we are, given your other choices of location that you chose Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and we're deeply, deeply grateful to you for doing so."
Headquartered in Japan and with 36,000 employees worldwide, Olympus is a group of companies in the fields of medical and surgical products, life science imaging systems, and camera and audio products.
The grand opening of the 180,000-square-foot Olympus Surgical Innovation Center in Brooklyn Park will be a hub for minimally invasive surgical device manufacturing and also research and development.
"Currently we have about 280 people, and we plan to have close to 400 people in the next two to three years," said Scott M. Larson, Olympus vice president of surgical business center and plant manager in Brooklyn Park.
Olympus Corp. President Hiroyuki Sasa, hinted the location in Brooklyn Park positions the company for growth and further expansion with its proximity to other health care and medical technology giants in Minnesota and a talented workforce.
"This center will become the model for how we work together with customers and other stakeholders to deliver innovative solutions to the global health care market," said Sasa.
The Olympus move and expansion to Brooklyn Park means the creation of more than a 100 good-paying jobs, a fact not lost on Brooklyn Park Mayor Jeff Lunde and the city staff that worked hard to recruit the company.
"Brooklyn Park isn't just here for today, we're here tomorrow, five years from now, ten years from now," said Lunde. "We're going to work to make sure that you have people who want to work here."
The $37 million Brooklyn Park facility marks an expansion and consolidation from buildings in Maple Grove where Olympus had been operating its surgical technology business since 2001.
Alexandra Renslo reporting
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