A Medical Device Daily

Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, California) reported that it will close its Palo Alto operations by the end of 2008, relocating those functions, it said, “to other Beckman Coulter facilities or areas near by” but primarily to the Indianapolis area.

The greater Indianapolis area is home to other Beckman Coulter Discovery and Automation products. The majority of activities in Palo Alto are associated with development and manufacturing of centrifuges, a key product found in the company’s Discovery and Automation product area.

About 220 are employed in Palo Alto. The company did not specify the employment possibilities for these workers.

Pam Miller, senior VP of supply chain management, called the closing “difficult . . . because the people there have always done excellent work and we have a long history in the area. By relocating our operations to the Indianapolis area, we can work aggressively to manage our costs and maintain our leadership position in centrifugation, an important asset of the company. Also, we’re able to take a longer-term view of workforce planning.”

Among the factors the company cited for relocating the operations to the Indianapolis area were the ability to build on its presence in Indianapolis and the region’s “favorable local business environment” and lower total cost of operations; access to a local work force with strong skills in engineering and manufacturing; the state’s focus on life sciences and advanced manufacturing; and the area’s central location.

The company said the action will have no impact on its 2006 results and that information on its impact on ’07 results and beyond will be provided during its upcoming 4Q conference call.

Beckman Coulter manufactures biomedical testing instrument systems, reagents and supplies for laboratory processes.