A Medical Device Daily

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joined executives from orthopedics giant Zimmer Holdings (Warsaw, Indiana) late last week to announce the company's plan to expand its manufacturing and distribution facilities in Warsaw, creating more than 140 new jobs.

The $66 million project will add 120,000 square feet to an existing Zimmer manufacturing facility and 100,000 square feet to the company's distribution center.

"We're enormously proud of Zimmer and that Indiana has earned the opportunity to host this latest expansion of their world-class business," said Daniels.

The company said the expansion comes as demand for the company's orthopedic products continues to grow with more than 40,000 products shipped daily from the company's 250,000 square-foot distribution center.

"We are pleased that the State of Indiana is supportive of our efforts to meet growing worldwide demand for our products by enhancing our capabilities here in Warsaw," said David Dvorak, Zimmer's new president/CEO, set to replace Ray Elliot at those positions (Medical Device Daily, May 2, 2007). "We have other manufacturing and distribution sites around the world, but our largest concentration of facilities is here in Warsaw — with these expansions we will have more than 1.5 million square feet under roof. The state incentives announced today helped us with our decision to go forward here in Indiana."

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Zimmer up to $1.9 million in tax credits to encourage the expansion in Indiana. It is the third in three years for the 80-year-old company.

In late 2005, Zimmer reported plans to expand its global R&D center, adding 275 high-tech jobs and nearly 100,000 square feet of laboratory space to the company's Warsaw West campus. In 2004, the company reported a $64 million project to expand its manufacturing and distribution centers there.