A growing number of medical technology companies are flocking to Minnesota, causing a construction boom in the area — and some unique challenges for those developing work spaces for emerging firms, according to the Star Tribune.
“You can have a client that has a breakthrough, and very quickly needs to hire more people and has a need for more space,” Paula Anderson, a regional broker who specializes in working with startups, tells the paper. She says that offices with adjacent vacant space, such as a warehouse with a lease with first rights to expand, can be well suited to small firms on the rise.
One of Anderson’s clients is Micromedics, a St. Paul, MN, company that makes ear, nose and throat surgical products. The Tribune reports that the 70-person firm has more than doubled its space in the past three years and is already planning further expansion as revenues continue to climb.
In addition to needing to plan ahead for potential quick expansion, small firms must contend with the high expense of physical growth in this industry. Anderson tells the Tribune that requirements for sophisticated heating, cooling and air filtration systems make space for med tech companies considerably more expensive than other types of manufacturing space.
Other small firms taking part in Minnesota’s expansion trend include Minnetronix, a St. Paul company that makes cardiovascular and therapeutic devices, and point-of-care diagnostics; and Devicix, of Eden Prairie, MN, which makes biomedical instruments and software.