CINDE announces: Breast Implant Manufacturer Invests USD$35M to Expand its Global Operation

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Establishment Labs started operations in 2009 as a small enterprise of only six employees, in a garage in Pavas, San Jose. Seven years later, the company strengthens its services by investing USD$35M in the expansion of its global operation, of which USD$16.5M will go to its new mammary implant manufacturing plant in Costa Rica.

The consolidation of Establishment Labs' global operations, which involves US capital funds from Crown Predator Holdings, JW Asset Management and Percepetive Advisors, includes the increase of working capital for business expansion and development of new products as well as clinical and scientific studies.

The high-tech plant - located in the Coyol Free Zone in Alajuela, that includes a research and development laboratory - will design, manufacture and export breast Motiva Implants® to more than 60 countries worldwide. In addition, the company began commercialization of its 3D simulation system called Divina last September, which was designed in conjunction with Costa Rican companies, including the research and development group of Intel Costa Rica.

"In 2014, I was able to visit the Establishment Labs facilities and see some of their outstanding work. Today, in hands of Costa Rican talent, the company markets and manufactures high quality medical devices to important markets around the world. The growth of Establishment Labs demonstrates the great capacity and skills of our people and is an incentive for other national companies to seek insertion and link with this sector. We are very pleased with this news. From the Government we will continue to strengthen the actions that drive the development of this type of companies, as we do with a stable and growing economy and boosting employment generation," said Luis Guillermo Solís, President of Costa Rica.

Establishment Labs has stood out for its innovative work in the implants design and manufacture with state-of-the-art technology. Motiva Implants uses integrated RFID microchips to ensure the device´s security and access to the product´s traceability information, linked to an application on patients' mobile devices.

Furthermore, its new device Divine, uses Real Sense technology - developed by the manufacturer of INTEL microprocessors - to create a digital model of the human body. Through this 3D system, the patient can visualize in real time the possible post-surgical results, thanks to advanced simulation algorithms developed in Costa Rica.

"Establishment Labs is a company committed to the innovation, safety and quality of its products. We are demonstrating this with a new high-tech plant that is carbon neutral and auto-supplies 80% of the energy it consumes through alternative sources such as solar panels. In addition, it meets the highest international standards of green design, representing this way the values that have made Costa Rica great at a global level," said Juan Jose Chacon Quiros, founder and CEO of Establishment Labs.

Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade, said: "The life sciences sector represents a pillar in the Costa Rican economy, as well as a key element in our diversification and consolidation process in global markets. As a Government, we have worked hard to develop and maintain the right conditions and human talent required by international caliber companies to operate successfully. Likewise, we have strived to position ourselves as an economy focused in activities of higher value added activities, which require high levels of research, development and innovation. That is why we are pleased with this announcement, which is very important for us not only because of the magnitude of the expansion of such a sophisticated operation, but because it has generated linkages with other Costa Rican companies. Almost three-quarters of Establishment Labs' demand in manufacturing activity is delivered by domestic suppliers. We congratulate the company for this inauguration and we assure that the government will continue efforts to offer them a competitive environment. "

Establishment Labs' new facilities will enable the company to produce up to 500,000 implants annually and consolidate the firm's operations in new markets such as Brazil, Russia, South Korea and Australia. In addition, the Costa Rican company aims to expand its presence in the United States by 2020, following the start - scheduled by 2017 - of the FDA-required clinical trials.

The company's growth process has allowed the creation of 200 new jobs in 2016, in areas such as production, quality control, logistics, engineering and process quality technicians, industrial engineers and personnel linked to the global marketing of brand. The company's projection is to hire 100 more people in the next 18 months, which will add to the 295 already existing in Costa Rica, plus another 35 employees located in its offices in Belgium, Brazil and California.

Additionally, Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of CINDE, said "Medical devices manufacture of has had a great impact on the generation of employment and economic growth of the country. Costa Rica is now home to about 70 companies in the Life Sciences sector, which have positioned medical devices as the country's main industrial export and generating employment for more than 19,000 Costa Ricans."

About Establishment Labs
Establishment Labs is a global, privately held, breast implant and medical technology company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets an innovative product portfolio consisting of advanced silicone-filled breast and body shaping implants (http://www.motivaimplants.com). Utilizing only the highest quality of medical grade silicones, CE-marked Motiva Implants® are rigorously scrutinized by professional Quality Engineers throughout the entire manufacturing process. All of its products are manufactured in full compliance with ISO and EU requirements, and are certified under the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC.

SOURCE Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency

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http://www.cinde.org