Merit Medical announces plans to grow by 2,400 jobs in next 15 years

A longtime pillar of Utah’s medical device industry will grow by 2,400 jobs over the next 15 years as it expands its headquarters operations.

Fred P. Lampropoulos, chairman and CEO of Merit Medical Systems Inc., based in South Jordan, announced the growth plan last week during a meeting of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.

The board incentivized some of the growth, approving a tax credit of up to nearly $17.9 million over 15 years that is tied to the creation of up to 1,010 jobs paying an average of $92,000 a year.

The capital investment for the project is estimated at $505 million.

Founded in 1987, Merit Medical develops, manufactures and distributes disposable medical devices used in intervention, diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures. It has about 5,600 employees worldwide and has manufacturing and research and development facilities in seven countries.

Lampropoulos told the GOED board that the headquarters expansion will results in the hiring of many accountants, lawyers and engineers. “And I think the most important part, and the part that I’m most excited about, is that we get to hire our kids — the biomedical engineers, the mechanical engineers, the electrical engineers — and we can’t find enough of them. So I think this helps us present a place where kids can come home,” he said.

“Every week, I get, I don’t know, five to 10 letters from engineers and people who were educated in the state who want to come back home, [and are] looking for a job that they haven’t been able to find in the past.”

Young people in Utah are “extraordinarily bright,” he said. “Your kids, your grandkids, are extraordinarily bright and they’re being well-trained at our universities, and we have a place for them.”

The expansion is expected to result in new wages of about $983.7 million over 15 years and new state tax revenues of nearly $71.5 million during that time.

“This is a very competitive project,” Thomas Wadsworth, GOED’s business development and corporate incentives manager, said before the incentive vote. “As we all know, this is a publicly traded company. Fred needs to do what’s in the best interest of his shareholders. They have existing operations all over the world with additional capacity, so we’re extremely lucky to have the opportunity to keep this here in Utah.”

“That’s why this is such a really great incentive,” said Mel Lavitt, chairman of the GOED board’s incentives committee. “We’re helping a local company that keeps expanding. It started with an idea and has become a major company in medical tech. This is really one of the things that we should be the proudest of: helping the company expand and stay in Utah, as opposed to ‘Good-bye! See you later!’”

“Merit is a homegrown company that has responsible growth, great tech and demonstrated success,” Val Hale, GOED executive director, said in a prepared statement. “This internationally known company is saving lives, and we could not be more proud to have them call Utah home.”

“Utah-grown Merit Medical just keeps growing,” said Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “We can’t wait to see the company go after its ambitious goals and solidify its leadership in the medtech space.”