Q&A with Mark Paul, President, Neurovascular Division at Stryker.

HOW IS STRYKER CHANGING STROKE CARE?

Annually, 795,000 strokes occur in the United States; that equates to one stroke every forty seconds. Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the United States and the fifth leading cause of death; and Stryker's Neurovascular division has made it their mission to develop the worlds leading technologies in the fight against this catastrophic disease.

In 2017, Stryker announced that it would be making another significant investment through its mission to make healthcare better with an expansion in Salt Lake City; opening a 137,000-square-foot facility to manufacture its stroke care products and provide a world-class neurotechnology training facility for physicians.

WHY DID STRYKER DECIDE TO EXPAND MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS IN UTAH?

Stryker has been operating in the Salt Lake City area since 2011, which allowed us to realize the many benefits Utah offers the life sciences industry. First and foremost, Utah has a highly talented workforce; with eight universities in the immediate area providing a strong and steady pool for future recruitment of talent.

Secondly, it is a major airline hub, Salt Lake City has become the gateway to the West, allowing physicians from around the globe easy in-and-out access to our state-of-the-art training facility.

In addition, both West coast sterilization companies are located in Salt Lake City. Aligning the location of our manufacturing facilities allows us to take advantage of shortened transit times for our products; ultimately reducing our manufacturing timelines to bring products to market more quickly.

Finally, the lower costs of real estate provide our team the flexibility for greater expansion opportunities in the future.

WHY DOES UTAH HAVE AN AMAZING WORKFORCE FOR THE MEDICAL DEVICE INDUSTRY?

We are seeing the university system prepare and develop the types of individuals we want to hire; results driven, passionate and...