Over the decade that ended in 1999, employment at Twin Cities medical device manufacturers doubled to nearly 20,000 workers. Over the same period, the number of companies rose to 185 from 120. Without Medtronic , there would be no medical device cluster here. They employ 5,500 workers in the metropolitan area. Medtronic and three other Twin Cities companies account for more than half of the jobs in Minnesota's med-tech industry.
Experienced workers are an essential ingredient of a successful cluster.
John Erb, CEO at IntraTherapeutics, says nearly all of the company's 150 employees were hired locally, often from other med-tech companies. Erb says, the company would have faced significantly more recruiting and training expenses. The Minnesota Biomedical Business Network, MBBNet , initiative developed at the University of Minnesota, has lubricated international connections by forging close ties with a Swiss med-tech partnership, Zurich MedNet . Companies abroad have also been strengthening ties with medical device firms here.