PERRY FUND TO HELP COMPANY SET UP IN PEARLAND The Facts : October 06, 2009 Perry fund to help company set up in Pearland By John Tompkins The Facts Published October 06, 2009 PEARLAND — A Minnesota medical manufacturer hopes to plant roots in a warmer climate and increase its line of equipment that uses catheters to clean out arteries. Pearland officials hope the move by Cardiovascular Systems Inc. will create 100 jobs in the near future and 250 jobs over the next few years. The company’s presence in the area hopefully will generate about $23 million in capital investment, according to a release from Gov. Rick Perry’s office. “They’re a great company and they are growing fast,” said Fred Welch, executive director for Pearland Economic Development Corp. Perry’s office announced Monday that $600,000 from the Texas Enterprise Fund will be given to Cardiovascular Systems to open the manufacturing facility south of Beltway 8 and west of Highway 288. The Pearland EDC owned the land and built a $7.5 million facility that will house the company, Welch said. “This investment in CSI will bring more jobs to Texans in the Pearland area and expand our state’s already thriving medical technology sector,” Perry states in the news release. Officials with Cardiovascular Systems could not be reached for comment Monday. “The funding from the Texas Enterprise Fund and the city of Pearland allows us to expand more quickly into a second manufacturing facility, addressing these strategies,” company Executive Vice President Robert Thatcher states in the release. The Texas Enterprise Fund provides money to companies looking to open in Texas, according to the governor’s Web site. The fund is described as a “deal-closing” tool on its Web site. The company will have a 10-year, $5 million lease with the Pearland Economic Development Corp. for its building on the 14-acre site, and officials hope the company moves in during the first quarter of 2010. The building can be expanded to 130,000 square feet, Welch said. The facility will be used to produce the company’s Diamondback 360 system. The device is placed inside a person’s arteries to break up plaque deposits. Welch said the device has been used in more than 15,000 patients at more than 600 hospitals since 2007. The device is intended only for arteries below the waist. “Hopefully it will prevent things like amputations,” he said. The company has a pending application before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use the system in upper extremities, Welch said. The Pearland location works well for Cardiovascular Systems Inc. because there are a lot of local workers trained in medical technology, City Manager Bill Eisen said. The company also might find a lot of willing customers since the facility is just a few miles south of the Texas Medical Center. “That’s one of the things that attracted them to this area,” Eisen said. John Tompkins is senior reporter for The Facts. Contact him at 979-849-8581. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2009 The Facts