Orthopedic industry booming in Warsaw (WNDU)
WARSAW, Ind. — While Northern Indiana is known as the RV Capital of the world, just an hour south of us, the orthopedic industry could give the RV industry a run for its money.
“The local companies here generate $17 billion in revenue annually,” Sheryl Conley, President & CEO of Orthoworx said. “It has $5 billion of impact to the state of Indiana on very many economic levels. It is critical to us. it is an industry that’s continuing to grow.”
For this growing industry, dozens of legislators came to Warsaw to hear about the economic boom it provides for the state.
“It’s increasingly known as the orthopedic implant capital of the world,” Chris Cerone, VP of Global Government Affairs for Zimmer Biomet said. “It’s a tremendous American success story. I have an opportunity to travel to other countries and one of the best things I do is talk about Warsaw and it’s importance to patients, health care and the importance to the economy of both Warsaw the region and the state and the US economy as well.”
While the industry is booming in Indiana and the country, it’s also big internationally and Warsaw is globally recognized as the hub of orthopedics devices.
“Having worked outside of the states, working in Ireland and having plants in china, the evolution is not as much as it is here,” Adrian Furey, VP of North America Operations for Zimmer Biomet said. “This is definitely where a lot of the core competencies are. It’s where their excellence is. I have no doubt there will be a fantastic future for orthopedics in Indiana.”
“From Warsaw to Ft. Wayne,” Conley said. “There are well over 10,000 jobs associated with this industry. This is the largest orthopedic medical device cluster in the world. Close to 50 percent of the total hips and knees are headquartered out of the companies here in this region. That’s a tremendous amount of impact worldwide.”
And to show the quality of the products made here in Warsaw, 29 year veteran orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Klaassen did a live knee replacement on a cadaver to show not just the speed of the surgery but how the products made in Warsaw can help change the quality of life for patients across the world.
“There is really none better in the world,” Dr. Klaassen said. “If you look, even though we may have some problems with our medical systems in terms of distribution, if you look at where people come to visit to see the best medical care in the world, they come to the United States. They come to watch surgery here. They come to watch the manufacturing here. They come to see the products here. I had five surgeons from Australia in my operating room on Monday. The quality of everybody else’s products is compared to what’s made here in Warsaw, Indiana.”
However, the success doesn’t come without challenges. The industry as a whole will need more employees; not a bad challenge to have. Ideas were floated out about getting into high schools and even middle schools in the state to inspire kids about the possibility of going into the industry of orthopedics. To those already in the industry, they feel it’s going to continue to be successful for years to come.
“We’re a part of an industry that is supported by incredible fundamentals, especially demographics,” Cerone said. “You have aging populations here and around the globe and they will continue to demand good, high quality products that will allow them to move freely and do what they do with their families and friends and their jobs.”