Two more medical companies to invest millions in Costa Rica

The country’s medical device sector already hosts 40 companies and employs more than 11,000 workers.

Medical supply business BeamOne on Wednesday morning announced plans for a $10 million investment in the country. The company will build a new plant to expand its existing operation in the Coyol business park in Alajuela, northwest of San José, according to a press release from the electron beam sterilization service provider.

Construction will begin on the new plant in the upcoming weeks. The company plans to double its production capacity in Costa Rica. It began operations in the country in February 2009.

The center is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2012.

The news comes on the heels of another large investment by a medical device company. On Tuesday, GW Plastics announced it will open a plant at the beginning of 2012 in Cartago, east of San José, where it will manufacture plastic products for the medical industry. The operation will create more than 200 jobs.

“We are committed to meeting the global outsourcing needs of our health care customers,” said Brenan Riehl, president and CEO of the Bethel, Vermont, company, in a press release. “A manufacturing location in Costa Rica will allow us to more efficiently support our customers in Latin America.”

According to the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), approximately 11,000 people work in the medical device sector at 40 companies, including Baxter St. Jude Medical and Boston Scientific.