EMPI
Twelve years after Empi moved the manufacturing portion of its business to Clear Lake, South Dakota, the thriving company now employs nearly 16 percent of the town’s population.
Empi is a St. Paul, Minn.-based company that specializes in producing four main categories of non-invasive medical products for physical rehabilitation: orthotics (devices which support or correct the function of a limb), electrotherapy, iontophoretic drug delivery, and incontinence treatment.
Empi got its start in 1977 when its founder, Don Maurer, felt there was a need for electrotherapy pain relief. The move to South Dakota came about because Maurer was originally from South Dakota and felt a need to give back to the area he grew up in. Also, workers compensation and costs associated with setting up operations were significantly more expensive in the Minneapolis area, so savings was part of the decision as well.
“The machines that manufacture our TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) devices are built in-house so they truly are the only ones of their kind anywhere in the world. We’re continually automating our production lines to increase our productivity and capacity,” said Marlin Bjerke, director of manufacturing
Products are sold either directly to customers, or through a contract the company has with 30,000 hospitals and clinics across the country. Patients can either purchase or rent products through their hospital or clinic, depending on what their needs are.
Five percent of Empi is international business. There are also facilities in Minnesota (corporate headquarters), Tennessee (distribution), Kentucky, Indianapolis, California and Tijuana, Mexico.
PhotoBioMed
PhotoBioMed is proof that in South Dakota, we mean business when it comes to biotechnology. The researchers at PhotoBioMed are working to perfect a platform technology with such diverse applications such as surgical adhesives providing sutureless tissue repair to targeted drug delivery.
“The technology we are developing here at PhotoBioMed would never be where it is today without the help of so many South Dakota institutions and individuals. From Avera McKennan, to both USD and SDSU, all the way up to the Governor and his office staff, we have received a tremendous amount of support and guidance. As we have faced various challenges, we have always been able to get the help we need,” said Dr. Kaia Kloster, Director of Life Sciences at PhotoBioMed.
“Through our university and healthcare affiliations, and now in our new home at the South Dakota Technology Business Center, we have had access to all of the necessary infrastructure to conduct state-of-the-art research. When colleagues or industry representatives from out of state visit us, they are always surprised by the facilities we have available to us and the quality of research being conducted. They can’t believe this sort of research activity is going on in South Dakota,” Kloster added.
PhotoBioMed Director of Physical Sciences, Ron Utecht, Ph.D., noted that South Dakota is making an asserted effort to catch up with the traditional medical technology hot spots. “South Dakota does things on par with the rest of the country. While our research base is small in South Dakota, we more than make up for it in quality,” said Utecht.
“Medical research needs a clinical champion. In Sioux Falls, we have had access to some of the country’s leading doctors, like ophthalmologist Dr. Vance Thompson, who really bring a lot of clinical insights and can help us understand the needs of the market,” added Utecht.
“As scientists from an academic tradition with an eye towards entrepreneurship, the supportive business environment makes South Dakota an excellent location to grow our fledgling business,” he concluded.
