The Weinheim, Germany-headquartered, Freudenberg Medical, a global contract design and manufacturing (CDMO) partner to the medical device and biopharma industry announced it is to establish a second manufacturing site in the Coyol Free Zone, in Alajuela Province.

With this $25 million investment, the company is expanding its technologies to deliver increasingly complex products to its global customer base.

“We are proud to be one of the first global CDMO partners in Costa Rica, having established our first production facility here more than 12 years ago,” said Dr. Mark Ostwald, CEO of Freudenberg Medical during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility. “This expansion strengthens our strategy of being close to our customers and offering them efficient solutions along the entire device life-cycle, including cost-effective manufacturing capabilities on a large scale.”

Freudenberg Medical’s new facility will become operational at the beginning of 2025. It will be dedicated to the assembly of high-volume minimally invasive catheters for electrophysiology, vascular and structural heart therapies and other medical devices that require high-precision manual assembly.

In the first phase, the new facility will cover 50,000 square feet and house three clean rooms. Within 3 years of opening, a further 50,000 square feet will be added, quadrupling Freudenberg Medical’s total footprint in Costa Rica.

The new facility will be near the company’s existing 30,000 square feet manufacturing facility in the same free zone. During 2025, the existing facility will become Freudenberg Medical’s specialized site for primary processing technologies including molding and extrusion of thermoplastics for medical applications while assembly operations will be moved to the new facility.

“The investment in this new site underlines Freudenberg Medical’s confidence in Costa Rica as an integral part of our global growth strategy,” said Róger Gómez, VP/General Manager of Freudenberg Medica. “In the next three years, we will triple the number of employees from the current 300 to over 900 team members. Committed to diversity and inclusion, we offer equal opportunities to all.” 

The two-story building will be barrier-free to meet the needs of people with impairments.

According to the firm, the new facility will be built to the highest environmental and energy efficiency standards. A company-owned solar power plant will generate the energy needed to operate the site. 

In 2022, the Freudenberg Group employed over 51,000 people in around 60 countries worldwide and generated more than $12 billion in sales. The firm is actively hiring in Costa Rica for the departments of Science & Engineering, Sales, Corporate Functions, Production & Maintenance, IT and Supply Chain.  Those interested in applying for a job vacancy should visit the firm careers website.

Freudenberg is one of many international firms hiring in Costa Rica. This week, the California, USA-headquartered Intel announced the growth of its operations in the country.

Costa Rica's unemployment remains at 7.3%, according to the National Employment Survey. Data recorded from Oct. to Dec. 2023 shows more than 164,000 people without registered jobs. Of these, 95,000 are men, making up 58% of the unemployed people in the country.

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