Freudenberg Medical to Open Second Production Facility in Costa Rica

Freudenberg Medical, a global contract design and manufacturing company for the medical device and biopharma industries, recently announced it is establishing a second manufacturing site in Costa Rica — a reported $25 million investment to expand technologies and deliver increasingly complex products to customers.

The company established its first production facility in Costa Rica 12 years ago, consisting of 30,000 square feet. The new facility will be in close proximity to its existing counterpart and dedicated to the assembly of high-volume minimally invasive catheters for electrophysiology, vascular, and structural heart therapies, as well as other medical devices that require high-precision manual assembly.

In its initial phase, which Freudenberg said will be operational in the beginning of 2025, the facility — reportedly designed to be an impairment-accessible two story’s — will cover 50,000 square feet and house three ISO 7 cleanrooms. Then, within three years of opening, an additional 50,000 square feet will be added. This, according to the company, will quadruple its total footprint in the country.

After its opening in 2025, the 30,000 square foot existing facility will become a specialized site for primary processing technologies including molding and extrusion of thermoplastics for medical applications. Assembly operations will be moved to the new facility.

“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, 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 lifecycle — including cost-effective manufacturing capabilities on a large scale.”

On top of heightening Freudenberg’s ability to deliver increasingly complex products, the new facility will also increase the number of company employees from 300 to over 900.

“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 and general manager of Freudenberg in Costa Rica. “In the next three years we will triple the number of employees from the current 300 to over 900 team members.”