Zeus Expands Manufacturing Prowess to Keep Up with Growing Catheter Market

Huge demand for catheters is spurring Zeus, a polymer solutions provider, to open a new manufacturing facility in Arden Hills, MN.

The global catheter market was valued at $22.7 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $49.5 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2022 to 203, according to a report from Allied Market Research.

“I think what you’re seeing from a lot of big OEMs at this point is a desire to utilize outside vendors or outside manufacturers to be able to develop and in some cases manufacture catheters…primarily for speed,” Steve Peterson, president and CEO told MD+DI. “They have an idea, they know how to get it to market, they know what the operators, what the surgeons, doctors, whatever type of catheter is needs and they want to turn it around quickly.”

The Orangeburg, SC-based company said the facility is a 75,600 square feet facility which includes an advanced R&D lab and cleanroom equipped with the latest technologies to design, develop, and validate new catheter prototypes. The facility also brings additional capabilities in-house to Zeus, including laser cutting, ablation, and welding.

The grand opening will be sometime in September, Peterson said.

As well as proximity to current customers, the Arden Hills, MN, location was selected for its easy access to local transportation and amenities for the company's expanding workforce. Following an agreement with DEED as part of the Minnesota Job Creation Fund (JCF), this new facility is expected to create 100-plus new jobs in the coming years. Positions will include engineers, project managers, technicians, and product builders.

“We’ve had for a long time a strategy around being closer to our customers,” he said. “So, the [facility] enables us to be not only closer to them physically, but it also allows us to be closer to them when it comes to interaction and co-development. In today’s world, it’s simple to hop on a video call whether you’re on the same continent or halfway around the world, whether you’re on the same continent or half away the world, and talk through and collaborate on things. But as you’re building a design and working through product development, if you’re five minutes away in a car ride it’s also pretty simple to hop in a car go over and work on some of those pieces together.”

Peterson added, “Our view - and we’re going to continue this view as we grow our catheter manufacturing business and our contract manufacturing business is that we want to be where our customers are.”