COVER STORY

In order to appreciate Cook Medical's present successes, it's helpful to revisit the company's modest origins. In 1963, Bill and Gayle Cook, using only $1500, converted the spare bedroom of their Bloomington, IN, apartment into a medical device factory. They spent their days building and packaging guidewires, catheters, and needles designed to address the needs of radiologists.

The Cooks' big break occurred later that year at a radiology conference in Chicago, where Bill met Charles Dotter, MD, now considered the father of interventional radiology. Dotter was so impressed with the Cook products that he asked the cottage manufacturer to provide him with the devices that would make the doctor's visionary medical procedures a reality.

Forty-four years later, Cook Medical has grown to have 6000 employees worldwide. It stands as the world's largest privately held medical device manufacturer. Headquartered at a 1-million-sq-ft facility in Bloomington, Cook operates many facilities in the United States and around the world. Its eight distinct and active business units—aortic intervention, critical care, endoscopy, peripheral intervention, surgery, cardiology, urology, and women's health—all boast an array of minimally invasive products and therapies that follow from Cook's overarching mission of improving patient safety.

Despite Cook's enormous growth over the years, Bill and Gayle Cook have never lost sight of their early values, mission, and business culture. The Cooks continually ensure that their employees feel as though they work for a small, family-run business, even as the company continues to expand. Proud and grateful to be part of such a company, those employees are committed to perpetuating the Cook tradition.

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