Originally Published MPMN September 2007

NEED TO KNOW

U.S. Firm Builds E-Beam Sterilization Facility in Costa Rica

BeamOne LLC (San Diego; www.beam-one.com) plans to build an electron-beam sterilization facility in Costa Rica. Expected to open in early 2008, the facility will be located in the new Coyol Free Zone & Business Park now under construction in Alajuela, just outside the capital city of San José.

Upon completion, Coyol Park will encompass 268 acres of land including 25 acres of greenbelt and protected areas. The park is 100% Costa Rican owned, and the government projects that it will generate nearly 30,000 local jobs for the Costa Rican populace within 10 years. BeamOne is one of the first companies to sign on.

“We are impressed with the successful growth and commitment of the medical industry in Costa Rica, and the benefits of in-country sterilization services will be a substantial aid to continued growth,” says Ray Calhoun, president and CEO of BeamOne. “Manufacturers will now be able to deliver goods directly to the European and Asian markets without the cost and time required to ship to the United States for sterilization.”

“Access to [E-beam] sterilization in Costa Rica will reduce existing companies’ operational and production costs,” according to Marco Vinicio Ruiz, Costa Rica’s minister of foreign trade. “It will also strengthen the supplier base, since sterilization is the last step in the production process, and it will position the country even more favorably as a hub for medical companies.”

BeamOne’s electron-beam sterilization service was first commissioned in 1993 specifically for the needs of the medical device industry. The company’s technology incorporates control and product-handling features designed to provide optimal levels of dose assurance and process integrity.

The facility in Costa Rica will be the company’s fourth E-beam sterilization plant. The others are located in California, Colorado, and Ohio.

Copyright ©2007 Medical Product Manufacturing News