3. Medical Device CompaniesGerard Creaner
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Medical device companies develop medical devices and surgical instruments to diagnose, treat, or prevent various medical conditions. Examples of medical devices include pacemakers, artificial joints, ventilators, stents, tough depressors, etc.
The medical device manufacturing industry has again shown strong growth in the last few years with worldwide revenue now exceeding 407 Billion US Dollars and projected to continue to grow strongly fuelled by an ageing population and worldwide growth in consumer spending power.
Here is a list of the top 15 world’s largest medical device companies based on 2019 revenue.
Last Updated: May 2020
15. Zimmer Biomet (US)
2019 Revenue: $7.98 billion
Number of Employees: 18,200
Revenue per Employee: $438,000
Zimmer Biomet was founded in Warsaw, Indiana in 1927 and todayhas operations in over 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. They are one of the leading designers, developers, and manufacturers of orthopedicproducts, including knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, foot, and ankle artificial joints.
With a presence in Ireland since 2008, the company currently has facilities in both Shannon and Galway.
14. Essilor International (France)
2019 Revenue: $8.67 billion
Number of Employees: 69,000
Revenue per Employee: $125,000
Essilor is a French-based company that specializes in lens manufacture – they are the biggest producer of ophthalmic lenses in the world. The company was established in 1972 after the merging of two rival lens manufacturers. As well as manufacture, the company remains heavily invested in research and development.
13. Boston Scientific Corp(US)
2019 Revenue: $10.73 billion
Number of Employees: 36,000
Revenue per Employee: $298,000
Boston Scientific produces a large range of medical devices used to diagnose and treat patients with issues in the areas of cardiology, urology, endoscopy and many more. It was founded in 1979 with the aim of creating less invasive medical devices and procedures, they continue to innovate across expanding areas of medicine. They estimate that around 21 million people were treated with one of their products in 2014. Boston Scientific currently employs approximately 36,000 people across 40 countries.
Boston Scientific has had a manufacturing presence in Ireland since 1994. There are currently three manufacturing sites – Galway, Cork, and Tipperary. Established in 1994, the Galway site is the largest in the country providing research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, and new product development. The Cork site was opened in 1998 and manufactures a range of devices across several areas of the business. In Clonmel, they have a focus on the development, manufacture, and distribution of defibrillators and pacemakers – the Cardiac Rhythm Management area is an area of high potential and growth for the company. These sites export approximately 10 million devices every year. They currently have around 4,700 employees across Ireland.
12. Baxter(US)
2019 Revenue: $11.10 billion
Number of Employees: 50,000
Revenue per Employee: $222,000
Baxter began in the 1930s by launching the first commercially prepared intravenous solutions, today Baxter operates as a global diversified healthcare company. Its products serve disease areas such as hemophilia, infectious diseases, kidney disease, immune disorders, and trauma treatment.
Baxter moved into Ireland in the mid-1960s and built its first manufacturing site there in 1972. They currently have two manufacturing sites in County Mayo: one in Castlebar, where they produce renal dialysis solutions, premixed IV solutions, and several drug products; the other in Swinford, which produces devices for administration of these products. Between them, they employ over 1000 people. They also have a Compounding Facility and Sales and Marketing offices in Dublin.
11. Danaher Corp. (US)
2019 Revenue: $13.60 billion
Number of Employees: 60,000
Revenue per Employee: $226,000
Danaher Corp is a family of more than 30 companies including Beckman Coulter, Implant Direct and Leica Biosystems. The Danaher group encompasses diagnostics, life sciences and dental care with a number of sites around the globe.
10. Stryker Corp(US)
2019 Revenue: $14.88 billion
Number of Employees: 36,000
Revenue per Employee: $413,000
Founded by an orthopedic surgeon in the U.S in 1941, Dr. Stryker was aiming to make products that met his patient’s healthcare needs. Stryker continues in the field of medical technology with a focus on surgical devices and is now one of the biggest such companies in the world. They currently employ over 36,000 people worldwide.
Stryker has four plants across Ireland – three in Cork and one in Limerick. The Cork Instruments plant develops and surgical instruments and associated technology. The Stryker Orthopaedics sites in Cork and Limerick research and develops biomaterials as well as manufacturing knee and hip joints. Across these four sites, Stryker employs over 3,000 people.
9. Cardinal Health Inc(US)
2019 Revenue: $15.60 billion
Number of Employees: 50,000
Revenue per Employee: $312,000
Initially established in 1971 as Cardinal Foods, by 1994 the company had become Cardinal Health and established itself as one of the biggest wholesalers of pharmaceuticals in the USA. Cardinal Health employs approximately 50,000 people around the world and their work now includes surgical products and laboratory supplies.
8. Siemens Healthineers (Germany)
2019 Revenue: $15.90 billion
Number of Employees:50,000
Revenue per Employee: $318,000
Siemens is a multinational conglomerate based in Germany – it is the biggest engineering company in Europe covering sectors including energy, industry, and healthcare. Siemens Healthineers focuson equipment for medical imaging, clinical IT and lab diagnostics and employs around 50,000 people worldwide.
Siemens has over 600 employees across Ireland including staff in headquarters and sales roles. More specifically, Siemens Healthineers has a manufacturing plant for diagnostic equipment in Swords in Dublin.
7. Becton Dickinson & Company (BD) (US)
2019 Revenue: $17.29 billion
Number of Employees: 70,000
Revenue per Employee: $247,000
Becton Dickinson & Company (BD)was founded in 1897 in New Jersey, US, and now employs 70,000 people in over 50 countries around the world. They manufacture and sell medical devices, instrument systems, and reagents and the company was a pioneer in the production of hypodermic needles. Presently, the company is divided into two sectors – BD Medical and BD Life Sciences.
BD has had a presence in Ireland since 1969 and currently has more than 1,000 employees in Ireland across three sites at Drogheda, Dun Laoghaire and Limerick.
6. Fresenius SE & Co (Germany)
2019 Revenue: $19.00 billion
Number of Employees: 120,600
Revenue per Employee: $157,000
Fresenius SE & Co has its corporate headquarters is in Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe, Germany and presently has 45 production sites in more than 20 countries around the world. They are one of the leading providers of products and services for people with chronic kidney failure and also provide a global network of around 4,000 dialysis clinics.
5. Koninklijke Philips NV (Netherlands)
2019 Revenue: $19.01 billion
Number of Employees: 81,000
Revenue per Employee: $234,000
Philips is a technology company based in Holland with headquarters in Amsterdam. Their main areas of focus are lighting, electronics, and healthcare – the latter accounts for 42% of global sales revenue. Philips Healthcare is a diverse range of over 450 different types of medical equipment including MRI scanners, diagnostic ECG devices, and patient monitoring equipment.
4. Abbott Laboratories(US)
2019 Revenue: $19.95 billion
Number of Employees: 107,000
Revenue per Employee: $186,000
Founded in 1888, Abbott has now become one of the leading pharmaceutical and medtech companies in the world. They produce a broad range of branded generic pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and nutrition products and in 1985, the company developed the first-ever HIV blood-screening test.
At present, they have a number of sites in Ireland including in Dublin, Sligo and Tipperary, where they employ over 1,600 people in their Vascular Division.
3. GE Healthcare(UK)
2019 Revenue: $21.10 billion
Number of Employees: 54,000
Revenue per Employee: $390,000
GE Healthcare is the medical technology subsidiary of General Electric – a multinational conglomerate based in the USA. With a history as far back as 1893, the healthcare subsidiary today is involved in areas such as medical imaging, diagnostics, and patient monitoring. They work in specialized disease areas including neurology, coronary disease, and cancer.
GE Healthcare has Sales and Service Support offices in both Belfast and Dublin but also has a Global Manufacturing site in Cork. The site is of particular importance for the ‘contrast media’ technology manufacture which is improving the visibility of structures in radiography processes. Approximately 600 people are employed within the Cork manufacturing site and products from this site are exported to over 70 countries worldwide.
2.Johnson & Johnson(US)
2019 Revenue: $26.00 billion
Number of Employees: 132,200
Revenue per Employee: $196,000
Founded in 1886 with the initial idea that wounds should be treated and dressed using sterile equipment – today’s Johnson & Johnson is one of the world’s biggest healthcare companies. Johnson & Johnson operates three distinct divisions – medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer health. Both their medical device and pharmaceutical divisions have manufacturing sites in Ireland. Johnson & Johnson products are marketed in 57 countries via almost 250 operating companies – global personnel is approximately 132,200.
Johnson & Johnson have had a presence in Ireland for over 70 years. Today, that presence is in the form of DePuy Synthes, Janssen (Biologics & Sciences), Johnson & Johnson Vision Care and Ethicon. Between them, they have several separate manufacturing operations in both Limerick and Cork.
1.Medtronic(Ireland)
2019 Revenue: $30.55 billion
Number of Employees: 90,000
Revenue per Employee: $339,000
Medtronic began as a medical supply repair shop in the US in 1949, their first commercial product was a battery-powered, wearable pacemaker. From then on they have focussed on technology as a means of improving treatment. Today there is a focus on using that technology to improve treatment and management of chronic conditions specifically – Medtronic claims that “every three seconds, another life is improved by a Medtronic product or therapy”. In 2014, Medtronic bought Irish-headquartered Covidien to further expand its scope. Globally, Medtronic employs over 90,000 people in over 150 countries.
Medtronic moved into Ireland in 1999 and now operates five facilities – two manufacturing sites in Galway, a manufacturing site in Westmeath and two office sites in Dublin. Their Galway sites employ over 2000 people and manufacture respiratory monitoring devices.
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