An acquisition set the stage for Denmark- based Coloplast to move its U.S. headquarters from Marietta, Ga., to Minneapolis, Minn. The global ostomy products specialist is moving to its new digs in September, after completing in February its acquisition of the urology business of Mentor,

Jørgen Bundgaard Hansen is senior vice president, global operations at Coloplast.

which had about 330 employees in Minneapolis. Coloplast is also experiencing rapid growth across all of its product lines, further necessitating expansion.
   "After acquiring Mentor, we had a situation where we had four different locations in the U.S.," says Jørgen Bundgaard Hansen, Coloplast's senior vice president, global operations. "We had our facility in Mankato, Minn., and our corporate headquarters in Marietta, plus Mentor's facilities in Minneapolis and Santa Barbara. We had to make a decision on the best manner to consolidate."
   That process of choosing the optimum site for manufacturing and sales and marketing narrowed possible locations to Boston and Minneapolis based on availability of talent.
   "Since Minneapolis was a preferred location, it made our choice quite easy since the majority of our manufacturing facilities were already in Minneapolis," Hansen says, adding that Coloplast considers Minneapolis and Mankato as one site.
   The move from Marietta is now in progress with about 200 people involved. Hansen says Coloplast will maintain Marietta as its distribution hub because of its proximity to customers.
   Julie Stralow, an analyst with Morningstar, agrees that an aging population will keep many medical device firms thriving.
   "The medical device industry is one of our favorite industries over the long- term," Straylow says. "It's attractive from a profitability standpoint with great returns. It's a business where companies generate operating margins of 20 percent and some even 30 percent of sales. There aren't many industries where 20- percent margins are considered normal."
   Straylow says the long- term economics for the sector are bright, with many firms set to experience double- digit growth.