A Northern Mississippi location is the prescription three medical device companies filled in recent months. Their prognosis is excellent and includes a combined 850 new jobs for the region.

Medical device manufacturer and supplier Zimmer Biomet is growing its distribution operations by locating a facility in Olive Branch. The project will create 100 jobs. The Warsaw, Indiana–based company will lease 120,000 square feet of a 420,000-sq.-ft. facility located along the Polk Lane corridor. From there, the company will distribute its products to medical facilities around the world.

The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is providing assistance through the Health Care Industry Zone Incentive Program and the Advantage Jobs Program. The city of Olive Branch and DeSoto County are providing assistance in the form of property tax exemptions. 

Spectra Laboratories, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care North America, a leading provider of kidney care products and services, broke ground on a 200,000-sq.-ft. laboratory in Southaven in September. The project is expected to create more than 300 jobs over the next three years. At Spectra’s new build-to-suit facility in Stateline Business Park, employees will conduct comprehensive testing, analysis and reporting.

Understanding the Mission

“We are excited to make Southaven the home for our newest state-of-the-art Spectra Laboratories facility,” said Rice Powell, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care North America. “Our patients depend on timely and accurate lab results to manage kidney failure with life-sustaining dialysis treatments. We feel that Mississippi understands our mission and will help us deliver the reliability and personal service required to ensure we are providing the best care for our patients.”

The MDA is providing assistance for workforce training and site improvements, and supporting the project through the Advantage Jobs and Healthcare Industry Zone Incentive programs. The city of Southaven is assisting with a new traffic signal, and the city and DeSoto County are providing partial property tax exemptions.

Medline Industries, Inc., a healthcare business that manufactures and distributes medical supplies, is locating distribution operations in Southaven. The project is a $46-million corporate investment and will bring 450 new jobs to North Mississippi.

The company says Southaven has ideal attributes for its new, larger warehouse facility to accommodate its growth: convenient access to the Southeastern U.S. market, a quality local workforce and high quality of life. A portion of the new jobs will be filled by Medline’s existing employees at its Memphis location, with a large number of jobs being created for Mississippi residents.

“We are looking forward to being an active part of the Southaven community,” said Dmitry Dukhan, vice president of real estate operations for Medline. “It‘s an ideal location for a distribution hub for our larger Mid-South distribution territory and enables us to expand our presence as a local employer.“

The MDA is providing assistance for equipment relocation and infrastructure needs, including the extensions of a potable water line and an access road. The city of Southaven and DeSoto County are assisting as well.