Medical device repair company to hire 100
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Governor Robert Bentley, Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington were on hand Wednesday with STERIS Corporation, as the Ohio-based company unveiled details of its expansion plan for IMS, the Birmingham-based company it acquired earlier this year.
As part of the $165 million acquisition of IMS, a leading surgical instrument management and clinical consulting company, STERIS also purchased for an additional $10 million the 15-acre campus in Birmingham’s Sloss Business District, which includes the former U.S. Pipe headquarters building. STERIS plans an approximately $8 million renovation of the 75,000-square-foot building, while adding 100 new jobs to the Birmingham area over the next three years.
The newly renovated building will serve as the global headquarters for STERIS’s Specialty Services business and will house more than 200 employees working in a variety of functions, including human resources, finance and customer service among other groups. 100 of these people will move from office space currently leased by STERIS in nearby Homewood.
“Integrated Medical Systems is a leading surgical instrument management and clinical consulting company,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “With the company’s expansion announcement today, more new jobs will be added to the Birmingham area. Good companies, like IMS, are proving that the Alabama economy has an environment that is ripe for job growth. I appreciate the investment that STERIS is making with the expansion of IMS in Birmingham and I look forward to a continued partnership with the company.”
STERIS, based in Mentor, Ohio, is a leader in the manufacture and sale of infection prevention and surgical products and services. It has 8,000 employees worldwide and has annual revenue of $1.9 billion. When the IMS acquisition was announced in April 2014, IMS had 1,200 employees nationwide and projected revenue of $150 million. The business will continue to operate using the IMS name.
STERIS President and CEO Walt Rosebrough said, “The hard work and dedication of our employees has made this expansion possible. We are grateful to them for their efforts and also for the tremendous support we have received from the city, county and the state, as well as the Birmingham Business Alliance. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Birmingham and Jefferson County.”
“It is important to note that one of the first people to contact STERIS after we announced our intention to acquire IMS was Mayor Bell,” said Rosebrough. “And a couple of days after that, Mayor Bell arrived in Northeast Ohio to meet with me and learn more about our business and what Birmingham could do to help us grow and create jobs in his city. That effort speaks volumes about his passion for Birmingham and to grow your economy.”
STERIS anticipates the renovation of the U.S. Pipe building to be completed by January 2016. The company has hired Rives Construction of Birmingham as the general contractor and KPS Group as architect. STERIS plans to hire locally based skilled trades to work on the project.
As IMS ramps up its hiring locally, the company will work with AIDT, the state’s award-winning workforce training program, to train the 100 new employees it expects between 2015 and 2018.
STERIS worked closely with the Alabama Department of Commerce, AIDT, the City of Birmingham, the Jefferson County Commission and the Birmingham Business Alliance to negotiate grants and tax credits and abatements for the expansion.
“When a company such as STERIS Corporation expands its operations here, adding 100 plus employees, it speaks volumes about the confidence the company’s top executives have in the City of Birmingham” said Mayor Bell. “We are open for business.”
Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington said the area’s pro-business environment was a good fit for STERIS’s global headquarters for its specialty services division.
“I’m excited that STERIS has chosen Jefferson County to be the world headquarters for one of its lines of business,” said Carrington. “The STERIS expansion is a product of the pro-business environment that state and local leaders have worked hard to create. I wish STERIS the best with its expansion and look forward to recruiting additional businesses during this exciting time of economic rebirth in Jefferson County.”
Grayson Hall, chairman, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corp. and the 2014 chairman of the Birmingham Business Alliance, presided over Wednesday’s announcement.
“This is a great example of how our low cost of living makes our region an extremely attractive option for a wide variety of businesses to grow and expand,” said Hall.
