Medical Device Company Plans For Big Expansion In Maple Grove

MAPLE GROVE, MN — Medical device firm Caisson Interventional LLC plans to expand its Maple Grove facilities by 30,000 square foot and add 50 jobs. The company, which is owned by London-based LivaNova PLC, said it will invest $750,000 in the building expansion.

The new jobs will be created within three years and pay wages averaging $32.71 an hour.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is supporting the project with a $359,850 grant from the Job Creation Fund. The company will receive the funding once it has met investment and hiring commitments.

“Caisson is developing a minimally invasive implantable heart valve system that has the potential to benefit millions of patients worldwide,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy in a statement. “The company’s investment in jobs and facilities is helping to grow a medical device cluster that is one of the cornerstones of the Minnesota economy.”

Caisson, which was founded in 2012, is developing a heart valve system to replace severely diseased or damaged heart valves that don’t close tightly enough. That condition results in blood flowing backward in the heart, a disorder known as mitral regurgitation. The company in late 2016 announced the first successful human implants of its system in a 20-patient study at five U.S. hospitals.

LivaNova PLC last May invested $72 million to acquire a full stake in the company. Prior to the acquisition, LivaNova owned 49 percent of Caisson.

The Job Creation Fund, which was first proposed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2013, is a pay-for-performance program that provides funding to businesses after they meet certain criteria, including minimum requirements for job creation and private investments.

Under the program, businesses must create at least 10 full-time jobs and invest at least $500,000 to be eligible for financial assistance in the Twin Cities metro and create at least five full-time jobs and invest at least $250,000 in Greater Minnesota.

Since the Job Creation Fund was launched in January 2014, DEED has awarded $35 million for 74 business expansion projects in Minnesota. Companies have committed to creating nearly 4,800 full-time jobs and investing more than $967 million to expand, according to a news release.

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