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Microtechnologies invests $15 million in manufacturing plant in Costa Rica

US manufacturing company Microtechnologies, which specializes in critical components for global industries, has opened a new production plant in the Terra Industrial Park, in Coyol of Alajuela, Costa Rica.

The new facility of 15,000 square meters marks the celebration of the company’s 20th anniversary in the country and represents a milestone of innovation within the country’s manufacturing sector.

Its construction and outfitting required an investment of $15 million and will generate 250 new high-tech jobs in the next five years. 

Costa Rica president Solís Rivera said: “It is an excellent opportunity for Costa Rica that a company like Microtechnologies celebrates 20 years of being in our country.

“The celebration includes an expansion of its operations and the announcement to continue creating more quality jobs, due to the specialization of this company.

“Our commitment has been and continues to strengthen the conditions of competitiveness to be an appropriate destination for high technology investments, which allows us to continue generating well-being in our population.”

Michael Tucci, president and CEO of Microtechnologies, said: “Twenty years ago, we came to Costa Rica seeking the same cost advantage that many other US based companies were looking for at the time.

“We continued to grow our local operations time and again more because of the stability the country has provided for our long-term talent strategy, and now we have chosen to build our flagship operation here because of the return on human capital we have enjoyed all these years.

“In the end, our team made the decision an easy one for us and this new home will play an integral part of our future.”

Microtechnologies is recognized as a trusted innovation engine for leading clients in the automotive, medical device, aerospace, and other demanding industries where failure is not an option.

The company specializes in both the design and manufacture of game-changing miniature critical components used in platforms like engine management systems, invasive surgical devices, and occupant safety controls.

The new facility will house most all of Micro’s vertically integrated capabilities from process design to tooling/ automation fabrication to scaled production utilizing a wide variety of specialty materials.

The new building will also have a local development space for its MicroLabs division, which will enable the local collaborators to push the latest trends in innovative manufacturing. The objective is also to create a space for learning and experimentation for students of elementary, universities, and technical schools whom with the company has developed alliances.

Jhon Fonseca, vice minister of foreign trade, said: “Specifically in the advanced manufacturing sector, Costa Rica has positioned itself as a leader in Latin America.

“As a result of a solid strategy for attracting investment, backed by our value offer, we have been able to double the number of companies in this sector since 2000.

“To date, we have become home to nearly 300 multinational companies that from our territory perform activities of high added value.

“As a result, now the country occupies more sophisticated links of the Global Value Chains. The benefits for our country of this type of investment are multiple, and transcend the merely economic.

“These companies have become strategic allies of our educational system, generating in our students skills and knowledge that can only be obtained outside the classroom, thus contributing to the competitiveness of the national productive ecosystem.

“With 20 years of operating in Costa Rica, Microtechnologies is a clear example of this. We congratulate the company on opening its new plant and we appreciate its commitment to Costa Rica.”

Jorge Sequeira, managing director of Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, said: “Microtechnologies belongs to a group of 50 companies in the advanced manufacturing sector that today generate quality and well-paid employment for more than 9,900 people.

“At the end of the nineties this company trusted the country to develop its operations and 20 years later it continues its growth, diversifying into new areas of manufacturing and trusting the Costa Rican human talent to consolidate its business.”

The company has grown from its original 20 local employees to its current workforce of 350 and is forecasting substantial growth with never seen manufacturing jobs for Costa Rica.

The company aims to evolve its operation in Costa Rica into the best workplace in the region.

Carlos Mora, director of Microtechnologies in Costa Rica, said: “We are committed to helping Costa Rica become known as a premier location for product excellence and are passionate about forward thinking manufacturing.

“Our current focus is to help the local medical device OEMs achieve a global advantage by supporting their most challenging sourcing needs and combining them with practices like VMI and just in time that we have perfected over the last two decades.”

Microtechnologies also has administrative, purchasing and logistics operations in the country that round out its standalone capability.

The company is looking to recuit people in engineering, administration, finance, as well as graduates of technical careers related to the business.