Technology and manufacturing company Medtronic saving lives and stimulating AZ economy

Governor Brewer's month-long tour of Arizona Manufacturers continued yesterday with the tour of the Medtronic campus in Tempe. Medtronic is a worldwide recognized leader in implantable microelectronic design, development and manufacturing.  Know someone who has had heart treatment? They likely have a pacemaker or defibrillator created and manufactured right here from Medtronic. Know someone affected by diabetes? Hopefully they know about Medtronic's insulin pump that is the first prescribed pump with continuous remote glucose monitoring capabilities.

The Medtronic Tempe facility

We can talk in true generalities about the importance and impact of manufacturing to Arizona's economy, but to further add credibility, I want to share with you some of Medtronic's impressive numbers.

• 900 plus employees in Tempe (46,000 total, making it the world's largest medical device manufacturer)

• Tempe campus is over 30 acres with 400,000 total sq. feet of building of which 100,000 sq. feet is production space

• 272 engineers and an R&D operation

• 16 Technical Fellows

• 3 Bakken Fellows (this is a HUGE deal)

•  Nearly 150 patents granted

And jobs.jobs.jobs. Good jobs! Medtronic's Tempe campus has a total payroll of approximately $100 million. The average or median salary is $113,231 for non-hourly employees.

Medtronic is a prime example of the companies that Arizona needs to grow its economy and make the state a great place to live. It is our responsibility to make sure that Arizona continues to be an environment that is inviting to innovative companies.

Gov. Brewer gives a copy of the Arizona Manufacturers

 Month proclamation to Medtronic

As the Governor outlined in her talk yesterday, Arizona has made great strides to positively set itself apart as a business-friendly state particularly in the tax and regulatory areas. I'd add that this progress has been possible thanks to the leadership of Governor Brewer and our state legislature. Through their efforts, our state has done more than any other to ensure an environment that fosters economic growth over the past several years.

Note: The post was corrected to properly reflect the tour being yesterday.