Phenomenal growth since its founding in 1985 has prompted Merit Medical Systems Inc. to look toward South Jordan for enough land to construct a $10 million building.
In March, construction will begin on the 165,000-square-foot building on 46 acres at 9800 S. Redwood Road that President Fred P. Lampropoulos believes will serve his company for many years. It has been almost three years in the planning. When completed and the 300 employees move in, it will be the largest employer in South Jordan.In May 1991, according to the company's annual report, the South Jordan City Council unanimously adopted an inducement resolution relating to the issuance of up to $6.5 million of industrial revenue bonds to partially finance construction of the building.
Merit Medical purchased the land the same year and began planning the building. This week, the company announced that it had obtained financing for the new building.
Known primarily for its devices used in diagnosis and care of cardiovascular diseases, a disease that affects one in four Americans and is the leading cause of death in the United States and Europe, Merit Medical has grown so rapidly that many experts are scratching their heads.
The company's products are used in angiography, the procedure to determine if a person has a cardiovascular disease, and angioplasty, the procedure used to treat the disease.
In angiography, a radiopaque dye is injected via syringe through a catheter usually inserted in the femoral artery of the leg, winding its way through the vascular system to the heart. The procedure allows a physician to see and evaluate the internal anatomy of the heart or the peripheral vascular system.
In angioplasty, a catheter with a balloon on the end is maneuvered through a partially closed artery to the appropriate site. The balloon is inflated to stretch the vessel wall and compact the plaque for a freer distribution of blood.
Lampropoulos, who never graduated from college, started the company in July 1987 and hired his first two employees two months later. They set up shop in an office behind an electronics firm. As the company continued to grow, it began to take over space in the strip industrial center and now occupies 93,000 square feet at that location.
In addition, Merit Medical has 22,000 square feet of leased space in an old Safeway grocery store less than a mile away and also has 5,000 square feet in warehouse space. All of the operations will be consolidated when the South Jordan building is completed.
In 1988, Merit Medical had $500,000 in sales. That increased to $1.5 million in 1989, $4.5 million in 1990, $10.5 million in 1991 and $18 million in 1992. A research report by Dain Bosworth Inc. notes that Merit Medical is expected to have $25.5 million in sales this year.
As nearby space became available, Merit Medical leased it for its "clean rooms," manufacturing area, offices and shipping areas.
The report said the company's rapid growth "has been driven primarily by its participation in this attractive market, coupled with the company's proven ability to identify and respond to the needs of the cardiac catherization lab by introducing innovative products in a timely manner."
Lampropoulos said the company already has six patents and he is the principal investor on four of those. He believes three other patents should be issued soon and the company will file for several more in a few months.
Merit Medical's products are classified in three groups: inflation devices, control syringes and custom kits.
Lampropoulos said the four inflation devices are designed for easy use by the clinician or physician. One of the features is that the user can increase or decrease pressure with one hand. Each device is made of clear plastic that simplifies the debubbling process and allows the physician to more accurately measure balloon pressure.
Control syringes are used in the angiography and angioplasty procedures, and many come in different colors so the user can easily identify which syringe contains certain drugs. They are made of a polycarbonate material that is sturdy and transparent.
The syringes have a number of customized features including various configurations of handles, plungers and connections that allow the user to operate it in a fixed or rotating position.
The company's custom kits are convenient, prepackaged and preassembled combinations of the medical devices and accessories most often used by physicians in the catherization process. The kits usually contain specialty syringes, manifolds, tubing and other accessories.
In September 1991, Lam-pro-poulos founded Sentir Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., to manufacture and market silicon sensors that are used in Merit Medical's custom kits. He owns 80 percent of that company and hopes to transfer the operation to Utah within four years.
A native of Boston, Lam-pro-poulos came to Salt Lake City in 1964, attended Westminster College, joined the U.S. Army and spent eight years on active duty and in the Army Reserve. He has worked as a stock broker, developed real estate and dabbled in venture capital operations before becoming president of Utah Medical Products in 1981.
He went with the company full time in 1983 and served in that capacity until 1987. In 1987, he wasn't pleased with the way Utah Medical was heading with its earnings and founded Merit. In 1992, he was named Inc. Magazine's Intermountain Entrepreneur of the Year.
Merit Medical went public in the spring of 1990 at $4 per share, increased to $10.50 per share and now is trading at $5.50.