I’m new to the medical device industry, and the more research I do, the more I find out I don’t know. Did you know that Indiana’s medical device industry is the fifth largest in the U.S. according to a report recently released by BioCrossroads? According to the report, the medical devices industry is one of Indiana’s most valuable economic assets employing over 20,000 people, and generating more than $10 billion of annual economic output. The medical devices sector accounts for more than 40 percent of the jobs in the state’s life sciences industry placing Indiana as the fifth largest state in percentage of medical technology industry employment.
What amazes me is the fact that I was basically oblivious that this industry existed until I became involved with a medical device product development company. I was born in Indiana and raised here until I went off to college, at which point, I lived in South Carolina for awhile, and then Maine. When they found out where I was from people would say to me “I’ve driven through Indiana, but I never actually stopped there.” Folks would often ask me, “Why would you want to live in Indiana? Is there anything to do there?” At the time, I really didn’t have an answer for them. That was the same point in my life where I swore I would never move back to Indiana. Somehow, fate brought me back here sixteen years ago, and now I can’t imagine living any place else. Besides family and friends, now I understand that, although many people may picture the state as a giant cornfield with little to do but tip cows, go to tractor pulls, and hang out at the mall, we really do have a vibrant industrial sector that people from around the country are proud to become involved with.