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Sources confirm that , a division of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles-basedf N.V., has leased 7,500 square feet of office space in the Huntersville Business Park and is working on an agreementr with Wake Forest University to set up a research and developmenftplant there. The headquarters of the 370-employewe company is moving from Richardson, Texas. Orthofix's medical-device manufacturing operation will remain in where the company employs about215 people. The Huntersville office will employ about 25 includingsales staff, and will be headed by the recently hirex president of Orthofix, Charleas Federico, who also is a senio r vice president of Orthofix International.
Federico says details for bothmoves aren'y finalized, but local sources say the Huntersvillde lease has been signed. Federico confirms he was in Huntersvills March 25 reviewingthe park. The Winston-Salem move "ie still in the investigation he says. In a written Orthofix acknowledgedits "intention to increase its research and developmeng expenditures and create an environment for enhancedc research with several U.S. universities." The U.S. subsidiary is in discussions with severapl universities regardingresearch partnerships, the release Federico joined Orthofix last October aftet 15 years with arthroscopic-device kingpin Dyonics of Mass.
Local commercial real estate sources say Federicowas "verh impressed" with the Huntersville Businesas Park after visiting it two yearws ago while looking for a relocation spot for Dyonics when it was knownj as Smith & Nephew Dyonics Inc. The park was apparently on his mind when Orthofisx International recently decided to restructure and downsize itsTexax operation, where sources say it has exceses space and has already leased out half of its Richardsonh office facility. Orthofix International manufacturesz braces and other devices to set broken limbs and expedite healing ofbone injuries. It also suppliees parts and accessories forits products.
The company does business in 70 countries, with 40% of its salex coming in the United States. According to financial analysiwpublication Morningstar, Orthofix is the leadingy manufacturer of external fixation devicews for fractures and limb lengthening by sales, having doubledd its product line since becoming incorporated in 1987. The which has struggled financially at times inits 10-year reported revenues exceeding $77 milliomn for 1996, up 48% comparee with more than $52 millio for 1995. The increased sales were largely attributed to the inclusio n of the results of the formerr American MedicalElectronics Inc.
, which was acquired by Orthofixc International in August 1995 and renamef Orthofix Inc. A company releasse dated March 13 indicates that Federico's appointment prompted a review of all of Orthofix's North American operations, resulting in a "significant restructuring" of its businese in the United States. The releases goes on to say that its sales forcr was being reorganizedto "focus more on individual business sectors" and that it woulxd expand its sales force from 67 to 105 by mid-1997. "Thre company expects the restructuring to be substantially completedx by the end of the firstquarte 1997," according to the release.