WARSAW — OrthoLazer, a retail pain management therapy company headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., is moving its corporate office to Warsaw.

The company is in the midst of expanding, wants to be in the orthopedic capital and is receiving financial support from the city of Warsaw.

OrthoLazer has 17 service centers across the country, but plans to expand to about 300 in seven years, said Dan Stichter, president of the company who was part of a presentation Monday during the Warsaw City Council meeting.

Rod Mayer who became CEO of the company in July and is a former executive with Warsaw-based Nextremity Solutions (and later, Medartis) appears to have been a key cog in the decision to move to Warsaw.

The local office will open with two employees, but that's expected to grow to 14.

The city's Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner said the payroll for those positions will be around $700,000.

The company also plans to open a laser therapy services center in Warsaw.

“The city’s been wonderful to work with. As we thought about how we might be able to justify the relocation of those headquarters," Stichter said. "These funds are incredibly important and allow us to move forward knowing we have the backing of the city and the community, and, again, introduce this to the orthopedic community and the orthopedic ecosystem at large.”

Officials are still firming up plans for the corporate office.

The company provides pain relief through the power of light, using an M8 Robotic Therapy Laser, according to the firm's website.

Stichter said the therapy, which normally spans a series of weeks, allows people who have had an acute injury, chronic pain or post-operative conditions to help heal and relieve pain.

In exchange, the city is offering a three-year $75,000 forgivable loan that will be similar to ones provided to Nextremity and Mentor Media in recent years, Skinner said.

The money will come from the city’s Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund.

The money will be provided in three increments and could be recouped if OrthoLazer does not meet wage and job figures spelled out in the agreement.

Warsaw City Council unanimously approved two agreements that are part of the financial arrangement.

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WARSAW — Here's a recap of subjects discussed on this weekend's In the Know, the public affairs show that can be heard on Kensington Digital Media radio stations: This week's guest is Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer.

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The huge Sycamore Tree on Sheridan Street seems to have a brighter future after some recent concerns. “I feel pretty confident about the direction we’re heading and the fact that that tree’s gonna be around for another 300 years.”

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The arrival of another orthopedic company (Mentor Media) this week marks the third to move into shell buildings in the Warsaw Technology Park that were orchestrated in part by the city in recent years. Thallemer was asked about the park’s future. “Since 2019, there’s been $24 million in investment out there and another $13 million  in payroll that’s been created … maybe we can hit $50 in investment and maybe $30 million in payroll.”

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There’s a new merchant group in downtown Warsaw that’s coordinating some new efforts to increase foot traffic. “It's a great group of merchants who want to take the bull by the horns and promote the downtown and I told them I think what they're doing is fantastic ... it's an indication of our vibrancy.”

Look for a feature story on Rogue Downtown on Monday.

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WARSAW – Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer called it the epicenter of orthopedics, and on Thursday, the newest corporate resident — with facilities around the world — embraced its new address.

Mentor Media on Thursday celebrated its venture into the orthopedic capital with a celebration with the opening of a new 30,000 square foot sterile packaging facility on the west side of the city in the growing Warsaw Technology Park.

"What you are witnessing today is a combination of work and support from the city, the state of Indiana and the KEDCo organization,” said Lim Kok Khoon, president and CEO of Mentor Media, which is based in Singapore.

“We are definitely, without question, very happy to be here,” he said.

He went on to say they believe they can bring value to the existing “ecosystem” that makes up the hub or medical device manufacturers in Warsaw.

Specifically, what they hope to capitalize on is the company’s unique packaging system that promises device makers a 10-year shelf-life for its products.

Magnus Nilsson, president and CEO of Elanders, the parent company of Mentor Media who flew in from Sweden, thanked everyone and was playfully blunt about their expectations.

"Next time I am here, I also hope everything is running smooth. I met some potential clients here today so I hope we can keep us (in mind) so that I can get some return on my investment. Thanks everyone," Nilsson said.

David Rosenberg, the Indiana Secretary of Commerce, celebrated the success Warsaw and the state of Indiana is experiencing.

Rosenberg conveyed Gov. Eric Holcomb's mantra: "'We like to take Indiana to the world and ring the world to Indiana,' and there's no greater personification of that than here in Warsaw with companies from Switzerland, Germany, Singapore partnering here with the Indiana Capital of the World."

He also pointed that manufacturing growth in Warsaw is part of a statewide trend.

"Indiana's had huge momentum over the last two years. Just in the last 18 months, Indiana has been named the No. 1 place to start a business by Forbes. We've had $33 billion of new capital expenditures in the state. That's a figure that would normally take six years go achieve, but we've been able to do it in six months," Rosenberg said.

"This capital commitment is bringing high paying jobs — over 20 percent over the national average, creating real generational change," Rosenberg said.

Thallemer, who has directed growth of the Warsaw Technology Park over his 12 years in office, gave a quick recap on how the tech park has come together and the recalled when he first sat down with Mentor Media leaders who said they wanted a first class facility in the city.

He said the company wanted the entire orthopedic industry to know about their proficiencies in sterile packaging had been developed.

"They wanted to be in the place that the world looks to for orthopedic excellence," Thallemer said. "What they were most passionate about that morning was they wanted a Warsaw address."

"On behalf of the orthopedic capital of the world, we are happy to welcome you and your entire Mentor Media team, to to 1395 Polk Drive, Warsaw, Indiana, 46582."

"You're going to love the neighborhood," he added.

[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="85116,85119,85118,85115"]

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WARSAW — Warsaw’s newest orthopedic-related company is set to open later this week and expects the number of employees it employs to grow quickly.

Mentor Media, an international company headquartered in Singapore, provides supply chain management solutions. They already have a footprint in California but chose Warsaw as its second location in the world for its high-tech sterile packaging operation that promises to provide medical device companies a ten-year shelf life for its products.

The company announced plans to construct a plant earlier this year and is counting on serving local medical device companies at its new facility in the Warsaw Technology Park along U.S. 30. 

The first handful of employees began a few weeks ago in the expansive 30,000 square foot facility that is essentially a large warehouse with a rectangular clean room designed for sterile packaging located in the middle.

The company said they’ve already received lots of job applications and expressed coincidence connections with local orthopedic companies will bring about future contracts. At the same time, they're not making any predictions about how many positions will open up in the company.

"For the future, we're optimistic that we'll grow quickly," said Rachel Rozow, program executive for the company.

She’s one of the first four employees who began working with the company in Warsaw a ew weeks ago.

Others include: Jamei Boyer, human resources director; Elizabeth Rozow, process engineer and Daiana Azor, operations lead.

Boyer is from Nappanee. Rachel and Elizabeth (sisters) spent much of their youth in the Milford-Syracuse area before moving in Illinoi. Azor is from Haiti but has worked in Warsaw for eight years, previously for an orthopedic firm.

Many of the future jobs will involve warehousing and working in the clean room. The company is looking for employees who are meticulous, are good problem solvers and understand the utmost importance of cleanliness.

Like many packaging facilities, they rely on an intense use of gowns to ensure product safety.

While the work environment is expected to be pleasant, "On the flip side (is) understanding of the severity that human lives could be at risk if we take a misstep," Rozow said.

Mentor Media is the fourth orthopedic-related firm to move into the tech park in the past seven years. Others include Banner Medical, Nextremity Solutions (later acquired by Medartis) and AutoCam, which is moving into the space occupied by Medtronic.

A grand opening is set for Thursday.

You can learn more about job opportunities at mentormedia.com.

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WARSAW -- The city of Warsaw took another step toward approving a combined incentive package valued at half a million dollars for Mentor Media, the Singapore-based company which announced plans earlier this year to establish a sterile packaging operation in the Warsaw Technology Park.

The city’s redevelopment commission already agreed to provide $250,000 in equipment for Mentor Media from a tax increment finance fund.

On Monday night, the city council agreed to provide a $250,000 loan to the company over five years that won't have to be repaid if the company meets hiring requirements. That money comes from the city’s economic development income tax.

The incentive package is identical to one provided to Nextremity Solutions, which moved into the tech park shortly before being acquired by a Swiss firm, Medartis.

Council voted 6-0 to approve the loan.

Community Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner provided council details on Monday showing how the investments are translating into new jobs and significant tax revenue for the city.

The report looked at the trend of having West Hill Development construct shell buildings at its own cost and then compared the expanding amount of taxes generated from the properties versus the incentives provided by the city.

In 2016, the city collected about $1,400 in total taxes on the ground in the tech park. In 2022, between Patrick Industries, Banner Medical and Medartis, the city collected $595,000 in taxes, Skinner wrote in his concluding remarks in the report.

More importantly, he noted, those three projects have created over 350 new jobs since 2022.

The city and West Hill Development are already laying the groundwork for the expansion of the park further to the west where roads, curbs and street lights already outline future growth plans.

[caption id="attachment_77330" align="alignnone" width="644"] File photo of the shell building in the Warsaw Technology Park that Mentor Media plans to use.[/caption]

The post Incentive package for Mentor Media moves forward appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW -- For the second time in a year, Warsaw has landed an overseas company intent on inserting itself into the United States medical device market.

Representatives from the city and Kosciusko County welcomed its newest orthopedic-related company with a groundbreaking ceremony in the Warsaw Technology Park along U.S. 30 Wednesday morning.

Mentor Media, a Singapore-based company that specializes in – among other things –  sterile packaging, will soon occupy part of the future 100,000-square-foot shell building currently under construction in the tech park.

Mentor Media plans to use 30,000 square feet of the building initially and hopes to be operational by September, according to Kok Khoon Lim, president and chief executive officer.

The company said they will begin with about 50 employees in the first three years.

Juergen Kline, who oversees Mentor's Global Medical Device Business, said they are positioned for strong growth.

The company has advanced its sterile packaging standards to meet future medical device regulations that have been embraced by the European Union, which has, in turn, forced the global market to adjust.

As a result, Mentor Media now offers sterile packaging with a 10-year shelf life for its products, which the company said is double what is currently available in the United States.

The company hopes to capitalize on that advantage.

“This is a huge goal. Nobody has ten-year shelf life already and we offer it,” Kline said. “I think it will be very successful. We see a lot of employment (in) the next years,”

Mentor Media is part of Elanders Group, which started out chiefly as a printing business but then began to diversify. In 2014, it acquired Mentor Media.

Overall, Mentor Media is known for providing comprehensive supply chain services customized to meet each client’s needs, according to its website.

Just a few years ago, the company branched into the healthcare sector and sterile packaging.

“We were then kind of looking at orthopedics as one of the focuses, and this is the orthopedic capital of the world," Lim said excitedly. "I cannot be wrong choosing this location to start – right?”

“The majority of the companies we wish to do business with are all right here,” he said.

The company already has a presence in California, but the venture into sterile packaging in Warsaw marks the first in the United States.

The company’s arrival is another big victory for city officials who have now attracted three companies that specialize in orthopedics to its tech park in the past seven years.

Banner Medical arrived in 2016 and Medartis, a Swiss-based company, acquired Nextremity Solutions last year – just months after Nextremity had moved into its headquarters in the tech park.

The city has worked with the developer, West Hill Development, to set the stage for growth in the park by constructing several shell buildings and expanding utilities.

Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said the city has seen six companies move into the park since 2013 and three of those firms have since expanded.

Thallemer said Mentor Media’s choice of Warsaw gives them an opportunity to grow their business a lot quicker than if they had located somewhere else.

Growth of the park coincides with the continuing evolution in orthopedics, he said.

“All these companies need support industry. It just begets that type of growth in this community. It’s all very symbiotic -- if you will," Thallemer said. "They need each other.” 

Alan Tio, executive director of Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, said KEDCo identified the need for sterile packing as a third-party service in Warsaw and has been working to attract a company that specializes in it for several years.

Tio said they’ve spent time building contacts and introducing prospective clients to some of the existing companies. 

In return, Mentor Media became confident in what the community could offer, Tio said.

Sterile packaging, he said, had become “an important capability that’s been missing.”

According to a news release from KEDCo, Mentor Media will offer "a full suite of supply chain services including sourcing and procurement, operations management, customer service, warehousing, and global distribution services."

A representative of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) also attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

Based on the company’s job creation plans, the IEDC committed an investment in Mentor Supply Chain USA Inc. of up to $750,000 in the form of incentive-based tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants.

The tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired.

[caption id="attachment_76228" align="aligncenter" width="696"] From left, are Mayor Joe Thallemer, Tim Meyer, Redevelopment Commission President, Victoria Herring, IEDC, Lim Kok Khoon, Mentor Media President & CEO, Yap Rueh Herng, Mentor Media Vice President, Senior Operations, & CTO, Juergen Klein, Mentor Media Global Medical Device Business, Alan Tio, KEDCO CEO, Cary Groninger, West Hill Development, Dan Robinson, Robinson Construction. Photo provided.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_76216" align="aligncenter" width="700"] A sign alluding to the company's future facility sits in front of the shell building it will occupy later this year. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_76239" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Above is a screen grab of an image that appeared at the top of Mentor Media's website on Wednesday.[/caption]

The post Singapore-based company chooses Warsaw Tech Park for sterile packaging plant appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW -- Representatives of the Singapore-based Mentor Media joined local officials for a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday in the Warsaw Technology Park.

The company specializes in sterile packaging and supply chain services and will occupy part of a shell building currently under construction in theTech Park.

The company plans to employ about 50 people within the first two years and plans to begin operations in September.

Look for a full story with local reaction Thursday morning on News Now Warsaw and on the morning newscasts.

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