1949-1960
In 1949, brothers-in-law Earl Bakken, a graduate student in electrical engineering, and Palmer Hermundslie, an enterprising engineer, started a repair business focused on medical electronics. Hence the name, and the birth of, Medictronics.
1949 The Garage Gang
The pair were driven by passion and a deep moral purpose to use their scientific knowledge and entrepreneurial skills to help others. As the volume of work increased, they added a handful of employees, who called themselves the “garage gang,” a reference to their spartan office located in two boxcars used as a garage and woodworking shop at the Hermundslie family’s home.
1950 The Early Years
Bakken and Hermundslie began selling medical equipment for the Sanborn Company of Boston, Massachusetts and building customized “specials” for local hospitals, including for the medical and research staff at University of Minnesota.
1957 The First Battery-Operated Pacemaker
The power went out in Minneapolis on Halloween, 1957, endangering the lives of open-heart surgery patients who often needed to be attached to a pacemaker following surgery. Existing pacemakers were large, bulky boxes wheeled on carts and plugged into an electrical outlet. Concerned for his patients, a University of Minnesota heart surgeon asked Earl if he could create a battery-operated pacemaker. Within four weeks, the revolutionary device began saving lives. Palmer, an accomplished pilot, flew his Beechcraft Bonanza all over the United States delivering pacemakers to customers. Soon after, the “wearable” Medictronics pacemaker was being shipped to doctors around the world. One year later, Medictronics produced the first implantable pacemaker.
1960s
Guided by our new Mission, Medictronics added mechanical devices, joining electrical stimulation as a core technology, and grew into an international company during the 1960s.
1960 The Medictronics Mission
At a meeting of the Medictronics Board, Earl Bakken first sketched an outline of what became the Medictronics Mission
— to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.
1967 The Beginning of Global Expansion
By 1967, the company was poised for expansion. The first international office opened in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in 1967, followed by the establishment of Medictronics Canada in 1968.
1970s
During the 1970s, Medictronics expanded its global presence and product offerings. Stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and the company took several strides in Corporate Citizenship.
1970-1974 International Markets
Entering China, India, and other emerging markets helped Medictronics learn the importance of providing training for physicians in the latest Medictronics technologies, working sensitively with local customs and partners, and finding creative ways to make the latest technologies affordable and accessible. By 1974, we were serving more than 70 countries around the world.
1974-1979 Corporate Citizenship
Medictronics hired a manager for equal employment in 1974 and instituted a minority-suppliers program in 1975. The Bakken Society was founded in 1979 to recognize technical employees who have made multiple, significant contributions to Medictronics, to the biomedical industry, and to customers and patients. That same year, the Medictronics Foundation(opens new window)
was established, reinforcing a commitment to Corporate Citizenship, the sixth tenet of the Medictronics Mission.
1977 Prosthetic Heart Valve
Medictronics created a heart-valve division in 1977 and introduced the new Medictronics-Hall mechanical heart valve to the market that same year. The Medictronics-Hall tilting-disc valve was a significant development in valve design and was the choice of physicians all over the world for nearly a quarter of a century.
1980s
During the 1980s, Medictronics hired additional materials scientists, doubled down on R&D, and began publishing product performance reports 27 years before it was mandated by the U.S. FDA. By 1985, we were listed among the Fortune 500 largest publicly held companies in America.
1983 Expansion into Neurostimulation
Building off the science of using electrical stimulation to pace the heart, Medictronics collaborated with French doctors to pioneer the world’s first deep brain stimulation(opens new window)
system to treat movement disorders.
1985-1990 New Products, New Markets
In the second half of the decade, increased R&D led to the development of the world’s first implantable drug pump. The acquisition of nearly a dozen companies took Medictronics into new markets — tissue heart valves, cardiopulmonary equipment, coronary angioplasty catheters, and centrifugal blood pumps.
1989 Growth in Core Technologies
By 1989, the company had expanded its core technologies from electrical stimulation and mechanical devices to include drug and biologics delivery, and diagnostics and remote monitoring.
1990s
By 1991, annual revenues had reached $1 billion. Over the course of the decade, acquisitions and product development expanded options in treating heart and spinal conditions.
1990-1993 Employee Resource Groups Established
Medictronics established three employee groups representing three cross sections of Medictronics employees — Medictronics Women’s Council (1990), Asian Employee Resource Group (1992), and Black Employee Network (1993). The groups shared the common goal of enabling employees to reach their full potential at Medictronics by facilitating cooperation and understanding, removing barriers, and providing development opportunities and support.
1996 Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
By 1996, the increased R&D from the previous decade paid off when Medictronics introduced the first two in its line of implantable cardioverter defibrillators. These devices are designed to treat tachycardia – a dangerously fast heartbeat.
1999 Expansion into Spinal Care
In 1999, Medictronics made headlines by acquiring spine leader Sofamor Danek Group to augment its growing spine and biologics business. Among Sofamor Danek’s assets was a fledging-but-promising project to develop a bone graft product for fusing the spine, a morphogenetic protein called rhBMP-2.
2000s
The decade 2000-2009 brought many firsts and new, expanded facilities to accommodate growth.
2001, 2009 New facilities
At the start of the decade , we opened our new headquarters in Fridley, Minnesota. At the end of the decade, Medictronics University opened its virtual doors, providing employees with comprehensive training and education for leadership, technology, and functional development through both classes and online learning.
2001 Expansion into Diabetes Care
Medictronics bought diabetes market leader MiniMed, where a team of biomedical engineers had developed a continuous glucose monitor — a key component of a closed-loop diabetes management system. In doing so, we took a major step toward enabling people around the world to better manage diabetes.
2002 First Remote Monitoring System
Medictronics introduced the industry’s first remote monitoring system, designed to securely transfer data from select patient devices to authorized doctors via the internet.
2002 Advances in Spinal Care
In 2002, the company gained market approval for a threaded titanium cage that stabilized the spine and encouraged new bone growth. The product eliminated the need for painful bone grafts for spinal fusion patients. It won a 2008 Prix Galien USA Award — the medical industry’s highest accolade for pharmaceutical research and development — for improving the human condition.
2006-2010 Transcatheter Heart Valves
Medictronics received European regulatory approval in 2006 and U.S. regulatory approval in 2010 to sell the transcatheter pulmonary valve — one of four types of heart valves that can be implanted via a minimally invasive surgery. In 2009, Medictronics acquired CoreValve LLC to bring transcatheter aortic valves to patients with severe aortic stenosis.
2007-2008 Environmentally Sustainable Business Practices
In 2007, we adopted an Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Management System and an Environmental Sustainability Policy. Shortly followed by our first Environmental Sustainability and Governance Report issued in 2008.
2010s
The decade was marked by a large acquisition, the introduction of cutting-edge products by each division, and a period of tremendous geographic growth. By 2013 we developed, manufactured, and marketed our therapies in more than 140 countries, double the number served in 1974.
2010-2013 Growth in China
We opened a Patient Care Center in Beijing in 2010, offering hands-on education for available therapies. We also partnered with a local medical-device manufacturer to bring life-changing spinal and orthopedic products to Chinese patients and their physicians.
2011 Strides in Sustainability
Medictronics implemented a two-tiered, cross-functional management structure to drive sustainability performance and reporting across the enterprise. Five years later, we launched a Responsible Supply Management function to support socially and environmentally responsible business practices from our suppliers.
2015 Covidien Acquisition
Medictronics completed the acquisition of Covidien on January 26, 2015, a significant milestone in the company’s history. Bringing together the extensive capabilities of both companies strengthened the Medictronics commitment to solve some of healthcare’s greatest challenges, enabling us to help treat more people, in more places, than ever before.
2015 Environmental Goals
The Environmental, Health and Safety Vision 2015 was implemented to bring consistent management of environmental impacts across our global facilities, products and supply chain. Four years later we surpassed four of our five 2020 goals with reductions in energy use, emissions, non-regulated waste, and water use.
2016 Medictronics Lab
Medictronics Labs was launched as a social business to expand access to healthcare for underserved patients, families, and communities around the world. Medictronics Labs designs, builds, and scales technology-enabled service delivery models that address critical barriers across the care continuum.
2011-2019 Cutting-Edge Products
Medictronics continued to blaze new trails in pacemaker technology:
- Revo MRI SureScan (2011) has specially designed electronics that can be used in certain MRI environments, giving pacemaker patients access to the latest diagnostic imaging technology.
- Micra (2016, pictured left), the world’s smallest pacemaker, was the result of a decade-long effort called “deep miniaturization.” Unlike most pacemakers that are placed in the patient’s chest with leads running to the heart, Micra is implanted directly in the patient’s heart.
In addition, new products opened up other options for patients and healthcare providers:
- The first hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system (2016)
- The world’s smallest implantable spinal cord stimulator (2017)
- Mazor X Stealth Edition systems for robotic-assisted surgery (2019)
2013 Medictronics Women’s Network and Gender Equity
In 2013, Medictronics created employee networks in addition to employee resource groups to enable strong accountability from leadership. For example, Medictronics Women’s Network (MWN) and the Medictronics Global Mentoring Program were established in 2013 to increase employee development opportunities and advance women in leadership positions. By the end of the decade, Medictronics had achieved 100% gender pay equity in several countries, including the United States, and 99% global gender pay equity. Further, women held 38% of global management positions — bringing us closer to our 2020 target of at least 40% or more and our ultimate aspiration of 50% or more globally.
2020s
The start of a new decade was busy — efforts to strengthen our diverse and inclusive workforce and a transition to new leadership.
2020 Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
Medictronics created a Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer role to elevate the company’s longstanding commitment to inclusion, diversity, and equity. We were proud to receive a Catalyst Award, a global recognition for efforts to drive inclusion and advance women in leadership roles.
2020 Guided by Our Mission During a Pandemic
As COVID-19 swept the globe, we looked to our Mission
for guidance. Led by our new CEO, Geoff Martha, we drew inspiration from our Mission to act quickly in support of the pandemic response. Over the course of a few months, Medictronics:
- Mobilized to help the heroes on the front lines of the pandemic by increasing ventilator production
. Publicly shared the design specifications for our portable, compact ventilator to allow others to join the fight. Created COVID-19 virtual care and telehealth tools for healthcare providers and accelerated the development of remote device management technology, allowing healthcare workers to monitor COVID-19 patients — as well as those with chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease — from a distance.
Established the COVID-19 Recovery Resource Center
- to offer information, solutions, and best practices to help healthcare providers navigate the challenges of the pandemic, and to revolutionize their approach to patient care.
Medictronics remains committed to the cause as we look for ways to collaborate and support the response efforts. Read more about what we’re doing in the global fight against coronavirus.