Smith & Nephew plc is bringing its Advanced Wound Management division to Forth Worth, Texas, where it will establish a headquarters for the business. The new 55,000-square-foot, $35 million facility will bring about 50 new high-paid jobs, averaging $85,000 per salary, to the area, the Dallas Business Journal reports. The move consolidates the London, England-based company’s Forth Worth and St. Petersburg, Fla. operations into one location.
The closure of the St. Petersburg location was announced last year. The shuttering eliminated 108 jobs, and was the end of a prolonged pullout from the region by Smith & Nephew.
“The city’s resources, its central location and proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth airport, and, most importantly, our many talented employees who call Fort Worth and the surrounding areas home made this the right decision for our future,” said Glenn Warner, president of Smith & Nephew’s Advanced Wound Management division.
In December 2012, Smith & Nephew acquired Fort Worth-based Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, a company that specializes in advanced wound management.
The new facility will become a hub for the division’s commercial group, which includes sales, marketing and finance groups. Smith & Nephew also own a manufacturing and laboratory facility at in Forth Worth, where the company’s quality, research and development, regulatory and engineering groups will maintain their offices.
Forth Worth Mayor Betsy Price said she was pleased with Smith & Nephew furthering its commitment to the city, which has a growing roster of life sciences companies.
As part of the consolidation agreement, the city of Fort Worth gave Smith & Nephew a $250,000 tax abatement incentive.
