Orthofix planning to leave McKinney and relocate to Lewisville in 2010

By Brandi Hart
McKinneyUpdate.com editor
Created at 10:30 p.m. on April 3, 2009

Orthofix, a company that employs 230 people that manufactures medical devices on Bray Central Drive north of US 380 is bidding farewell to McKinney after being housed here for eight years and will relocate to Lewisville.

After movingg to McKinney in 2001, Orthofix officials voiced concerns over traffic issues at US 75 and US 380 and the rezoning.of nearby land to
accommodate retail development for the new Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club located south of the Orthofix facility, said David Pitstick, President/CEO of the MEDC.

"Orthofix is a great company, and we regret losing them," Pitstick said. "We have made every effort to work with the company and had hoped to help them with an expansion. However, since the past president left, we have had difficulty communicating with Orthofix staff," Pistick said on April 2. "They were not real happy about having a Wal-Mart and Sam's Club near them or the way that the land was used in the vicinity of their facility."

The Wal-Mart located near Orthofix is located north of US 380 and is one of only two green Wal-Mart buildings, or experimental, energy saving Wal-Mart buildings in the United States, and the Sam's Club is located on the north side of US 380, about three city blocks from the Orthofix facility and serves as McKinney's only Sam's Club. The Sam's Club and Experimental Wal-Mart are also two of the main retail stores or retail anchors in the northeast quadrant of the US 75 and US 380 corridor located north of US 380.

Orthofix International plans to relocate the McKinney facility to a Lewisville building that the company will lease, and that will be built-to-suit in the first quarter of 2010, said Dan Yarbrough, vice president of investor relations for Orthofix International in Boston, Mass.

"It was just a matter of finding a spot that fits our specific operational needs. Right now the Orthofix facility has some administrative offices and manufacturing capacities," Yarbrough said on April 2. The company decided to move to Lewisville where it found the space it needed for a price that fit into its budget, Yarbrough said. The company is also planning to fold some its locations on the East Coast into the Lewisville facility, Yarbrough said. He did not know the exact location where Orthofix is planning to move to.

The MEDC was first approached about expansion plans by Jackson & Cooksey, the real estate company representing Orthofix, in mid-2007 with a request to assist Orthofix with either an expansion at its current location, or build a new 100,000 square foot facility. In August, 2007, the MEDC offered what Pitstick described as a very aggressive offer of 12 acres of land with a market value of $1.7 million for only $784,000, as well as reimbursing Orthofix $300,000 in impact fees associated with the land purchase and building expansion, Pitstick said.

Orthofix originally announced its plans to consolidate its Richardson offices and move to McKinney in 1999 when the MEDC awarded the $625,000 in incentives to build its current 70,000 square foot facility at 1720 Bray Central Drive in the Bray Central Park, where Orthofix leases the building, Pitstick said.

"We extended our original offer from September, 2007 to Jan. 31, 2008 when we were told by Jackson & Cooksey that a division of the company had been sold and the pressure to expand was relieved. In the summer of 2008, we were told again by Jackson & Cooksey that nothing had changed," Pitstick said.

Jeannie Walls, former director of the McKinney Business Retention and Expansion Program (BREP) at the McKinney Chamber of Commerce, which is co-funded by the MEDC, also attempted to make contact with the Orthofix staff, Pitstick said. Walls had also invited Orthofix company officials to various functions, as BREP serves as an advocate for the business community and offers a variety of programs tailored to the needs of the community, Pitstick said. The BREP director also maintains open dialogue with local business leaders and works to resolve any issues that may arise with the city.

Mayor Bill Whitfield and City Manager Frank Ragan also contacted Orthofix officials to try to persuade them to stay in McKinney and address any issues they may have, Pitstick said. Orthofix employs 280 people, which includes many McKinney residents.

Representatives from the city of Lewisville's Economic Development Department did not return calls made on April 2 about Orthofix moving to Lewisville.

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