Accellent, which has about 350 employees at two facilities totaling 100,000 sf in this northwest Twin Cities suburb, has added more than 30 employees in the year since MedSource was acquired, Sparks says. He anticipates the growth of the division will spur it to add some 20 to 30 workers each year to the Brooklyn Park operation. At the current growth rate, Sparks says Accellent will need more space in the Twin Cities in two to three years.

"I just don't see any end to the growth," says Sparks, who was recently in Minneapolis for a medical technology investing conference. Accellent is the new name for the companies formed by the merger of Minnetonka-based MedSource Technologies into Boston-based UTI Corp. The company recently designated the Brooklyn Park operations as the divisional headquarters for cardiology, one of its three major businesses. The cardiology business accounts for about $150 million of $415 million in sales posted last year by the privately held company. The division has about 1,500 employees spread among five locations. Overall, Accellent has about 3,900 employees spread among 20 facilities worldwide.