“This is where the magic happens — or will happen,” said Ruben Perez, NuVasive senior director of manufacturing, as he led a group of about 30 onto the 80,000-square-foot manufacturing floor, home now to only several computer-numeric-control machining devices.
Most the manufacturing floor at the time was empty. But Perez noted that the company currently has just 20 employees in West Carrollton, and it has only started to truly make the building its own.
“This is a work in progress,” he said. “We’re not done. We barely just got a certificate of occupancy.”
The company currently has 100 manufacturing employees working three shifts in a smaller Fairborn facility. Perez hopes to have those workers moved to West Carrollton by next summer — with plans to hire 200 new employees.
With the company growing, that workforce number may rise, Perez said. Last month, NuVasive said it has agreed with Biotronic NeuroNetwork to acquire the company for $98 million in cash.
“There is the potential for new jobs to come here in due time as we grow,” Perez said.
The No. 3 player in the global spinal devices market, NuVasive will make implants and instrumentation for the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spines — all three regions of the spine — in West Carrollton.
Ninety percent of the company’s sales are domestic and about 95 percent of its products are made in the United States, Perez said. This is precision manufacturing in a clean-room environment of devices meant to go safely inside the human body.
“This is not your father’s machine shop,” said Judy Dodge, Montgomery County commissioner, who visited the plant.
Perez said the company is looking for 64 machinists, 41 manufacturing technicians, three quality engineers, four mechanical engineers, eight production supervisors and much more.
The company needs workers skilled in additive manufacturing — also known as 3-D printing — continuous improvement, clean-room operations, electro-chemical processes and more.
“Anything you guys can do to help (find qualified employees) would be greatly appreciated,” Perez told tour visitors last week, a group that included Montgomery County recruiters.
Those interested can apply to the company online. Dodge and others said the county likely will hold job fairs to find qualified applicants.
A job fair (with other employers) is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 23 at the West Carrollton YMCA, 900 S. Alex Road. Another will be held in early August at the plant, company officers said.
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