Arthrex breaks ground

AVE MARIA — Naples-based Arthrex recently broke ground on a $25 million manufacturing plant in eastern Collier County.

Arthrex plans to manufacture surgical devices and implants for orthopedic surgeons at the new facility near the new town of Ave Maria. The company is building the first phase of the project that measures 190,000 square feet, roughly the size of three football fields. Completion of the first phase is scheduled for spring 2013.

Arthrex says it will build another 120,000 square feet within two or three years at the same location on 21 acres donated by the Barron Collier Companies. By 2016, the company estimates the new facility will create as many as 500 new jobs.

Privately held Arthrex posted $1.1 billion in revenues in 2011, a 15% increase over 2010. The company, founded in 1981 by President Reinhold Schmieding, has more than 1,500 employees in Naples and other locations.