CIVCO Medical Solutions in Coralville was a hive of activity Friday, June 6, as Johnson County leaders and stakeholders assembled for an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the company’s new headquarters. The 96,000-square-foot facility brings CIVCO’s corporate and manufacturing departments under one roof at 750 Lois Lane. The company’s corporate headquarters were previously located […]
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Click here to purchase a paywall bypass linkCIVCO Medical Solutions in Coralville was a hive of activity Friday, June 6, as Johnson County leaders and stakeholders assembled for an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the company’s new headquarters.
The 96,000-square-foot facility brings CIVCO’s corporate and manufacturing departments under one roof at 750 Lois Lane. The company’s corporate headquarters were previously located at 2301 Jones Blvd., and its manufacturing facility at 102 First Street in Kalona.
“This project, like today's event, is about coming together,” CIVCO President Robin Therme addressed the crowd assembled outside for the ribbon cutting. “It's about shared goals and a shared mission, growing together and supporting our customers by making image-guided procedures safer and more effective,” adding that the facility was dedicated to the CIVCO team and “to the millions of lives we have impacted and will continue to do so, as we continue our mission to grow and to support our customers and their patients through making image-guided procedures safer.”
Founded in 1981 and a subsidiary of Roper Technologies, CIVCO designs and manufactures accessories for diagnostic and therapeutic imaging, as well as interventional procedures, with a primary focus on ultrasound. The company has customers in more than 100 countries and partners with top ultrasound manufacturers globally.
“Just four short years ago, we shared (that) our sterile products had assisted over 100 million patients. In just four short years, we have added another 50 million to that number,” Ms Therme said, to applause.
A light, airy space
Prior to the dedication, open-house visitors took self-guided tours through the new facility. Glass-fronted offices line the hallways on the first floor, which also contains conference and meeting rooms, an employee gym, warehouse and manufacturing space, a common area and a large break area with a kitchen.
Just off the main entrance is a dedicated room used for giving virtual demonstrations of CIVCO’s equipment, such as the ASTRA automated ultrasound transducer reprocessor, a machine that disinfects and tracks equipment.
Sunlight floods through nearly floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor, bathing the office spaces in natural light.
Outside, the $15 million facility sits on 11 acres just south of Highway 6 on land previously belonging to the Altmaier family, and Ms. Therme credited Coralville city manager Kelly Hayworth with finding the location for the new building.
“He not only facilitated our collaboration with the city, but personally helped scout potential sites,” she said. When the city gave Ms. Therme name options for the street, she unhesitatingly picked Lois Lane.
"It brings a little fun to our work day, and we love it," she said.
The company broke ground on the new development Oct. 27, 2023. Hubbell Construction Services built the facility, which is managed by Iowa City-based SouthGate Companies. SouthGate previously partnered with CIVCO on their former facility on Jones Boulevard.
“We've been in this community since 1962, and this is (the) largest project we've done,” SouthGate President Caleb Wilson said, during remarks prior to the ribbon-cutting. “So this is a very meaningful one for us.”
A testament to innovation
Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham praised CIVCO’s innovation, calling the new facility a representation of Iowa’s future in the bioscience sector.
“This facility will not only expand (CIVCO’s) production capacities and provide the environment to develop and commercialize new products, it will also attract and retain high-skilled talent, deepen partnerships with our research institutions and strengthen the economic backbone of this region. In other words, this investment is a long term growth for both the company and for Iowa,” she said to the audience.
The IEDA identifies biosciences as one of the state’s top three industries, alongside advanced manufacturing and insurance and finance. The agency established BioConnect Iowa, a public-private organization tasked with leading the strategy and implementation of the state's bioscience initiatives. Those platforms are bio-based products, precision and digital agriculture, vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, and medical innovation.
“It's a sector that we see incredible potential for job creation, for technology advancement and for global competitiveness,” Ms. Durham said. “Companies like CIVCO are at the forefront of this movement, helping to turn our state's legacy of manufacturing into (a) forward-looking engine of innovation.”
