www.evergreenresearch.com

Golden, Colorado

Founded: 1988

Privately owned

Employees: 40

The full-service manufacturer of medical devices is helping clients reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes.

Founded in 1988 by local healthcare executives and purchased by current owners and managing directors Dave Mabe and Gary Heath in 2009, Evergreen Research has grown 187 percent since 2010.

“Gary and I have medical device product development experience as well as operations experience,” says Mabe, outlining the reasons for their company’s success. “We’ve done electromechanical design work and also have a long history in sterile disposables. And because we’ve both been in technical as well as management roles, we can interface with our clients on a lot of different levels.”

Their backgrounds — including combined decades of experience working for companies that are now part of major industry players such as Gambro and Medtronic — is definitely an asset whether they’re working with a startup company or large medical device organization. From a 15,000-square-foot facility in Golden, the Evergreen team helps clients get new or updated medical devices manufactured and released to the marketplace as well as provide the FDA and EU compliant production, quality management, and full regulatory affairs assistance necessary for FDA approval and CE Mark certification.

“We basically serve a huge variety of different customers with different technologies in the medical device arena,” explains Heath. “I think that’s what appeals most to Dave and me and the other folks who work here. We’re never working on the same thing for very long, and we have a lot of different customers from pretty diverse backgrounds and needs. That makes the job a lot of fun and always challenging.”

“Business success is secondary to what we can do to improve our society and improve medical outcomes for patients,” says Mabe. “We live that passion every day.”

The company’s areas of expertise include therapeutic and diagnostic instrumentation, imaging systems, surgical products, and blood handling and filtration devices. Using materials sourced from Colorado whenever possible, Evergreen Research produces thousands of electro-mechanical, software-driven medical devices ,and sterile disposable products per year.

Challenges: The company owners often refer to Evergreen Research as one of the “best-kept secrets in the Rocky Mountains” — but that’s something they’d like to change. From updating their website to email campaigns and industry conventions, they’re putting together strategies to get the word out about the services they offer in 2016. “The cornerstone of the business is our reputation,” says Heath. “We get a lot of repeat business from our current customer base but want to find new customers where we can.”

Opportunities: Mabe and Heath agree that Evergreen Research’s biggest opportunity at present is to continue to support medical device companies in the design and production of products that will lead to better and more cost-effective healthcare. “Technology improvements continue to save lives, and we’re contributing to this in significant ways while at the same time using approaches that reduce both the costs of healthcare products and the risks of healthcare deliveries,” explains Mabe.

Needs: With continued growth in the forecast, Evergreen Research will need more people before the end of the year. The staff includes mechanical, electronic, software, disposable-products engineers and on-site regulatory affairs professionals as well as quality systems experts and a full complement of manufacturing professionals. “We’ve historically been successful finding the individuals that we need right here in the Colorado region,” says Mabe. “There are a lot of medical companies on the Front Range, and many people are now looking for variety in their careers.”

Adds Heath, “Dave and I have always prided ourselves on being competitive in the market to get the best and brightest. We offer the benefits and pay that bring people and keep them here.”

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