Medtronic is the world's largest medical technology and therapeutic device company. IT specializes in implantable and invasive therapies for improved cardiovascular and neurological health. Primary products include implantable pacemaker systems, mechanical and tissue heart valves, perfusion systems (including blood oxygenators and centrifugal blood pumps), balloons and guiding catheters used in angioplasty. Established in 1949, Medtronic has since grown to become a Fortune 500 business.

Medtronic was founded in 1949 by Earl Bakken, then a graduate student in electrical engineering and a part-time employee at Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis where his wife was also employed. Bakken's duties entailed the repair of centrifuges, electrocardiograph machines and other electronic equipment at the hospital. Bakken eventually quit graduate school and, with his brother-in-law, formed a medical equipment repair service they dubbed "Medtronic." In 1950 the partners contracted as sales representatives for several large medical equipment manufacturers. As Bakken increased his experience with, and exposure to medical professionals and the equipment that they used, he was often asked to assist or advise in their experiments. During the first 10 years in operation, Bakken built nearly 100 customized - sometimes single-use-devices for medical research and experimentation. The logical next step for Metronic was to become a full-fledged medical products manufacturer in its own right.

Medtronic was soon manufacturing several medical research products such as defibrillators, forceps, animal respirators, a cardiac rate monitor and a physiologic stimulator. The manufacturing processes were nowhere near current standards: parts were handmade or surplus, quality control was accomplished by visual examination, and products were packed in newspaper and shipped in recycled boxes.

Medtronic earned a reputation as a leader in bio-medical engineering devices in the late 1950s when Medtronic's external pacemakers began being used at prestigious medical institutions around the country and the world. The close affinity between electronics and cardiac research continued to advance open-heart surgery and the fortunes of Medtronic for many years to come.

The growing product line and increasing demand both enabled and required, that the company move to an expanded facility in the early 1960s. Research on, and introduction of, several new products continued throughout the 1960s and helped sales surge to over $12 million by the end of the 1967-68 fiscal year. Medtronic established a European Service Center in 1967 to provide technical support for a region that generated approximately 80% of overseas sales. By 1970 the company had divided into four geographical regions: Europe/Africa/Middle East, Canada, Latin America, and Asia/ Pacific. Direct Sales offices were established in 19 countries.

The 1970s brought several leadership changes for Medtronic. Bakken gave up day-to-day responsibilities of the presidency in 1974 to become the company's chairman of the board. Two others held the post of presidency in the remainder of the decade. This period also saw Medtronic make its first acquisitions. Computer technology helped Medtronic develop pacemakers that were tailored to patient's requirements. The company's developments in the 1980s and early 1990s included cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary products, neurological and drug delivery devices. With a number of acquisitions and new product introductions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Medtronic reached $1 billion is sales in 1991. The successes in the 1980s were followed by some inevitable setbacks. A government review of pacemaker implants culminated in Senate hearings that revealed a pattern of overuse of pacemakers in the state of Maryland. In 1983 the company voluntarily recalled a new pacemaker lead when it was discovered that it had an unacceptably high failure rate in clinical tests. Medtronic also became embroiled in expensive patent litigation with large medical manufacturers like Eli Lilly and Siemens AG during this period.

By the early 1990s, Medtronic had developed six primary areas of expertise: bradycardia pacing tachyarrhythmia management, cardiopul-monary, heart valves, interventional vascular, and neurological. In 1992, the company's international sales contributed 40% of total revenues. This was partly responsible for the development of new facilities and expanded operations in Japan, China, and Eastern Europe. Currently headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Medtronic now does business in more than 120 countries, with operations organized into three global areas: Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia/Pacific. There are four businesses (divisions) - Pacing, Vascular, Cardiac Surgery, Neurological, and Developing Business & Ventures-encompassing 14 strategic business units and nine ventures. The company had almost 13,000 employees and $2.2 Billion in sales in the 1996 fiscal year.