Redmond company to expand

Published 12:00 am Friday, February 13, 2015

Medline Industries has signed a letter of intent to purchase 12 acres in the Desert Rise industrial area on the east side of Redmond, with the intention of building a 50,000-square-foot building.

The building would replace the company’s existing location on SW Sixth Street.

“This is very exciting for Redmond and Central Oregon,” Roger Lee, the executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), said Thursday. “This sort of project shows that we can compete with anyone for these types of companies.”

Medline, based in Mundelein, Illinois, bills itself as the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies in the U.S. It employs more than 12,000 people throughout its operations in 25 countries, according to its website.

In 2012, Medline bought Medisiss, a Redmond company that reprocesses medical devices, and maintained the business in Redmond.

As of March 2014, Medline had about 125 employees in Redmond, according to EDCO.

Lee said that Medline is leasing its current location. The land it plans to buy, located on NE Hemlock Avenue, is owned by the city of Redmond through an agreement with Deschutes County, according to county records.

Lee said the Medline project would bring dozens of new jobs to Redmond.

“This market segment is growing so quickly that those numbers are a safe assumption,” Lee said.

The project does not have an expected completion date, Lee said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7818,

shamway@bendbulletin.com