Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced the state will invest $600,000 through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) in Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) to create a facility in Pearland to manufacture CSI's arterial disease treatment system, the Diamondback 360. According to Gov. Perry's website, the TEF investment will create 100 jobs, with the potential to grow to 250 jobs over the next five years, and generate $23 million in capital investment.

"CSIs expansion in Texas is further proof that Texas remains the best state in the nation for business. Our reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, low taxes, skilled and educated workforce, and programs such as the Texas Enterprise Fund all come together to strengthen the state's economy by attracting jobs and capital investment," Gov. Perry said in a press release on his website. "This investment in CSI will bring more jobs to Texans in the Pearland area and expand our state's already thriving medical technology sector."

CSI's Diamondback 360 is a minimally invasive catheter used to treat peripheral artery disease. The Diamondback 360° System uses centrifugal force to press an eccentrically mounted, diamond-coated crown against the stenotic lesion, removing a thin layer of calcified and fibrotic plaque in the leg's small and large vessels. The Diamondback device has been used to treat more than 15,000 patients at nearly 600 hospitals across the country since 2007.

"As CSI grows, expanding production capacity and reducing business interruption risk become key operational strategies," CSI Executive Vice President Robert J. Thatcher commented. "The funding from the Texas Enterprise Fund and the city of Pearland allows us to expand more quickly into a second manufacturing facility, addressing these strategies."

The Texas Enterprise Fund was created in 2003 and has been refunded by the legislature since that time to help ensure the growth of Texas businesses and create more jobs. According to the TEF website, the fund has become a competitive tool to recruit and bolster business including 56,000 new jobs and over $14 billion in capital investment in the state.

The TEF is used for a variety of economic development projects, such as infrastructure, community development, and job training programs. To be considered for TEF, a project must demonstrate worthiness and maximize the benefits to the state of Texas, as well as realize a significant rate of return of the public dollars invested.

Adapted in part from a press release from Governor Perry's website and information from the TEF website.

Links: http://www.texaswideopenforbusiness.com/financial-resources/texas-enterprise-fund.html

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/13751/

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