Remainder of MDG Medical Inc. moving to Cleveland from Israel

By Kaye Spector

Plain Dealer Business Writer

 

One of the first Israeli medical companies to locate part of its business to Northeast Ohio will move the remainder of its operation to Aurora by early 2012.

MDG Medical Inc., a developer of automated pharmacy technology equipment and software, will move its research and development group from Lod, Israel, to its Aurora headquarters by March. The company’s electromechanical assembly also will relocate from Israel to the same site by early 2012.

With the move, MDG expects to make between 20 and 30 new hires in the next 18 months: programmers, engineers and manufacturing managers, as well as assembly workers. Some jobs will be filled by MDG Israeli employees who will relocate here.

President and Chief Executive Mark Saffran said Wednesday that the move will reduce expenses and simplify business processes.

MDG has 150 customers in five countries, but 95 percent of them are in the United States, Saffran said.

“It was my feeling that we want to get research and development and assembly closer to the core of our customer base,” he said.

MDG Medical was founded in Tel Aviv in 2001 and moved its headquarters to Beachwood a year later, keeping its research and development staff in Israel.

BioEnterprise Corp., a Cleveland organization that helps the region’s bioscience industry, offered business development services, such as selecting a U.S. management team and finding sources of capital, to help lure MDG Medical to Northeast Ohio.

In January, MDG’s headquarters moved to the Aurora site, which will expand by 18,000 square feet to accommodate the Israel operations.

MDG makes drug-dispensing technologies that can streamline the administration of drugs and reduce medication errors. The company serves rural and community hospitals across the nation and has partners servicing correctional facilities and nursing homes.

Saffran said the company hopes to receive grants from the state and approach local hospitals to be test sites for new technology.

“The whole goal here is to reduce costs, improve quality and hire more people,” Saffran said.