Atrium Medical Withdraws Building Plans

Plans from a Hudson-based medical device distributor to build a 300,000 square foot facility and add at least 500 jobs in the community have been withdrawn by the applicant, however, that does not mean it's abandoning Merrimack.

The company's engineer submitted a letter withdrawing the plans on Jan. 31, ahead of their scheduled site plan review on Tuesday night.

According to Community Development Director Tim Thompson, Atrium Medical Corp.'s plan to build on Robert Milligan Parkway next to Camper's Inn has been pulled in accordance with corporate policy of the Swedish company that acquired Atrium back in October.

Getinge Group and its subsidiary, Maquet Cardiovascular, a global provider of cardiovascular technologies, acquired Atrium for $680 million, according to an Oct. 3 press release posted on Atrium's website.

At the time of the acquisition, the new owners told Atrium to continue moving forward with projects that were on the table, Thompson said. However, as the company further looked into the projects, it pulled the brakes on the construction of a new facility about 10 miles from its current base on Wentworth Drive in Hudson.

“Their corporate philosophy is not to build new facilities but rather to look for exisiting facilities to renovate and expand," Thompson said. "So they are withdrawing the project on Robert Milligan Parkway. They are not however leaving Merrimack. We are working with them on an alternative site in town."

Atrium is a medical device company with additional offices in Australia, England, France, Germany, India and the Netherlands.

The original plans filed with the town called for a facility that would house a three-story office, two-story research center, one-story production area and one-story warehouse.

The building would “infuse about 500 jobs into the community” and there was an option in the plans to expand to about 700 jobs within a 400,000 square-foot facility, Thompson said when the plan was filed in the middle of November. It is unknown how those numbers might change given recent development.

Thompson said the town is working with the company to identify a location that would suit their needs.

“We're encouraged that they are committed to Merrimack and we certainly think they will be coming forward to the board in the coming months," Thompson said.