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84 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 Industry sPOtLIGHt › By Christina H. Davis C onnecticut's health care industry extends well beyond the exam rooms of doctors' offices and the corridors of acute-care hospitals. ere are a number of companies in the state's health care sector that are supporting the industry. Perhaps none is quite as well known and respected as Covidien, a global manufacturer of products for the health care industry. Covidien is based in Dublin, Ireland and has its U.S. headquarters in Mansfield, Mass., but the company has 3,200 employees in Con- necticut at two locations — New Haven and North Haven. e Connecticut operations are part of Covidien's surgical solutions business, which accounts for almost 50 percent of the company's $10 billion in annual revenues. Historical legacy Covidien's presence in the Nutmeg State reaches back to 1964, when a company called U.S. Surgical was founded in Connecticut. at company went on to be acquired by Tyco in 1998. Tyco's healthcare division spun-off and became Covidien in 2007. U.S. Surgical's major innovation was inventing surgical staples, which continue to be a mainstay of the Covidien product line and a place of continued innovations. In fact, Covidien recently received FDA approval for a new surgical stapler that was developed and is now manufactured in Connecticut. In a day and age when many manufacturing jobs are leaving the United States, Covidien con- tinues to have a presence in Connecticut because of the long legacy of quality at the North Haven plant, extending back to the days of U.S. Surgical. "It's extremely important for us to manufacture in high volumes consistently with high quality," said John Jordan, director of external communications at Covidien. "Our team in Connecticut gets it done." In addition to the manufacturing operations, Covidien also has senior executives and research and development operations in Connecticut. "We have some of the most talented em- ployees in our company based in New Haven doing R&D," Jordan said. "eir skill set is extremely hard to duplicate." Companies like Covidien are key to the state's long-term economic growth, says Joe Brennan, senior vice president for public Covidien's summer internship program is helping develop talent in Connecticut. Pictured are members of last summer's group of interns. Made in CT Covidien builds a $5 billion business in Connecticut Health Care ' Our team in Connecticut gets it done. ' —John Jordan, Director of External Communications, Covidien PHOTO/COVIDIEN