Cordis LLC, San German, Puerto Rico
Employees: 1,035, non-union
Total Square Footage: 217,369
Primary Product/market: Cypher drug-eluting stent
Start-up: 2002
Achievements: customer reject rate reduced 80.7% over the past three years; gained two new product lines between 2007 and 2008; ISO 14001 and ISO 13485:2003 certified; J&J Maintenance Excellence Gold Award winner in 2007
The road to Best Plants recognition isn't always smooth. In fact, for Cordis LLC's San German, Puerto Rico, operations you might say the plant encountered a few potholes along the way. Over the past four years, the facility that coats the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary's drug-eluting Cypher stents has endured an FDA warning letter, published studies regarding stent clotting issues, and some uncertainty about the facility's future.
But through all of this turmoil, the San German operations has maintained a model of efficiency and continuous improvement that could serve as a benchmark for any facility with Best Plants aspirations.
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