- This is the first laboratory of its kind in Costa Rica.
Alajuela, August 8, 2024. The state-of-the-art packaging testing laboratory that the U.S. company ECI (formerly CRx) is installing in Coyol Free Zone will strengthen the ecosystem and global value chains in the medical device sector. It will also create more local research and development opportunities.
The opening of this laboratory, scheduled for January 2025, will provide direct services to companies in the park and in the country. Currently, these companies must rely on suppliers outside of Costa Rica to meet this need, so the on-site presence translates into improved efficiency and lower operating costs for companies located in the Coyol Free Zone.
“We are proud that ECI has chosen us to expand its local capabilities and install this innovative laboratory in our industrial park. We are convinced that Coyol Free Zone has the best Life Sciences ecosystem to meet the needs of companies operating in the country and to continue providing the ideal conditions for more companies to turn their eyes to Costa Rica and decide to invest here”, stated Carlos Wong, Managing Director of CODE Development Group, the co-developer of Coyol Free Zone.
For Wong, the expansion of the company, with five years of operating in Coyol Free Zone (since 2019), represents an impulse to improve, design and transfer processes to our country. “At Coyol Free Zone we are committed to excellence and continuous improvement to make the medical device ecosystem more robust, independent and comprehensive so that companies can meet the greatest number of needs with increasingly specialized services and products,” said Wong.
In the first stage of the 1,300 m² laboratory, ECI will create 15 new jobs for laboratory technicians and related engineers. The company will strengthen technical services, research and development, manufacturing engineering, and regulatory compliance, among others, adjusting to the specific requirements and demands of the industry.
With 17 years of experience, Coyol Free Zone is the leading medical device export park in Costa Rica. Its exports of more than US$2 billion per year are equivalent to 30% of the foreign sales of the manufacturing segment of the country’s Free Zone Regime.
This Free Trade Zone currently houses the successful operation of 34 Life Sciences and Smart Manufacturing companies that provide quality jobs and high-value manufacturing processes, knowledge and technology transfer, in addition to creating productive linkages with local suppliers.