Few wasted motions in Alphatec Spine's commitment to expand in Memphis

Memphis Business Journal
Jason Bolton

A surgeon moves with precision and purpose when performing surgery on the spine. Few motions are wasted.

A California company's courtship — then commitment to Memphis — followed a similarly focused, concentrated course.

Publicly traded Alphatec Spine Inc. (ATEC) set its sights on establishing a distribution and repairs facility in Memphis.

And, only about two months elapsed from contact with the Greater Memphis Chamber to seeking a tax abatement to selecting a local facility.

The search for ATEC’s new facility was led by a consultant from KMPG’s Philadelphia office.

ATEC — via KPMG — reached out to local officials in mid-January 2021, according to Ted Townsend, the Memphis Chamber’s chief economic development and government relations officer.

The attraction to Memphis was as it usually is for distribution facilities: a central U.S. location, available warehouse space, and FedEx. Plus, the recruitment effort received a key assist from a historically strong local industry.

“A company in this position is looking nationwide for the most strategic location for expansion,” Townsend said. “Given our geography, access to FedEx and their services, and that we are hub for medical devices, it made it a natural community for them to add to their list as they were vetting this.”

On March 15, ATEC sought a 10-year Fast Track PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) from the Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) for Memphis & Shelby County.

ATEC was approved for a PILOT on March 17 for a project slated to create 95 jobs in Memphis and have a $3.5 million capital investment. In addition, total compensation expenses for the new jobs would total $6 million annually.

ATEC selected 75,000 square feet of space at 4101 Willow Lake Blvd. for its Memphis location. The company confirmed the intent to lease 100% of the space on March 23, with a projected open date of July 2021.

An ATEC press release noted the company would “aggressively ramp up its Memphis operations over the ensuing years.”

The quick acceleration into local operations is made possible due to Memphis’ highly developed medical device industry.

“They have a high confidence level in Memphis delivering on their on-boarding schedule and those [ramp up] demands,” Townsend said.

The combination of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and medical device suppliers and related workforce talent helped seal the deal for ATEC.

"We have already begun to assemble Memphis leadership with extensive know-how and deep spine experience, and look forward to rapidly building a highly engaged, talented local team," Pat Miles, ATEC's chairman and CEO, said in the release.

And, the quick process to land ATEC is one the Greater Memphis Chamber aspires to replicate.

“Typically and historically, we're known as the second-largest market in the U.S. for medical device manufacturing,” Townsend said. “I want us to be first. The way to build that is to get companies like Alphatec to put production here in our community.”