St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) wants to help start a "local vendor eco-system" to feed its Malaysian business, according to a regional news report.
The Minnesota-based company is looking to help establish the local vendor network to support its Malaysian manufacturing operations, which produce pacemakers, leads, defibrillators and neuromodulation devices, the New Straits Times reported. The company also operates an international call center in the area.
“We are willing to make investments in developing a local vendor eco-system, but the suppliers must be able to do likewise in meeting our quality control and stringent documentation requirements,” St. Jude operations executive Tobjorn Andersson told the newspaper.
“We hope the government can assist in developing our vendor base by creating a cluster of suppliers as this will help in getting other companies similar to ours to invest here,” Tobjorn said.
“This will turn Penang and Malaysia into a strategic hub for the medical devices industry with benefits all around,” he said.
According to the New Straits Times, St. Jude has been in Penang since 2011.