Smith+Nephew (NYSE: SNN), which specializes in surgical robotics technology, celebrated the official grand opening of its new research and development center at the Stacks at 3 Crossings facility in the Robotics Row section of the Strip District with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.
While the London, U.K.-based company technically started working out of its new center during the early weeks of March 2020, the pandemic sent its staff home within the first two weeks of moving into the space. Now, it's officially up and running, allowing the company to further test its latest robotics-assisted surgical products on cadavers before the tech is implemented for use in knee and hip replacement surgeries.
"We're celebrating health care, robotics and the awesome talent in Pittsburgh, all coming together at 3 Crossings," Vasant Padmanabhan, president of research and development for Smith+Nephew, said. "I want to welcome everybody, all the employees that are here today on behalf of our CEO."
The 165-year-old company first came to Pittsburgh in 2016, and it has tripled the initial staff it employed here since then, now at more than 180 local full-time workers. In Pennsylvania, the company has an additional 105 field-based employees, and globally it employs 18,000 workers.
"We talk a lot in Pittsburgh and at the state level about how this city has become a global hub for the tech and innovation center and for robotics in particular," Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis Davin, said during the ceremony. "When we cut the ribbon on yet another expansion project for a robotics science and life science center in Pittsburgh, it signals to the world that if you're a tech and innovation company and you're looking for a place to grow and expand, Pittsburgh is a place to do it."
Others joining Davin and Padmanabhan in attendance for speeches during the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle and Life Sciences Pennsylvania President & CEO Christopher Molineaux.
"This new R&D facility is going to be an exciting hub of innovation," Doyle said. "This new state-of-the-art facility will play a key role in developing the next-generation surgical robotics platforms, products and methods that will continue to advance medicine and save lives."
In total, the company now occupies 67,000-square-feet of Oxford Development Co.'s Stacks at 3 Crossings building, which Smith+Nephew is using for the testing of its products in surgical settings as well as for general office space for its employees.
