MARRECCA FIORE
Observer-Dispatch

UTICA -- ConMed Corp. is in the process of filling 30 new manufacturing jobs locally that stem from the acquisition and relocation of a Jacksonville, Fla.-based company it purchased earlier this year, a company official said Monday.

"We are three-quarters of the way through that (hiring) process," said Joseph J. Corasanti, president and chief operating officer of ConMed. "Everything has been moved here (and) we plan to complete the hiring within the next 60 days."

Since December 2002, ConMed has acquired four companies. Of the four, only the product line of one company, CORE Dynamics of Jacksonville, Fla., is being moved to Utica.

The company is also adding 50 sales representatives to its orthopedic sales force, which, at completion of the hiring, will consist of 18 private distributors.

ConMed's sales professionals work for distributorships or independent contractors who are paid commissions after meeting contractual requirements, Corasanti said. The company's sales staff is based in cities across the country. The new sales staff is needed for the integration of Bionx Implants Inc., which ConMed acquired in March.

"The increase in our sales force enables us to properly support the new Bionx business," Corasanti said. "We believe it will also permit greater sales penetration for all of our orthopedic products."

The additional sales force is part of the company's on-going efforts to grow the company by growing sales revenue, said ConMed spokesman Sean Leous of New York-based FD Morgan-Walke.

ConMed, whose stocks are traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol CNMD, closed at $16.97, up 0.15.

CONMED QUICK FACTS:

Location: 525 French Road, Utica.

Number of employees: 2,500 worldwide; about 1,000 in the Mohawk Valley.

On the Web: www.conmed.com

Operations: A leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of arthroscopic products, electrosurgical systems, powered instruments, ECG electrodes and other surgical and patient-care products.

Stock: Nasdaq, ticker symbol CNMD.