Boston Scientific Celebrates 15th Anniversary in Costa Rica

In 2004, Boston Scientific opened its first Costa Rica manufacturing plant in La Aurora de Heredia to support our Endoscopy business.  In the 15 years since, the company has expanded operations to support all divisions with two facilities and a workforce of 4,500 employees and collaborators, making Boston Scientific the largest medical device manufacturer in the country.

 “I started from day one, just for a couple of weeks to help collect resumes. The Coyol plant wasn’t even in our dreams at the time,” Julieta González explains as she reflects on being the second Boston Scientific employee hired in Costa Rica. “Now years later, I’ve stayed for the passion that I share with my colleagues. We care about transforming the lives of patients, but Boston Scientific also has helped me grow personally.”

To celebrate this milestone, the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, visited the Boston Scientific Coyol plant in August to recognize our leadership in medical device innovation. During his visit, the President moderated a panel featuring two of our employees who shared why they are passionate about their work and how Boston Scientific helped them develop a career path.

One of the panelists, Wendy Artavia told her story of how she helped her parents pay for her education by learning to sew at the age of 11. Wendy began working at Boston Scientific in 2004 as a Product Builder and was quickly promoted to be a Trainer and Line Leader. After two years, she had the opportunity to begin training as a Quality Technician. This move provided the opportunity to get a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. She is now a Manager in the Complaint Management Center at Boston Scientific and enjoys participating in triathlons and marathons in her free time.   

Joining Wendy on the panel, Pablo Bonilla also shared how his career progressed at Boston Scientific. Pablo obtained his medium technical degree in precision mechanics which helped him in his first position as a Mechanical Operator. In 2004, he joined Boston Scientific as a Validations Technician and was promoted shortly after to a Manufacturing Engineer Jr. Since then, he was able to gain skills in engineering, supervising and project management and now serves as the Head of the Department of Materials at our Coyol plant.

Learn more about our team in Costa Rica: