Serving the Customer
Research and Development
Serving the Community
Spanning the Globe

Serving the Customer

The Bakken Education Center in Japan is one of more than two dozen Medtronic sites worldwide that provides training and education to customers and employees.

As articulated in its Mission Statement, Medtronic strives "for the greatest possible reliability and quality" in its products and aims to be recognized as "a company of dedication, honesty, integrity, and service." From the early days, customer service was an essential component of Medtronic's operations. At one time, Earl Bakken, screwdriver in hand, tended to electrical problems in local operating rooms, and Palmer Hermundslie piloted his own airplane for emergency deliveries of the company's pacemakers. This hands-on, person-to-person commitment to customer service continues, with sales and technical support teams available to meet customers' and patients' needs worldwide.

Customer education, a key component of customer service, is available at 22 Education Centers in 16 countries, including the United States, India, Japan, and The Netherlands. These state-of-the-art centers feature classrooms, hands-on training areas, and technical facilities to serve physicians, other health care professionals, and Medtronic's sales and technical support personnel. Education Centers often host product training sessions, medical and scientific seminars, and professionally accredited workshops. Other educational seminars are sponsored by the company at various locations worldwide.

Medtronic also serves customers and patients well by using world-class manufacturing processes, meticulous product testing, and statistical quality controls. A company-wide quality standards program includes metrics, and quality standards for product development, manufacturing and labeling.

Research and Development: A Foundation for the Future

In its early days, Medtronic's research and development (R&D) was carried out on makeshift wooden tables. The company's scientists and engineers relied on notes and sketches drawn on paper bags, and they used spare parts from radios and other appliances.

Medtronic today devotes approximately 10 percent of its sales to research and development efforts. To ensure that Medtronic continues to introduce innovative products and therapies, about 20 percent of the research budget is designated for new ventures. This investment was borne out in performance: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ranked Medtronic number one in the world based on the number of patents issued for medical devices from 1969 through 1998.

Medtronic operates 26 state-of-the-art research centers around the globe and works closely with the world's leading physicians and scientists in conducting research projects and clinical evaluations of new products. These partnerships enable Medtronic researchers and physicians to combine their efforts to continually evaluate and improve both new and established technologies.

Internally, a number of organizations encourage creativity and innovation by promoting the exchange of research data and technical information across the company. The Medtronic Forum is an organization for the company's technical community; the Bakken Society, named for Medtronic's co-founder, is an honorary society that recognizes employees who have significantly furthered Medtronic's technical and scientific progress.

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