WINONA LAKE - Those attending the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner Thursday night got the opportunity to sit in on an interview between Zimmer Biomet CEO Ivan Tornos and Lake City Bank CEO David Findlay.
“If you haven’t noticed, if you haven’t heard, there’s a lot of energy in Kosciusko County right now. There’s a lot of energy in Warsaw around the orthopedic medical device center. Some of that is driven by the great work of OrthoWorx and the team there. But a big part of it, the energy in the room right now, is around what Zimmer Biomet is doing to commit themselves to this community and to commit themselves to Kosciusko County as their headquarters,” Findlay stated in his introduction.
Tornos joined Zimmer in 2018, holding different positions since then. He was named CEO in August.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in September for the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion, Tornos talked about ZB’s 88 years of existence in Warsaw, adding that he looked forward to Warsaw being the company’s home for the next 800 years. Findlay asked Tornos what drove him to say that.
“I didn’t mean to say 800 years,” Tornos responded. “What I meant to say was 800 million years.”
He said ZB knows that over the last few years there’s been rumors of ZB moving elsewhere.
“We’re not leaving this community. Zimmer Biomet is Warsaw. There are people who believe Warsaw is Zimmer Biomet. We’ve been here for 100 years,” Tornos said, adding that there’s several reasons why ZB is committed to the community.
“We believe that best-in-class companies are anchored on great culture. Great culture is anchored on great people, and great people are the outcome of great family values. ... And that’s what we have in Warsaw,” he said.
Tornos said Warsaw is a great community with great values that ZB is able to hire from. “We’ve got 5,000 of you here at Zimmer Biomet, so people is number one.”
The second reason ZB is committed is because of the know-how and skillsets here.
“We’ve been here almost 100 years. We’ve got the best-in-class biomechanical capabilities. We’ve got best-in-class manufacturing. We’ve got best-in-class strategists. We’ve got best-in-class software development” and more, he said, that’s here and not somewhere else. The culture and great capabilities are here and ZB is part of that ecosystem.
“So the reason we’re going to be here for 800 million years is because we have what we need to continue to make this company what it is today - a Fortune 500 company that is just getting started in this journey to become the oldest medical company on earth,” Tornos stated.
Findlay then brought up Plug and Play, which works with the largest corporations and give them access to a strategically-aligned selection of startups that meet their tech interests. Tornos, former Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer and ZB’s Jim Lancaster in December went out to the Plug and Play meetings in California. In their Jan. 16 press release, Plug and Play Founder and CEO Saeed Amidi expressed his enthusiasm for the new location in Warsaw.
“Plug and Play is a phenomenally great opportunity for Warsaw, Indiana, and the idea that Zimmer Biomet can have a system and transition to that med-tech environment that you want to move into. So can you talk about Plug and Play and your perspective on it?” Findlay asked.
Tornos first encouraged everyone to Google Plug and Play and then read the news release about Plug and Play coming to Warsaw.
“Whatever I tell you is 10% of the potential of what we can do here,” he said, noting that Plug and Play is the largest innovator in the world when it comes to startups. “Any company that you heard of has part, in some sort of fashion, of this partnership with this group.”
He said the thanks goes to OrthoWorx and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partners that they learned about Plug and Play. Tornos said in December they signed a partnership.
“What we can do is bring multiple ideas, multiple investment to develop incubated companies that will become startup companies and then become real companies,” he said.
They’ll be able to build up to three to five new companies a year.
Findlay said ZB will be able to transition from being a medical device company to more of a med-tech company. He asked Tornos to explain what that transition means.
Tornos said ZB will continue to migrate to becoming a solutions leader. He said they’re going to identify problems with their customers to deliver the best experience for the patients, and make sure it’s done safely.
“This partnership with Plug and Play is going to bring these capabilities to our northern Indiana. This partnership is going to educate us on how to do that,” he said.
He said Plug and Play is not the only company or organization through which ZB will develop those capabilities.
Findlay asked where Plug and Play is going to be headquartered and how it will be established. “How will it merge in with the industries and the people represented in this room?”
Tornos said “evolution and revolution.” They started with a few partners like OrthoWorx and are working on the details, including a site. “We’ve got to go slowly. We can do things virtually, but then we’ll move rapidly with a more physical presence,” he said.
He said it wasn’t just for four or five companies and he hoped at some point Johnson & Johnson becomes a part of the partnership, just like many other companies.
“This is how do we collaborate to solve those priorities I was talking about, and along the way, while we’re solving those problems, how do we make this community better and greater from an economic standpoint,” Tornos said. “So, yes, J & J should be a part of this. OrthoPediatrics part of that as well. There are so many other opportunities for us to build this ecosystem.”
Improvements to the local air travel and U.S. 30 also were brought up by Findlay, who asked Tornos why they were so important.
“It is critical,” Tornos said. “When I mentioned that this place is a great city, with tremendous potential, I’m not saying that just because I’m here and I’m giving a speech. I mean it.”
He said he’s lived all over the world, from Spain to China and South America. “This is a great place to be. But there is one obstacle to grow at a faster modern pace, and that’s transportation. Let’s face it, most don’t have access to a corporate jet like I do. You can not fly in and out of Warsaw, you’ve got to go to Fort Wayne. That’s about an hour away. U.S. 30 today is not what it needs to be to have that agility that we need, to bring people in and out. To bring products out of Warsaw. To bring supplies into Warsaw. This is a main investment. So I can only single out this as the most important need for us to expand at Zimmer Biomet. We’ve got to create better access by U.S. 30,” Tornos said, adding that it can not wait. It has to happen now.
There are reasons why Fortune 500 and 100 companies are here and why Silicone Valley companies want to be here, he said, but there’s got to be better connectivity to the rest of the world.
“We’ve got 5,000 employees here in Warsaw, Indiana. We’ve got 20,000 direct employees across 145 countries,” he said. “If we don’t get access for the world to come to Warsaw, we won’t be able to realize our business.”
As for what the state’s economic development role should be for ZB’s continued growth, Tornos reiterated the importance of addressing U.S. 30 and maybe even a regional airport in Warsaw. He said housing needs to be affordable, too.
To get the renovation of the Center Lake Pavilion done, the Zimmer Biomet Foundation granted $2.5 million toward it. Findlay asked, going forward, what the focus of the foundation will be .
“It was one of my highlights of my 133 days on the job to be able to donate $2.5 million toward the pavilion. I know that it’s part of the history of this community,” he said. “... We have a foundation where we want to invest in three or four areas: building culture/communities, disaster relief when disaster does happen, working on DEI (diversity, equity, inclusivity) and investing in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).”
With about 20% of ZB’s workforce being from Warsaw, he said they should expect about 20% of the foundation’s funding to come here.
“So, when you think about where you are and where you’re going, and what messaging you want us to walk away from this room tonight ... what’s the one thing you want us to remember when we walk out of here about Zimmer Biomet, where it’s been and where it’s going?” Findlay asked.
Tornos said ZB is already becoming the boldest medical company on earth.
“That’s not a slogan, that’s not a T-shirt you’re going to get. We really are. We have been blessed with the opportunity to change things, first with orthopedics and later technology spaces,” he said.
He said it was from the grace of God that he’s here leading a Fortune 500 company with so much potential.
“I will not waste a moment. We will not waste a moment,” he stated.