OrthoLazer is relocating its corporate headquarters to Warsaw from New York, and opening an orthopedic laser therapy services center, with the assistance of a small loan from the city’s Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund.
The Warsaw Common Council at their meeting Monday approved two resolutions to make the $75,000 forgiveable loan possible.
The first resolution presented by Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner approved the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between OLC Development Inc. (OrthoLazer) and the city. He said the resolution and MOU were very similar to ones the city did with Medartis and Mentor Media in the past.
“This is part of our EDIT Revolving Loan, and we use this for financial incentives for new industries and businesses,” he said. “... This request and this MOU is for OrthoLazer. It’d be a three-year forgiveable loan with increment amounts of $25,000 over those three years. So each year would be $25,000, and each year would be forgiven, assuming they meet the jobs as outlined in the MOU and the subsequent forgiveable loan resolution.”
While the first resolution was for the MOU, the second resolution was for the actual loan.
Skinner said the project is expected to create 14 jobs with annual payroll of over $700,000.
“And each January, as each increment is paid out, the next one is looked at. We’ll check to make sure they meet those requirements. If they meet those requirements, that loan for the previous year will be forgiven and then the new loan will be issued,” he explained.
Randy Rompola, bond counselor with Barnes & Thornburg, said the first resolution simply approved the form of the MOU between the city and the company that will provide for the loan, which was the second resolution.
“As Jeremy indicated, the company has to meet certain wage and job numbers. To the extent that they don’t meet that, the loan agreement in your next resolution would provide for the loan not to be forgiven and to be paid over a 36-month period and the standard loan terms, which we’ve used with the city before. Again, if the loan were not forgiven, it would be repaid at prime plus 3%. But, obviously, the expectation is that the company will continue to grow and add the jobs that they expect to add so that the loan can be forgiven,” Rompola explained.
Dan Stichter, president at OrthoLazer, said, “OrthoLazer is a retail pain management therapy company connected to many of the orthopedic companies here in the community. It is opioid-sparing, which is the key deliverable here. It allows people who have had an acute injury, chronic pain or post-operative to an orthopedic surgery to be treated in a way that allows that pain to be relieved. It allows them to get back to life more quickly, and allows their scarring to heal.”
He said it truly is a light therapy. A robotic laser treats the patient over a six- or 12-treatment cycle, likely over a two- to four-week time period. Treatment takes place in a physical center.
“One of the things we’re most excited about is relocating the headquarters of this company to Warsaw, Indiana, the orthopedic capital of the world, from Rochester, New York, where it was founded, and allowing that company to grow and flourish with retail location here in Warsaw, along with the corporate headquarter, and a number of senior employees, but also retail locations throughout the United States,” Stichter said.
OrthoLazer’s stated goal is to have 300 locations over a seven-year time period, led by Rod Mayer, a known entrepreneur in the Warsaw community. Stichter said he had the opportunity to join Mayer at Nextremity Solutions, then Medartis and now OrthoLazer.
“The city’s been wonderful to work with. As we thought about how we might be able to justify the relocation of those headquarters, these funds are incredibly important and allows us to move forward knowing we have the backing of the city and the community, and, again, introduce this to the orthopedic community and the orthopedic ecosystem at large,” Stichter stated.
Councilman Juergen Voss asked, “You mentioned retail locations. Is this administered by physicians or physician assistants or technicians?”
Stichter said it’s administered by trained technicians. “So there’s a director of the center, who generally has some sort of medical background, and, of course, our technicians are trained in general human anatomy and the process by which they administer the therapy. Often, surgeons will be owner-partners in these centers, so they will have a referral base of patients that they recommend this therapy to and that it’s helped their patients in the past.”
Voss also asked if a location has been decided on yet.
Stichter said 902 Provident Drive, Suite C, has been identified but a lease had not been signed as of Monday pending the discussion with the council.
The first resolution on the MOU was approved 5-0, with Councilmen Josh Finch and Mike Klondaris absent.
Skinner then presented the second resolution that authorized the form of the loan.
The loan comes out of the Revolving Loan Fund the city created a few years ago. It is funded by Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) revenue. The council approved the second resolution 5-0.
After the meeting, Stichter said OrthoLazer has two employees here, but there’s no physical treatment center in Warsaw yet. It’s hoped one will open in the third quarter of this year.
He said Mayer joined OrthoLazer in July, and he joined in November, and they’ve been working together to build the OrthoLazer brand. The company already has 17 locations nationally, with the nearest ones in Chicago and Louisville.
The OrthoLazer treatment center will allow patients to come in and be treated right here in Warsaw.
By the end of 2028, the company will have 14 employees locally. They will be a mixture of center-level employees (people performing treatment), and corporate headquarter employees.
Along with his and Mayer’s past connection to Warsaw, Stichter said the reasons they wanted to move OrthoLazer’s headquarters here were “the connection to the orthopedic companies, connection to key orthopedic surgeons and just having a company with the name OrthoLazer, having headquarters in the orthopedic capital of the world makes sense.”
For more information about the company, visit its website at ortholazer.com