Global Resources International (GRI) announced earlier this month that it will invest $9.5 million to open a medical manufacturing facility in Dothan, AL. GRI’s new Advanced Product Solutions will anchor its family of companies in the manufacturing of engineered fabrics, personal protective equipment, and injection molded medical products, reported Made in Alabama, a news site produced by the Alabama Department of Commerce. The plant is expected to create approximately 70 jobs.

Headquartered in Flowery Branch, GA, GRI is a privately held manufacturing and supply company specializing in the design, manufacture, sterilization, and distribution of products for the healthcare, industrial, and animal-care markets. In addition to the United States, the company has manufacturing operations in the Dominican Republic, China, India, and Vietnam.

GRI is the latest in a string of suppliers to the healthcare sector that have announced new investments in their operations. This month alone, PlasticsToday has reported on MGS breaking ground on a $10-million expansion of its production facility, Tegra Medical expanding its contract manufacturing services in Europe and Asia, and UK-based compounder Matrix Plastics establishing Matrix Medical Plastics. Perhaps this trend should not be surprising, given the sunny outlook for suppliers to the medical technology sector.

A pair of business reports on the global medical plastics market forecast between 7 and 8% growth of the global medical plastics market over the next few years. The global medical device outsourcing market as a whole is expected to do even better. It is forecast to expand at a 10.4% compound annual growth rate through 2027, according to data from Grand View Research. It projects that the global medical device outsourcing market will reach a value of $115.9 billion in 2020, growing to $231.2 billion by 2027.