Jul. 17—ATHENS — After more than doubling its revenue since 2015 and recently beginning a $23.5 million expansion, Athens-based Intech has plenty to boast about, but company official David Brackeen said he takes pride in producing medical products that help people, including an Alabama football legend.

"A lot of the companies around here are building rocket engines or stuff to kill people, but we are changing peoples' quality of life," said Brackeen, Intech's vice president of operations.

Brackeen said Intech, which began operations in Athens in 1975 as Turner Medical, makes medical instruments, robotic arms that perform knee replacements, and implants, which are mostly spinal and relieve back pain.

The Athens City Council last month approved a tax abatement for the company's expansion that will add 30 to 50 workers and bring its total number of employees to nearly 300.

Intech's Athens operation uses machines to form products from various materials.

"We buy raw material and we have computerized numerical machines — they're called CNC machines — and we generate programs that make the machines work. Then we turn that raw stock into finished product that will be implanted into the human body," Brackeen said.

Brackeen said the Intech robot performs precision surgery. Intech makes about 850 robots annually. They sell to Johnson & Johnson, Stryker and Medtronic, who then sell or lease to hospitals and other medical facilities.

One of the plant's robots and some of its implants are used in Huntsville Hospital, Brackeen said.

The company, Brackeen said, builds complex machinery and his skilled workforce produces quality equipment.

"They (employees) take a lot of pride and craftmanship and quality (into their work) and our customers really need that kind of expertise in this field. We don't build simple implants or simple instruments. We build complex," he said.

Employees, Brackeen said, took particular pride in one of their robots.

"One of our robot machines did the knee surgery on Nick Saban," he said of the University of Alabama football coach. "A lot of the team members here had a lot of pride in that."

Brackeen said Intech tries to hire local citizens and its target is people that live within a 30-mile radius.

Turner Medical founder Bill Turner, who in 2015 sold the Athens operation to the French company then known as Intech Medical SAS, said he began his company in Athens because that's where he lived.

"I didn't choose it. I guess it chose me. I was born and raised here in Athens."

Turner retained the property used by the business and leases the building to Intech.

Some of the people who worked for Turner remain at Intech now.

"That continued loyalty and being a good company to work for and taking care of their employees is one of the reasons I sold to Intech. They had the same core values that I have," Turner said.

Turner said he is happy Intech is adding to peoples' quality of life like Turner Medical did.

"That's always been a good feeling for me. I told a lot of people that worked for me ... you may be building something that your mother may need or your daddy. Because we build spinal implants and knee and hip implants, I said that may be for your grandmother, you never know."

Expansion planned

The building, located at 130 Durham Drive in Athens, is currently 64,000 square feet. Intech plans to add an additional 40,000 square feet of space to the facility.

Turner said he was approached by Intech about expanding.

"They're continuing to grow and they needed the floor space for expansion. They contacted me since I'm the landowner about expanding the building and I said, 'sure, be glad to,'" Turner said. "My son still works there, my secretary still works there. So there's a lot of people still there working for Intech that worked for me directly."

Brackeen said the expansion will allow for more floor space to add more CNC machines which will increase production.

Turner said Intech started construction a couple of weeks ago and hope to have the expansion complete by early or middle spring 2023.

At the June 6 Athens City Council meeting, the council approved a 10-year tax abatement for extra equipment and the building extension that will have a total capital investment of $23.5 million during construction.

The company will save $676,125 on sales and property taxes during construction. However, since Alabama law does not allow abatement of school taxes, the Athens City school system will receive $432,635 during construction.

Bethany Shockney, president and CEO of the Limestone County Economic Development Association, said there will be a significant amount paid by the company to the school system over time.

Shockney said abatements are important for companies like Intech.

"They're adding another 30 to 50 jobs through this expansion and so it's very important for us to help our companies as they're trying to expand. Anything we can do to help them, because it's all about job creation and creating a good living for our citizens," she said.

Currently the plant employs about 230 employees but over the next five years plans to hire 30 to 50 more. At capacity, Brackeen said, they will have between 280 and 300 employees.

"From a revenue standpoint, in 2015 we were at $20 million. Last year, 2021, we ended at $45 million and we're on pace to be $48-$49 million this year," Brackeen said.

Brackeen plans to grow the facility's revenue to about $70 million in the next five years. He said they will be able to produce more product because of additional machines and employees after the expansion.

"Business is good because it services the medical device industry, which is a growing market that grows at 30% per year. Also it's been good because of the skilled workforce in the Limestone County area. It's allowed us to be able to keep up with the demand of our growing market," Brackeen said.

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.