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EDIC approves five-year exemption for Corvent Medical as company expands ventilator manufacturing in Fargo
Summary
Corvent Medical, which received FDA 510(k) clearance for its ventilator product last November, received committee approval for a five-year exemption to expand manufacturing space in the Prax Building; the company says it has exceeded earlier job and payroll commitments and plans additional hires.
The Economic Development and Investment Committee approved a five-year property-tax exemption application from Corvent Medical to expand manufacturing and warehousing space in the Prax Building, a move the company says will support additional hiring and increased production of critical-care ventilators.
Richard Walsh, identified as CEO of Corvent Medical, summarized the company's growth since locating in Fargo in 2021, saying the firm grew from initial engineering and R&D work at North Dakota State University locations into a manufacturing operation in the Prax Building. "In the last 12 months, all of the medical ventilator companies that were here in The United States have left. We are the only manufacturer of mechanical ventilation products in The United States," Walsh said. He told the committee Corvent received FDA 510(k) clearance in November and described a market opportunity as older devices approach end of service.
Economic-development staff told the committee Corvent exceeded an earlier commitment to create 27 jobs at an average salary of $97,510: staff reported the company currently has 42 employees and an average reported salary of $140,595, representing approximately $6 million in payroll. For the expansion under review, staff said Corvent expects to add nine full-time positions in the expansion year and reach 30 additional positions by year five; the company also told the committee it plans to hire another 11 employees this year for warehousing and manufacturing.
Walsh described Corvent's product as a class IIb critical-care ventilator and said the company is pursuing opportunities tied to federal stockpile and "Buy American" procurement trends; he said 200,000 ventilators in the federal stockpile are approaching end-of-service and that Corvent hopes to participate in replacement purchasing.
After discussion the committee voted to approve the five-year exemption; a mover was recorded in the transcript and the chair announced "Motion carries." The transcript contains no written roll-call tally. Staff told the committee the requested space is the last available adjacent area in the Prax Building and previously was occupied by another tenant.
No statute, ordinance number or regulatory citation was introduced during the public discussion; committee action was a discretionary approval of the exemption application under existing local incentive procedures.
Committee members praised the company's development and the decision to retain and expand manufacturing in Fargo; no conditions or amendments to the exemption were recorded in the meeting transcript. Staff will proceed with administrative steps to finalize the exemption paperwork and continue monitoring job and payroll outcomes as part of the pilot and incentive reporting process.
