FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		MILESTONE FOR MILLSTONE The Herald News, Saturday, April 25, 2009 - Page B4 FALL RIVER — Millstone Medical Outsourcing, a company that started on North Main Street in 2000, opened a new and larger facility Friday on Commerce Drive in the Industrial Park. Millstone has been quietly expanding for several years. It offers inspection, packaging, processing and distribution services to the medical and dental industries. “We built this for growth,” said Millstone Medical Outsourcing CEO Christopher Ramsden. “We strive each day to provide exceptional services.” In the past five years, the company formerly named Medipak expanded three times at its North Main Street facility in the former Narragansett Mill, which it will continue to operate for the time being. It also runs a smaller facility on Ace Street. And, in 2008 it opened a distribution facility in Memphis, Tenn. Millstone employs 150 people — 135 of them working in Fall River on two shifts. It intends to hire additional employees as the years progress. Maria Ferraz, a Fall River resident, has been working as a mechanical inspector at Millstone for about six months. She spent 15 years in quality control at the former Quaker Fabric Corp. before losing her job when the company shut down. On Friday, she was gloved and inspecting knee plates in the new inspection room under a bright light. “I have to make sure there’s no nicks or dents, that it has the right company name, that it’s the right size,” Ferraz said. “I have to take measurements. We have to make sure everything is up to specification.” Christopher Medeiros was inspecting small levels used for hip implants. “I have to make sure they work,” Medeiros said. Ramsden said the company has certainly hit a “milestone” with its current growth. The new 30,000 square foot facility is situated on 6.5 acres of and. It has room to expand to 120,000 square feet if needed. “This property will allow Millstone to grow for years,” Ramsden said. Mayor Robert Correia and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank both attended the grand opening on Friday. “In the fiscal climate all of us have been living in, there hasn’t been a lot of good news,” Correia said. “We’re happy they are building and expanding ... in a city so many have written off. Jobs and opportunities are being provided here.” Frank said Millstone Medical was a first-class facility and found the right place to do business. “Southeastern Massachusetts has long been home to many hardworking people,” Frank said. “This specialized manufacturing is where we’re going to survive.” The company was started by Shannon Tillman, its president, with a low-interest loan of $125,000 from the Fall River Office of Economic Development and additional financing from BankFive. Back