Want to help make a baby? Jobs available at Cook Medical for in vitro fertilization devices.

As one of the world’s leaders in producing equipment for in vitro fertilization, Cook Medical in Parks Township is expanding operations and looking to hire 25 employees this quarter.

Headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., Cook Medical recorded worldwide sales of $2.2 billion in 2019 for all of its business lines. Cook Medical, previously known as Cook Vascular, has been in Parks Township since 1981.

It’s celebrating its 40^th anniversary this month.

The Parks Township operation — with 245 employees — focuses on several products, including a device to extract leads from pacemakers, blood flow monitors and in vitro pipettes. The insemination product can hold an egg with an injection device that inserts sperm.

“There are not too many places where you make a product that makes a baby,” said Chris Evans, general manager of the Parks Township facility’s operations.

Cook is ramping up production of in vitro fertilization products because interest is growing worldwide at an estimated 8% annually, said Marsha Lovejoy, Cook spokeswoman.

Cook was one of the first companies to develop devices specifically for in vitro fertilization and has played an essential role in the manufacture and distribution of IVF products worldwide, Lovejoy said.

The need for in vitro fertilization devices is increasing for a number of reasons: Couples are waiting until later in life to start families, and new markets are growing worldwide, Evans and Lovejoy said.

Cook’s 40,000-square-foot facility in the Parks Bend Industrial Park will not be expanded. However, the company is converting office space for manufacturing to accommodate increased production, Evans said.

In addition to the 25 employees they are seeking, more employees will be needed later in the year and into 2022, he said.

The new jobs are for manufacturing workers who earn $13 an hour or more, depending on the shift, said Kristy McCorkle, human resources manager.

Cook employees are offered health, vision and dental benefits, retirement contributions, paid time off and a free education for anything from a high school diploma to a master’s degree.

But it hasn’t been easy to find new employees, McCorkle said. The company has been announcing its job openings on social media and working with Armstrong County to bring in more employees.

“The majority of businesses, especially manufacturers that we talk to, indicate that hiring qualified employees is their No. 1 challenge, so unfortunately Cook Medical is not alone,” said Justin Nolder, business manager for the Armstrong County Department of Economic Development.

Nolder’s office has been coordinating introductions between Cook and the PA CareerLink state job searching service to help them find employees.

“Most people do not even realize that global companies like Cook Medical are located in Armstrong County,” he said. “They are a tremendous asset to the county, and business retention is a significant component of economic development.”

The difficulty of filling jobs for Cook and other employers stems from a small pool of potential employees, the migration of young workers from the county and the lack of knowledge of residents about job opportunities in the area, he said.

To learn more about Cook and apply for a job, visit their website: cookmedical.com/assemblers.