MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today
announced that its products, facilities and systems are operating normally
following this weekend's rollover to the Year 2000 (Y2K). Medtronic received
no reports of Y2K-related product problems over the weekend and are pleased to
report that all Medtronic facilities worldwide are operating as normal today.
The company received no patient, hospital or physician reports of Y2K
problems with its implantable devices, such as pacemakers, defibrillators,
neurostimulators and drug delivery systems. None were expected, since the
delivery of therapy through these devices is not dependent upon any external
calendar date. As Medtronic has noted in materials such as the company's Year
2000 Readiness Disclosure throughout 1998 and 1999, "ALL IMPLANTABLE MEDTRONIC
PRODUCTS ARE YEAR 2000 (Y2K) COMPLIANT. The company's products have been
assessed and found to be Year 2000 compliant, with the exception of a few
requiring software upgrades or manual date changes and a few discontinued
products that are non-compliant. Delivery of therapy is not affected by the
Year 2000 (Y2K) status of any of these products."
The company's facilities and operational systems were also found to be
Y2K-compliant. As further noted in Medtronic's Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure
on its web site ( http://www.medtronic.com/corporate/yr2000 ), all high-impact
systems and facilities were Y2K-ready before year-end. Medtronic employees
worldwide spent the weekend assessing the impact of Y2K on facilities,
information systems and production equipment. No major Y2K-related problems
were discovered. A few minor issues were identified and addressed as part of
the company's extensive weekend inspection plan. As stated earlier, all
Medtronic facilities are operating normally today.
"Tremendous work has been done by Medtronic's information technology
professionals and many other groups throughout the company over the last
couple of years to ensure that the Y2K rollover weekend would not impede our
ability to effectively serve physicians, patients and hospitals throughout the
world" said William W. George, chairman and chief executive officer of
Medtronic. "We commend all of these employees, especially those who worked
through this past weekend. This collective effort helped make Y2K a non-event
for our customers."
The successful transition to the Year 2000 continues the effort begun in
1996. Medtronic employees will continue to monitor its systems for further
Y2K issues, recognizing that not all features of the systems have been fully
tested. As of December 1999, Medtronic estimated that it had incurred
approximately $26 million in external and internal costs on a pre-tax basis to
address its Year 2000 Readiness issues. The company also estimated that the
total additional costs for addressing its internal Year 2000 readiness will
not exceed $3 million on a pre-tax basis.
Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading
medical technology company, specializing in implantable and interventional
therapies that restore health, extend life and alleviate pain. Its Internet
address is http://www.medtronic.com
SOURCE Medtronic, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.medtronic.com/corporate/yr2000
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/551393.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 551393
CONTACT:
Rachael Scherer, Investor Relations,
612-514-4971, or Chris Campbell-Loth, Public Relations,
612-514-8547, both of Medtronic, Inc.
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