MARQUETTE - Just like pioneers of the old West, Pioneer Surgical Technology has had to become innovative and reliant on its community in order to survive and grow.

Only 10 years old, the home-grown company has already added to its building four times, and together with Boldt Construction and the building trades, the firm is now involved in its fifth and largest expansion.

Lawrence Mosca, Pioneer's vice president of administration and new product development, said the $7 million addition will add about 30,000 square-feet to the company's building. The addition will allow the 80-employee firm to add personnel and equipment, and improve its research and development capabilities and product packaging.

"In the past we've added space as we've added a particular process," Mosca said. "But now we're to the point where we're at capacity again, and now our plan is to build a space large enough that it will meet our needs over the next five years."

Pioneer has a unique niche in the Upper Peninsula's largest city. The company invents, manufactures and markets highly specialized medical devices, including implants and instruments. Mosca said what Pioneer does "is not native to this part of the world" - but partnerships with Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University, as well as the tremendous quality of life in the U.P., have allowed the company to attract and retain talented people.

"We thought we would have trouble finding people in an area that's so removed from the traditional pool of skilled workers," Mosca said. "But this is a great place to live, and with our university partnerships, we've had great success attracting workers."

Pioneer Surgical Technology was founded in 1992 by Matthew N. Songer, a practicing orthopedic surgeon with the Marquette General Health System.

One of the company's key innovations is the use of multifilament stainless steel, titanium and cobalt chrome cable as an alternative to monofilament wire for a variety of surgical applications, including small- and long-bone fractures. The multifilament cable system is an advantage over traditional stainless steel wire applications because it's easier to use, more flexible, offers superior strength and is easier to remove.

Surgeons and medical products purchasers from around the world use Pioneer products, and often visit the Marquette facility for demonstrations. The need for additional space for those demonstrations is another reason for the firm's expansion. And the construction of that expansion has hit the ground running, said Dave Pelto, project manager for general contractor Boldt Construction.

The structural iron was up and the underground mechanical work was set to begin last month, but the start of deer season left him with only a handful of workers.

"There's a clean room going in, and there's some unconventional framing because it's a pre-engineered building," Pelto said. "But aside from that, it's a pretty straightforward job." Located in the River Park Industrial Complex, future expansions should be no problem because there's plenty of adjacent land and the building is set up for adding on, Pelto said.

The Pioneer project is a relatively small job, but there aren't many that are larger in a slow market for construction in the U.P.

Upper Peninsula Labor-Management Council Executive Director Tony Retaskie said his wife's back was improved by two surgeries by Dr. Songer. "We put a lot of faith in him, and he helped her, so I have a personal interest in Pioneer," Retaskie said. "I pushed hard for that building to be built union."