Hotel Arthrex

One of Collier County's largest private employers is growing so large that it needs a convention center to host sales and educational meetings.

Reinhold Schmieding, founder and president of surgical-device maker Arthrex, made a public plea for such a facility at a gathering of hoteliers in Naples recently. He says the Naples area misses out on medical and sales meetings that Arthrex hosts because there's no facility that's large enough.

“We spend millions of dollars on meetings we could do here,” Schmieding told the Collier County Lodging & Tourism Alliance. He estimates 10,000 people will visit Arthrex this year, and they'll spend $10 million.