Medical device founder joins awards club that includes Steve Jobs, Elon Musk

The Edison Awards, a global product innovation contest and celebration named for famed inventor Thomas Edison, recently shined a bright light on one of the region’s largest companies, Arthrex.

Not only did the Naples-based orthopedic surgical tools pioneer win three gold awards, but Founder and President Reinhold Schmieding won an Edison Achievement Award. Schmieding, 66, joins a club of past winners with the top Edison honor that includes Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Martha Stewart. The 34th  annual event, which took place April 21-23, was held in Southwest Florida for the first time, in Fort Myers and Babcock Ranch.