Cook Group starting expansion project

Medical-device maker Cook Group expects to start work this month on an expansion project as it takes over the former General Electric refrigerator factory in Bloomington.

Cook spokeswoman Marsha Lovejoy said her company should soon complete its purchase of the factory, which shut down last year. Cook announced in September it would buy the 70-acre property, where it plans to spend $125 million on renovations.

The company said it could add 500 jobs over the next decade with the expansion of its Cook Medical unit that makes such products as heart stents and surgical instruments.•