Metronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company. Listed among Fortune 500 companies, Medtronic is a publicly traded company and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MDT. The company was founded in 1949 by Earl Bakken and Palmer Hermundslie and is credited with manufacturing the first wearable artificial pacemakers. However, they started off with much more modest intentions, acting as a repair company, servicing medical equipment in local hospitals. Medtronic's main competitors for cardiac devices are Guidant (now a division of Boston Scientific) and St. Jude Medical.