Baxter to build plant in Georgia, add 200 jobs in Illinois
ASSOCIATED PRESS April 19, 2012 10:52AM
Updated: April 19, 2012 6:37PM
Deerfield-based pharmaceutical company Baxter International Inc. plans to build a manufacturing plant and related facilities in Georgia, employing about 1,500 people across the state, Gov. Nathan Deal said.
In connection with the Georgia investment, the company expects to create more than 200 new positions in Illinois, which involves an existing facility in north suburban Round Lake, company executives said.
“This investment demonstrates our long-term commitment to patients around the world who rely on our plasma-based therapies,” Robert L. Parkinson Jr., Baxter’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The plant will be located in the Covington area, southeast of Atlanta, Baxter said in a quarterly financial report early Thursday.
Construction of the Georgia plant will begin later this year, with commercial production is scheduled to begin in 2018, the company said in the report.
The Georgia operation will include warehouse and distribution facilities, Deal said in a statement. He said it will involve the manufacturing of plasma-based therapies that treat chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
The company’s plans in Georgia represent an investment of more than $1 billion, Deal said.
“Baxter’s decision to come to Georgia marks a new era in the growth of our biosciences industry and will have far-reaching impact on our economy,” Deal said.
Baxter also intends to locate “plasma centers” in communities around Georgia, Deal said in the statement. It did not specify where those centers would be or what they would involve.
Baxter’s BioLife Plasma Services operates plasma collection facilities in several states. Every year, it collects nearly three million liters of plasma, which is used in products to treat various illnesses, according to materials from the company.
In total, the developments announced Thursday will lead to the creation of more than 2,000 jobs in multiple U.S. locations, the company said.
Baxter also announced it earned $588 million in the first quarter, up 3 percent from a year earlier. Earnings per share rose to $1.04 from 98 cents, and net sales rose 3 percent to $3.39 billion.
Contributing: Francine Knowles
