Baxter Breaks Ground on Manufacturing Facility

Baxter International has broken ground in Stanton Springs, Ga., (a new community about 40 miles from Atlanta) for its new manufacturing facility. Governor Nathan Deal called Wednesday August 1 “a glorious day for the state of Georgia.”

“Georgia supports Baxter’s mission to save lives, and this occasion is one of many milestones we look forward to celebrating with the company as it establishes a presence in Georgia,” said Deal. “Baxter’s decision to build a facility here is a watershed event for the state, not only in our goal to establish Georgia as a hub for global health, but in our mission to provide high-quality jobs for our citizens.”

Baxter announced in April its plans to build a facility in Georgia that will manufacture plasma-based therapies that treat chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The Stanton Springs site will also house warehouse and plasma testing laboratory facilities. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013, and completion of construction of the first manufacturing buildings is planned for 2015. Additional construction will continue into 2016 and the plant is anticipated to begin commercial production in 2018. In addition to the manufacturing facility, Baxter will locate plasma collection centers in a number of communities around the state.

In addition, Stanton Springs will also be home to a biotech training center that will provide a workforce pipeline for Baxter and other members of the state’s bioscience industry. The training center will be owned by the state and operated by Georgia Quick Start, a customized workforce training program.

“In a few years,” said Baxter CEO Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., “Baxter team members working in facilities located on the ground where we are standing today will produce lifesaving biologic treatments for patients around the world.”

Georgia’s life sciences industry and university research, plus the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention located in Atlanta, have a $23 billion annual economic impact on the state and employ more than 105,000 people, according to statistics from the 2011 “Shaping Infinity” report, released by Georgia BIO. The bioscience industry in Georgia created $19.5 billion in output and contributed $7.5 billion to the state GDP as well as $496 million in tax revenues for state and local governments.

Baxter International Inc. develops, manufactures and markets products for patients with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. The company is headquartered in Deerfield, Ill.

Photo credit: Sue Ann Kuhn-Smith, RockdaleCitizen.com