Baxter International Inc. on Wednesday broke ground on its $1 billion manufacturing facility for biological medical treatments near Covington, Ga.
Construction at the 1,600-acre master-planned Stanton Springs site is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013, with completion of the first manufacturing buildings set for 2015. Construction will continue into 2016 and the plant is expected to begin commercial production in 2018.
The 1 million square-foot facility will include operations supporting plasma fractionation, purification, fill-finish and a testing lab.
As reported in April, the facility will employ about 1,500 people and will make plasma-based therapies to treat chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The company will also locate warehouse and plasma testing laboratory facilities at the Stanton Springs site.
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.
Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter (NYSE: BAX) makes medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products with a focus on hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other chronic and acute medical conditions. The company had revenue of $13.9 billion last year.
