Fresenius isn’t the only one hiring, others are hiring too! Check it out! (Isn’t it tempting?)
March 13, 2014 -- The Knoxville Chamber is excited to announce Fresenius Medical Care North America, the world’s largest provider of products and services for kidney dialysis, will bring its East Coast manufacturing operations to Innovation Valley. The company will invest $140 million and create 665 jobs in Knox County.
“I want to thank Fresenius Medical Care for investing in Tennessee, and I appreciate the new jobs being created in Knox County,” Gov. Bill Haslam said. “Here in Tennessee we’re working to create an environment where companies like Fresenius Medical Care can succeed and expand, and today’s announcement supports our goal of becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”
“We are so pleased Fresenius Medical Care has decided establish its East Coast manufacturing operations in Innovation Valley,” said Rhonda Rice, executive vice president of the Knoxville Chamber. “The company’s investment in the region is one of the largest in recent history and will create 660-plus jobs for our workforce.”
“I am excited to welcome Fresenius Medical Care to Knox County, and am thankful for their considerable investment in our community,” Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett said. “Not only will their expansion into Forks of the River utilize a now-vacant piece of industrial property, the hundreds of high-tech manufacturing jobs they will bring to Knox County will have significant economic impact on our entire region.”
The process to recruit Fresenius Medical Care to the area began in May 2013, and was a collaborative effort by the Chamber, Knox County Industrial Development Board, the state of Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Knoxville Utilities Board.
“In Knoxville, we’ve found a home with an excellent workforce pool, a facility that will work well for our purposes, and a location that will enable us to serve our customers in the eastern half of the U.S. more efficiently,” said Troy McGhee, vice president of manufacturing for Fresenius Medical Care. “We are additionally drawn to the area’s outstanding business climate, and are looking forward to developing and expanding our presence here in the coming years.”
Fresenius Medical Care will occupy the former 277,000-square foot Panasonic Building at Forks of the River Industrial Park. The company plans to begin retrofitting the facility later this year. NAI Knoxville has represented seller during the transfer of the building to the medical supply manufacturer.
The company is dedicated to raising life expectancy and improving quality-of-life for the one in 10 Americans that will be diagnosed with kidney disease. The Knoxville facility will produce dialysis related products, which will be distributed to Fresenius Medical Care’s clinics and distribution centers in the eastern part of the United States. The company currently serves more than 266,000 patients in 3,220 clinics, 10 of those are located within a 30-mile radius of downtown Knoxville.
Fresenius Medical Care will begin moving one production line to the Knoxville facility in September 2014. Actual production at the facility is not expected to begin until early 2016, pending a designation from the Food and Drug Administration that the facility is a qualified plant for production. Once production reaches full capacity, the operations will bring an estimated $37 million in annual wages into the region.
“The Knoxville Utilities Board is excited that Fresenius Medical has selected Knoxville for their new plant,” said Mintha Roach, president and CEO of the Knoxville Utilities Board. “Fresenius’ estimated production at their Knoxville plant will make it one of KUB’s largest utility customers for electric, gas, water, and waste water services.
Fresenius Medical Care joins several other successful medical equipment manufacturing companies in Innovation Valley like ProNova, Seimens, DeRoyal, and Kimble Chase Life Science. Medical equipment is one of Innovation Valley’s target recruitment sectors because of the region’s trained workforce and easy access to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“The Knox County Industrial Development Board is thrilled to have been part of the recruitment of such an outstanding company to Knox County,” said Trey Coleman, chair Knox County Industrial Development Board. “With the number of new jobs and capital investment being reported, Fresenius Medical Care will have a very positive long-term economic impact on our community, which made it easy to support local tax incentives for this project.”
Fresenius Medical Care will begin hiring in different phases. Toward the middle of 2014 it will begin hiring for support jobs, such as engineering facilities management, and in the fourth quarter of 2015, it plans to begin hiring for other positions such as supervisors, technicians, production line workers and maintenance. Job opportunities will be posted on the Fresenius Medical Care website, http://jobs.fmcna.com.
About the Knoxville Chamber
The Knoxville Chamber is the region’s leading business organization with more than 2,000 members that employ more than 276,000 individuals. More than 80 percent of Chamber members are small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. It fulfills its mission of Driving Regional Economic Prosperity by recruiting new businesses and supporting existing companies, and manages Innovation Valley, a regional economic development initiative. The organization actively advocates on the behalf of the business community. Members receive marketing, networking, professional development benefits, and many other cost-effective services. For more information visit www.knoxvillechamber.com.
About Innovation Valley
Innovation Valley is the regional economic development initiative with world-class resources in science, technology, and business managed by the Knoxville Chamber. Experience shows that a regional approach to economic development offers the most advantages to businesses planning a corporate relocation or expansion and the communities involved. Visit www.knoxvilleoakridge.com for more information.
Don’t forget, hundreds of biopharma companies are hiring! (We know you can’t resist.)