KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer Corporation, the U.S.
subsidiary of the worldwide Bayer Group, continues its series of significant
investments in the greater Kansas City community with the dedication of the
company's new $60 million pharmaceutical production facility at its Shawnee,
Kan., animal health site.
Stating that this investment demonstrates Bayer's ongoing commitment to
the Kansas City metropolitan area as headquarters for its agriculture
business, company officials dedicated the facility in a ribbon-cutting
ceremony with Kansas Governor Bill Graves, area civic officials and Bayer
employees.
In another action, the company also announced today that Bayer and Pursell
Industries, Inc. have agreed to form a new company to co-market products to
the U.S. consumer lawn and garden market. This action marks Bayer's entry
into the $1.3 billion consumer pesticide and fertilizer market. The company
will offer consumers lawn and garden products under the Bayer brand beginning
early in 2000.
The new pharmaceutical facility and entry into the lawn and garden market
bring recent Bayer agriculture investments to over $130 million and coincide
with several other recent actions that are bolstering the Kansas City-based
agriculture business:
-- the dedication of the company's new $45 million Axiom(TM) herbicide
facility, which makes Bayer a new player in the important U.S. corn
herbicide market;
-- a $25 million investment in a limited partnership capital fund that is
investing in the agriculture biotechnology field; and
-- an agreement to form joint ventures to serve the North American seed
treatment market through the Gustafson businesses.
The new 115,000 square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is one of
the most technologically advanced facilities of its kind in the country and
meets the most exacting U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Union
standards. Bayer will manufacture animal, as well as human, medicines at the
Shawnee Mission Parkway site.
"Bayer is a worldwide leader in animal health pharmaceuticals and an
active member of the Kansas community," said Governor Bill Graves of Kansas.
"As Governor, I'm proud when such companies choose to expand in Kansas and
continue to spark our strong economy."
"This facility takes its place among a multitude of resources that Bayer
uses to make innumerable contributions to the health, safety and convenience
of millions of Americans every day," stated Helge Wehmeier, President and CEO
of Bayer Corporation. "We are delighted to have the people of the Kansas City
area as partners in the growth of our pharmaceuticals and agriculture
businesses in the United States."
According to Bernd Krueger, head of Bayer's worldwide animal health
business, the company intends to further consolidate its excellent position
among its competitors and further expand on a global level with extensive
investment. "In the past five years, Bayer has invested almost $600 million
globally in animal health research, development and facilities," he said. "In
the next five years, we intend to further increase that investment."
In recent years Bayer's worldwide animal health business has grown by
10 percent per year, considerably outpacing the market overall, resulting in
over $900 million in sales in 1997. "This facility and the important products
that will be manufactured here will help us continue that growth and
strengthen our market position," he stated. One of the drugs to be produced
at the Bayer site will be the company's just-introduced Baytril 100, an
important antibiotic eagerly awaited by veterinarians for use in the treatment
of respiratory diseases in cattle.
"Our new pharmaceutical production facility also represents our commitment
to Kansas City, as well as to our 1,500 local employees," said Emil Lansu,
president of Bayer Corporation's Agriculture Division. "As responsible
corporate citizens, we need to think about the future of the greater Kansas
City area and its people as much as we do about the future of our business.
The two are intertwined, and we intend to be a positive contributor to our
mutual objectives to make Kansas City an even stronger center of commerce and
an area known for its high quality of life.
Bayer's animal health business manufactures and markets a broad range of
pharmaceuticals for the companion animal market, in addition to the highly
popular and successful Advantage flea control product for cats and dogs. The
business also produces pharmaceuticals and vaccines for the cattle, swine and
poultry markets, helping farmers ensure a wholesome and plentiful food supply
for consumers.
Bayer's Agriculture Division employs 1,500 employees in the greater Kansas
City metropolitan area and a total of 2,000 employees nationwide. In addition
to animal health care, it manufactures products for the crop protection and
garden and professional care markets, for sale both in the United States and
around the world. 1997 sales for the worldwide Bayer Group's agriculture
segment were about $3.3 billion. Bayer's North American sales represent
27 percent of the $32 billion in annual sales for the worldwide Bayer Group.
Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major business in
health care and life sciences, chemicals and imaging technologies. The
company had 1997 sales in the U.S. of $9.3 billion and employs more than
26,000 people. Bayer Corporation is investing $9 billion in capital
expenditures and research and development from 1995 through 2000. Bayer
Corporation, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, is a member of the worldwide
Bayer Group, a $32 billion chemical and pharmaceutical company based in
Leverkusen, Germany.
Baytril is a registered trademark of Bayer AG. Advantage is a registered
trademark of Bayer Corporation.
SOURCE Bayer Corporation
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CONTACT:
Greg Coffey for Bayer, 816-242-2559
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