A state-of-the-art nutrition manufacturing facility officially opened in Tipp City on Wednesday. Abbott, which makes products like Pedialite and Ensure, says the facility will help it meet a growing demand from an aging population.
Ensure is the popular adult nutrition drink. Abbott Supply Chain Vice President John Ginascol says an aging population is causing demand to grow.
“This is an area that we believe science based nutrition has a big play in and we have high expectations for strong growth. That’s why we built this facility and hopefully we’ll be expanding it someday,” he said following Wednesday's ribbon cutting ceremony.
The 250,000-square-foot facility in Tipp City is actually already up and running, but not at full speed. There are currently around 100 employees working there now. At full staffing levels there will be about 240 employees producing an estimated one million bottles of Ensure a day.
The new facility will use the latest manufacturing technology to produce the large amounts of the product for an aging population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 43 million adults in the U.S. today are age 65 or older.
“When Abbott comes to town we typically stay for a long time..."
Abbott has operations around the globe, with six facilities in the United States, and Ohio isn't new territory for them. Their U.S. Commercial, and Research & Development headquarters are located in Columbus. Right now Ohio is a good place to do business, according to Executive Vice President of Abbott’s nutritional products John C. Landgraf. He praised local and state government job-creation efforts at Wednesday's ribbon-cutting.
“When Abbott comes to town we typically stay for a long time, if the environment is right. That’s not a threat," he told the crowd, "that’s just a challenge. What brought us here keeps us here.”
Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor believes the state’s job creation efforts are paying off for Ohioans, and says recent job announcements in southwest Ohio alone total more than 2,700.
“It’s our pro-growth tax policies, our pro-growth regulatory reform policies that encourage businesses like Abbott to locate here and also to stay here for a long time,” she told reporters.
Taylor and Governor John Kasich are in a reelection bid this year. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Fitzgerald and running mate Sharon Neuhardt have criticized Kasich for cutting income taxes while raising sales taxes, and for not doing enough for the middle class and poor.
Tipp City, though, has had good news lately. In early June, Meijer Inc. broke ground on a new dairy production facility that's expected to bring a hundred jobs to the area.
The City says they've adopted an "Economic Incentives Policy"to help bring and retain more businesses to the area, "to contribute to and promote the long-term economic health, stability and welfare of the community."
Abbott officials say hiring for their Tipp City plant will continue, and right now they’re looking for a range of workers from high school graduates to professionals.
