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Bayer Animal Health Works Worldwide from
Shawnee
Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG based
in Leverkusen, Germany, is one of the world’s leading innovative
companies in the healthcare and medical products industry. The company’s
aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human
and animal health worldwide. With its North American headquarters
in Shawnee, Kansas, the operation for Bayer Animal Health is one
of the world’s leading manufacturers of veterinary drugs with
sales of nearly $1.3 billion in 2008. The division manufactures and
markets approximately 100 different veterinary drugs and care products
for dogs, cats and horses.
A company of this magnitude is typically located in New York City
or Los Angeles. Instead, Bayer decided to locate its North American
headquarters facility in Shawnee, Kansas, in the Kansas City metropolitan
area. This was a strategic move on many levels. “Bayer HealthCare
has great respect for the location in Shawnee, Kansas,” said
Bob Walker, Director of Communications for Bayer HealthCare’s
Animal Health Division. “This location is seen as a world-class
manufacturing site for both animal and human health pharmaceuticals
and also as a relevant distribution center in North America thanks
to the strategic location in the center of the United States, bringing
us closer to our customers on either coast,” said Mr. Walker. “The
Central Time zone in Kansas gives Bayer a larger window of opportunity
to speak directly to our customers on both coasts, plus transportation
costs are remarkably lower,” he said.
While Bayer HealthCare has been in Shawnee since 1963, the current
site was a consolidation effort of several facilities throughout
the region that began in 2001. “We are in Shawnee as a headquarters
facility because of the tremendous partnership between our organization
and the City of Shawnee,” said Walker. “The City of Shawnee
helped us work through many delicate construction issues and made
our expansion and renovation into the current site seamless,” said
Walker.
“We also have an excellent partnership with the Shawnee Chamber
of Commerce and the Shawnee Economic Development Council,” said
Walker. Walker sites networking opportunities and the Shawnee Tomorrow
leadership program as direct benefits for his company. “The
experience and opportunities we get from the Chamber help our employees
better themselves, and therefore help our company,” he said.
Walker has also served as a board member for the Shawnee Chamber
of Commerce for 5 years, volunteering his time in his already busy
schedule is a way to give back to the Shawnee community. “We
have a dual partnership with these great organizations and certainly
a dual benefit,” he said.
Mr. Walker has lived in Shawnee for 6 years, where before the east
coast was his home. When asked if relocating to Shawnee caused any
heartache for him, his family, or the employees of Bayer that chose
to come to this location, Walker reflects with a smile. “The
Kansas City metropolitan area is definitely a well-kept secret. But
once people see Johnson County living and its tremendous quality
of life, beautiful typography, great schools and vast recreation
opportunities – they’re hooked!”
Bayer Animal Health is part of the Animal Health Corridor located
in the Greater Kansas City area. KC area companies account for nearly
32% of total sales in the $19 billion global animal health market.
For more information on Bayer Animal Health, visit their website
here.
For information on the KC Animal Health Corridor, visit their website
here.
For information on Shawnee, contact the EDC at 913.631.6545.
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