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San Diego animal health company will come to KC Kansas City Business Journal
A company that manufactures a leading avian influenza test has decided to flock together with other animal health companies with headquarters in the Kansas City region. Synbiotics Corp., which manufactures tests for about 45 animal and zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases, will move its corporate headquarters and research and development operations here from San Diego early next year, CEO Paul Hays said Friday. The company, which is on track for sales of about $20 million this year, was attracted to this area, in part, by the KC Animal Health Corridor initiative launched recently by the Kansas City Area Development Council, Greater Kansas City Area Chamber of Commerce and Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Inc. "It sort of crystallized some of the reasons we were interested," Hays said of the effort, which is attempting to build on a base of more than 100 animal health companies in the region between Columbia, Mo., and Manhattan, Kan. Synbiotics, which employs 112 people globally, will move 35 positions to the Kansas City region and will add more jobs in an attempt to build a stronger R&D team here, Hays said. The company had been looking to relocate somewhere in the Midwest to enhance its ability to recruit employees trained in the animal sciences and to be closer to leading veterinary research universities, Hays said. "In addition, the majority of our business and customers are in the Midwest because we're focused on food animals," Hays said. "And another factor was cost basis. The cost of running a business in California is quite high. ... I imagine we will save about 10 percent on payroll taxes alone by moving to Missouri." Before deciding to lease an existing 12,000-square-foot structure at a Northland site to be identified after a contract is signed, Synbiotics considered sites in West Lafayette, Ind.; Madison, Wis.; the Minneapolis/St. Paul area; and the Des Moines/Ames corridor in Iowa, Hays said. "But the Kansas City animal health initiative certainly helped us realize all the benefits that Kansas City has," Hays said. "I was very impressed because I think Kansas City faces a bigger challenge in promoting itself than other places. Its economic development leaders are representing two states and multiple communities in those two states, but they somehow have found a way to do that in a very fair manner." According to a release from the Kansas City Area Economic Development Council, which promotes development throughout an 18-county bistate region, eight entities assisted with the effort to relocate Synbiotics to this area. One partner, the state of Missouri, has agreed to provide the company with $1.6 million in income tax credits. Another, the city of Kansas City will provide a 10-year, 50 percent real property tax abatement on improvements to the Symbiotics facility. Other partners were the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City, Aquila Inc., the Platte County Economic Development Corp., the University of Missouri, Kansas State University and the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute. "I applaud the efforts of all involved in achieving this early milestone, as Synbiotics represents the first animal health company to relocate to the metro since our initiative took form," said Joerg Ohle, chaiman of the Animal Health Corridor initiative and president of Bayer HealthCare LLC's Animal Health Division in Shawnee. A recent study by Brakke Consulting Inc. that was commissioned by the initiative found that the Kansas City region has the largest single concentration of animal health assets in the world. Nearly one-third of the $14.2 billion global animal health industry is attributable to companies that have a headquarters in the region, the study found. |
Home | Benefits of the Corridor | Outstanding Business Climate | Concentration of Companies | Ground-Breaking Research | For more information, contact: © Kansas City Area Development Council. All rights reserved. |
