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KC a healthy animal health site The Kansas City Star The region is the U.S. “epicenter” for the business, but leaders want more. Kansas City already has more animal health and nutrition companies than any other region, but area leaders want more. And they think they can get them. “In the United States, the Kansas City area is the epicenter of the animal health and nutrition business,” John Volk, senior consultant with Brakke Consulting Inc., told members of the local business and civic community Thursday. The Kansas City area and a corridor roughly stretching between Manhattan and Columbia are home to 116 companies involved in the industry, including the national or worldwide headquarters of 45 of them, according to a new Brakke study. The companies based in the region account for $1.37 billion, or 27 percent, of the nation’s animal health sales and $4.3 billion, or 30 percent, of global animal health sales. Organizers of the KC Animal Health Corridor initiative asked Brakke to determine the current scope of this industry niche and what obstacles the region might face in a quest to make it bigger. Though biotechnology is an economic development darling courted by virtually every state, only a handful of regions specifically are pursuing animal health ventures, Volk said in a meeting at the American Royal. Regions such as Ames, Iowa; Lafayette, Ind.; Minnesota’s Twin Cities; and St. Louis, for example, have included an animal health component in their biotechnology economic development programs. “The competition is much less focused,” Volk said. Kansas City area companies such as Fort Dodge Animal Health and its Overland Park headquarters staff of 200 represent a substantial economic force in the region. Overall, the companies employ at least 5,000 workers, including 500 researchers. The corridor initiative seeks to expand this work force with efforts to attract new companies and boost the fortunes of others already here, said Joerg Ohle, chairman of the initiative’s advisory board and president and general manager of the Animal Health Division of Bayer Corp. “Our vision is to show the world that this is the place to be if you are engaged in animal health,” Ohle said. “When we talk about bringing more companies here, it is not a dream,” Ohle said. In addition to the ability to capitalize on the benefits stemming from an existing cluster of like-minded businesses, the companies are attracted to the region because of a strong base of other researchers available to collaborate on development projects, Ohle said. The veterinary schools at the University of Missouri and at Kansas State University are particularly attractive assets. Enhancing the staff of scientists and laboratories specializing in food safety and security has been the top priority at K-State since the late 1990s, positioning the institution to be a major partner for the Kansas City area initiative, said Jon Wefald, K-State president. The university’s plans to establish a campus in Olathe will increase opportunities to pursue joint research projects, Wefald said. “By being here in Kansas City, we can put together a building with great research that will be of vital importance for animal health companies,” Wefald said. Reproduced with permission of The Kansas City Star © Copyright 2006 The Kansas City Star. All rights reserved. Format differs from original publication. Not an endorsement. |
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