Baxter to expand in Arkansas, adds 225 jobs

Baxter (NYSE:BAX) said last week it is expanding its facilities in Mountain Home, Ark., adding an estimated 25,000 square feet and 225 jobs.

The company’s 550,000-square foot facility in Arkansas already employs 1,000, and is 1 of the company’s largest plastics and medical device manufacturing plants, according a press release from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

“Baxter’s expansion in Mountain Home will help increase production of components for disposable medical devices spanning our portfolio of life-saving and life-sustaining products. In addition to supporting increased global production of these medically necessary products, the expansion is an investment in a community in which Baxter employees have lived and worked for more than 50 years,” operations veep Tony Johnson said in a press release.

“Baxter has been an asset to our community since opening its Mountain Home lab in 1964, 50-plus years ago. It has provided thousands of jobs for the Mountain Home area and is a tremendous asset to our community,” Mountain Home Mayor Joe Dillard said in prepared remarks.

The announcement was made last Thursday at Arkansas State University’s Mountain Home Campus, the AEDC said.

“There is tremendous opportunity for growth in the healthcare industry. It’s great to know that Mountain Home is proven to have a business climate and workforce to meet the needs of Baxter. The medical products manufactured here in Arkansas go a long way toward improving the lives of people throughout the U.S. and the world,” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said in a prepared statement.

“I congratulate all of the local Baxter employees, past and present, for their hard work over the last 50-plus years that led up to today’s big announcement. I’d also like to thank the AEDC staff, the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce staff and its Focus Mountain Home initiative for their behind-the-scenes work in assisting Baxter with their expansion plans,” AEDC chairman Lang Zimmerman said in a press release.

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