Ground Is Broken for Bioscience Training Center
A contingent of Jasper Countians were among the 150 people on hand for the Georgia BioScience Training Center Groundbreaking Ceremony at Stanton Springs, at which Gov. Nathan Deal spoke Monday.
The center will support the training for Baxter International Inc. employees and for new companies in the life sciences industry that choose to locate in Georgia.
Some of the Jasper Countians are pictured above, F.L. “Rusty” Bullard, chair of the Development Authority of Jasper County (DAJC), David Dyer, director of the DAJC, Stone Workman, Andrea “Cissy” Benton with the Monticello-Jasper County Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Jordan, a member of the four-county development authority that was instrumental in bringing Baxter International to the area.
In his remarks, the governor said, “This training facility represents not only our commitment to supporting Baxter’s needs, but also our commitment to growing the life sciences industry in Georgia. It’s projects like these that have made, and will continue to make Georgia the No. 1 state in the nation in which to do business.
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At the groundbreaking, Gov. Deal was joined by Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Carr, Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Ron Jackson, and Vice President-Program Executive of Baxter International Inc. Brien Johnson.
Mr. Jackson referred to the busy site and said it is a legacy to the leadership of Gov. Deal. He said the center is being built partially to serve Baxter, and partially as part of a bigger vision. He said the state is working diligently to design and build a facility to serve the life-science industry. He also talked about drawing on area technical colleges.
“This Georgia BioScience Training Center will give us one of the most effective tools we can have in economic development to recruit more life science and health IT companies in Georgia,” said Mr. Carr. “The facility is designated solely to providing customized workforce training as an incentive to attract new biotech jobs to Georgia.”
He said that the project is the culmination of years of planning and development. He talked about the ability the Quick Start program has to provided customized workforce training, and how it worked well to make West Georgia a automobile center with Kia at the center. Georgia Quick Start, a division within the Technical College System of Georgia will operate the 52,000-square-foot facility. At the center, Georgia Quick Start will provide customized workforce training for Baxter.
He said Baxter understood that Georgia is a good state in which to do business before it was named the No. 1 state in the nation to do business. He also talked about the linkage between education and economic development, and said QuickStart holds them together.
Brien Johnson, vice-president/program executive of Baxter International Inc. said Baxter was impressed by Georgia’s ability to serve the bioscience industry both through the training center and the strong educational system across the state. He said the company would hire people in a range of previous work positions and range of education.
He said Baxter looked at 200 locations throughout the world before making the decision to locate at Stanton Springs. He said QuickStart contributed to that decision. He said that the construction is on track. The plant is expectd to be fully operation in 2018, but he said they will begin training when teh center opens in early 2015.
Commissioner Jackson said he would not introduce all the dignitaries at Monday’s groundbreaking, but he did introduce Mrs. Sandra Deal, wife of the governor, and highlighted her work with children across the state.
