Life science jobs coming to Thomaston

By Dan Chapman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It’s not as sexy, say, as stem-cell research or nano-technology, but Georgia added an animal products factory Wednesday to its growing life-science portfolio.

Smyrna-based Animal Health & Sciences Inc. will invest $9.1 million and hire 100 people in Thomaston, about an hour south of Atlanta. They’ll make chemicals for shampoos, powders and aerosols to keep pests off dogs, cats and horses.

“A lot of people don’t realize how much of an animal health presence we have here in Georgia,” said Charles Craig, president of Georgia Bio, a nonprofit that promotes the bio-tech industry. The announcement “is just another example of Georgia’s attractiveness as a destination for bio-science industry development.”

The state’s life-science industry – bio-engineered medicines, foods, fuels and agricultural products -- produces an annual economic impact of $16 billion, according to the Selig Center at the University of Georgia. More than 60,000 people, either directly or indirectly, work in the industry.

The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory and other universities, as well as the Centers for Disease Control, perform ground-breaking bio-tech research. The U.S. Department of Agriculture runs a research center in Athens.

Most of Georgia’s 300 life-science companies tally revenues below $10 million, according to UGA. Roughly 40 percent of the companies employ fewer than 10 people.

But the corridor between Atlanta and Athens is home to some big name Big Pharma including Solvay in Marietta.

Craig couldn’t break out the economic impact of the state’s burgeoning animal life-science industry, but it’s impressive. Duluth’s Merial, for example, makes vaccines and drugs in Gainesville. Eli Lilly’s Elanco makes bovine growth hormones, which help cows produce more milk, in Augusta.

“Georgia has a very diverse life-sciences industry,” Craig said.

In Thomaston, Animal Health will take over a shuttered piano factory and make non-toxic, biodegradable chemicals for sale to pet care companies nationwide. Company officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

Animal Health will receive $5 million in job tax credits over five years and another $400,000 in sales tax savings, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Thomaston granted the newly formed company an additional $250,000 in incentives.