Valent BioSciences to Construct Iowa Manufacturing Facility
23 January 2012 LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., United States – Valent BioSciences accepted bids from more than 100 trade representatives for a new $146 million manufacturing facility in Osage, Iowa.
The company will bring more than 500 workers and 89 permanent jobs to the Osage area. Groundbreaking is slated for March 16, 2012 with construction running for the next two years. When complete, production at the 73-acre site will include microbial products as well as plant growth regulators and other biorational products for agriculture and public health. The plant is expected to be online by mid-2014.
The new plant will be the first ever full-scale manufacturing facility designed and constructed specifically for production of biorational products, which Valent defines as products derived from natural or biological origins and used in agricultural, public health, and forestry applications.
“We’re obviously very pleased thus far with our progress in Iowa,” said Mike Donaldson, Valent BioSciences President and CEO, noting that the project remains ahead of schedule. “Highly effective and efficient tools for agriculture are an important part of our future, and this new facility will help us to meet the needs of a growing population. This is the largest and most important investment ever made not only by our company, but also for the biorational products industry as a whole. It’s great to see our excitement being shared in and around Osage.”
The January 2012 bidding event was organized by the Chicago-based Gilbane Building Co., which will manage construction of the 130,000 square-foot facility. Subcontractors from all over the country came to Iowa to gain an introduction both to the bidding process and to Gilbane, Valent BioSciences, and Middough Inc., the plant’s architectural and engineering firm.
Source: Valent BioSciences, Edited by Stefanie A. Toth, Online Editor
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