The Perrigo Nutritionals plant in Georgia, Vermont, is the site of one of the most significant investments ever made by the company, according to CEO Joe Papa. Perrigo is the leading infant formula company that supplies mass retailers, grocers, and drugstores with their own store brand infant formulas. The $29 million investment in the Georgia facility not only brings the highest level packaging technology to the state, it will bring more jobs too.
Perrigo is a $3.5 billion company based in Michigan with a worldwide footprint. The infant formula made in Vermont now features a more mom-friendly packaging that will make it easier to use while ensuring the highest quality.
Papa said Perrigos infant formula sells for half the price of national brands at places like Target, Walmart and Sams Club, but with all the quality and, now, with better packaging.
The innovative packaging, with its re-closable plastic tub, was unveiled at a VIP tour at the plant off Interstate 89, in the Georgia Industrial Park located between Milton and St Albans.
Governor Peter Shumlin, Commerce Secretary Lawrence Miller, St Albans Mayor Liz Gamache, Franklin County Industrial Development director Tim Smith and a host of other dignitaries gathered January 25 to view the new line.
Vice President of Operations Sean Walsh led the tour of well sanitized officials and media through the plant. Walsh said it took a few weeks to get the bugs out of the manufacturing operation, but now, because of the redundancies built into the automated manufacturing process, it is running 24/7. Only the shipping department needs to shut down for four hours a day to reorganize.
As for the jobs, Walsh said the plant employs 330 fulltime and 55 part-time. They are looking to expand with a dozen positions available, from line workers starting at $13.50 to professional and scientific staff with salaries upwards of $80,000 a year.
Perrigo calls the new dry formula container SmarTub. It includes the following features:
· The AccuMeasure scoop leveler for more accurate feedings
· CleanPull technology that easily removes a foil liner with one pull
· SimpleSlide scoop storage for less mess
· A longer scoop handle for more hygienic scooping
· Anti-theft tag compatibility that protects the product where it is sold in retailers across the country
CEO Joe Papa explains the manufacturing process to Governor Shumlin.
"We believe we have advanced infant formula packaging with novelties that will transform the overall user experience for parents," said Perrigo Nutritionals General Manager Scott Jamison. "This undertaking began with extensive competitive analysis and consumer research, and culminated with the addition of a new state-of-the-art packaging line at our ISO 9001:2008-certified facility in Vermont. Our team invested $29 million and three years of development work into this effort to better serve our customers. The result is an innovative package on the outside with the same trusted formula on the inside."
The Vermont manufacturing facility, which has a 29-year history that spans ownership and operations from Wyeth to Perrigo, is the largest manufacturer of Store Brand Infant Formulas in the world.
The plant manufactures infant formula 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and, together with an additional facility in Ohio, is capable of producing 65 million pounds of powder formula a year. Today Perrigo Nutritionals produces 11 different formulas that are sold in more than 68 retailer chains including Walmart, Sam's Club, Target, Kroger, Babies R' Us, and other retailers in United States.
"This new packaging design marks industry firsts, including the only 100 percent leak detection system we are aware of engineered into the manufacturing," added Jamison. "In addition, this is the first infant formula package on the market we've seen that is anti-theft tag compatible that protects the product where it is sold in stores across the country."
From its beginnings as a packager of generic home remedies in 1887, the Allegan, Michigan-based Perrigo Company (Nasdaq: PRGO; TASE) has grown to become a leading global provider of quality, affordable healthcare products.
Perrigo develops, manufactures and distributes over-the-counter (OTC) and generic prescription (Rx) pharmaceuticals, infant formulas, nutritional products, dietary supplements and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).
The company is the world's largest manufacturer of OTC pharmaceutical products for the store brand market. The company's primary markets and locations of logistics operations have evolved over the years to include the United States, Israel, Mexico, the United Kingdom, India, China and Australia. Visit Perrigo on the Internet (www.perrigo.com).
SOURCE: Vermont Business Magazine. Perrigo Nutritionals. Photos courtesy of Perrigo. Very top photo shows, left to right, Sean Walsh, Governor Shumlin and Joe Papa.