Abbott Labs to Invest $37M in Westfield, Create 450 Jobs
(Artist rendering of proposed Abbott Labs in Westfield)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGlobal healthcare company Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) has announced plans to invest $37.6 million in a new facility in Westfield, creating approximately 450 new jobs. The 120,000-square-foot facility will be built in the Northpoint Industrial Park along U.S. 31 in Westfield.
The Chicago-based medical device maker says the facility will manufacture its MitraClip transcatheter mitral valve repair system.
Construction is set to begin later this year. with the company planning to be operational by 2021. Abbott is seeking incentives from the city of Westfield.
“We have worked hard to attract diverse businesses,” said Westfield Mayor Andy Cook. “The addition of a Fortune 500 life sciences company, like Abbott, is a big win not only for Westfield but for the state of Indiana.”
A mitral valve allows blood to flow from the two left chambers of the heart. Occasionally, the valve needs to be repaired or even replaced. The company says the MitraClip device is a small device proven to repair primary and secondary mitral regurgitation without the need for open-heart surgery.
“This facility will help in our goal to improve the health of people around the world and meet the needs of physicians and patients battling structural heart disease," said Mike Dale, vice president of Abbott’s structural heart business.
Abbott has another plant in Menlo Park, California making the same device. The company says hiring would take place at the Westfield plant in two phases, ending by 2024.
Cook says in the past 30 days the city has announced four companies making major investments in the community, totaling more than $250 million and 1,000 jobs.
“We have successfully over the last 10 years been able to build a complete community where all these companies feel that because of the quality of this community, they will be able to attract their most important commodity and that’s a workforce. And of course, that’s what all these companies are looking for today,” said Cook.
The Westfield City Council approved incentives for the Abbott project at its Monday night meeting, including 10-year real and personal property abatements.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says it is offering Abbott up to $3.5 million in conditional tax credits and up to $1 million in training grants based on the company’s plans to create more than 300 jobs by the end of 2024.
The IEDC says the tax credits are performance-based meaning the company can claim the incentives once Hoosiers are hired. The IEDC says it also offered Westfield up to $750,000 from the Industrial Development Grant Fund to support infrastructure improvements to the new site.
Westfield Mayor Andy Cook tells Inside INdiana Business why companies seem drawn to his community.