Stevanato commits to paying Fishers employees a living wage
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAccording to BestPlaces.net, the cost of living in Fishers is nearly 27% higher than the state average.
Stevanato, an Italian-based life sciences company that makes glass vials and syringes for pharmaceuticals, has committed to paying employees at its new Fishers facility an average annual salary of no less than $70,000.
Plans for the company’s $500 million U.S. hub were first announced in 2021. At that time, Stevanato said it would invest $145 million in the facility and create 230 jobs; that was expanded in 2022 to a $512 million total investment and 515 jobs created by 2031.
“We are somewhat of a new entity in the region. For us, it’s important to attract the right resources for the success of our initiative,” Riccardo Butta, President of the Americas at Stevanato Group, told Inside Indiana Business reporter Kylie Veleta. “We come in with the intent to bring people in at the right level and to properly compensate them for what they bring.”
The 560,000 square foot production facility is now up and running. It features a cafeteria to encourage employees to eat meals together.
“We want to create the right environment for people and it starts with the elements of the package that you offer. I think it is why we decided to make such a statement,” Butta said.
Stevanato Group employs some 4,300 people around the world and has U.S. locations in California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Stevanato says being transparent about salaries also helps attract talent from other states.
“You look at Fishers, everyday there’s an announcement [about] someone else going in. Even in my experience 2 years ago, and looking at our progress, you see the cost of living going up, probably faster than average,” Butta said. “You need to make sure you’re at the top, because we are competing with big names.”
Fishers filled up the final eight acres of its 70-acre Life Science and Innovation Park last year.
“We really feel like the entire state is trying to create a life-science manufacturing ecosystem,” Mayor Scott Fadness told council members last month. “Right here in [Fishers], we’ve got the vast majority of those building blocks now committed and underway in short order here in the city.”
Last year, Fadness wrote a column for Inside INdiana Business about life sciences innovation. He says the city has recruited and secured $750 million in investments.
