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With communities competing nationwide to take advantage of the burgeoning life sciences industry, St. Joseph is already positioned to become a leader. Building on its rural ties and century old beef industry, St. Joseph has successfully developed a growing economic base in the animal sciences. Led by the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, Heartland Health and Missouri Western State College, St. Joseph has embarked on a comprehensive effort to expand its life sciences industry. Officially labeled the St. Joseph's Life Sciences Network, the program is working to ensure that the city's longstanding agricultural roots grow into a modern industry. With an expanding list of businesses already involved in these fields, the question is how much St. Joseph will succeed, not if. The Life Sciences Network in-volves a number of the community's leading organizations. Active for only a few years, the push has attracted more than two dozen funding partners and a broad base of community support. St. Joseph's work in this field is not unprecedented for this community. St. Joseph once rivaled Kansas City as a major stockyard. At one time, its meat packing industry was the second largest in the nation, second only to Chicago. But even as these industries dwindled, St. Joseph has continued to see the growth of a strong life sciences economy with more than 4,600 jobs. This work involves a broad range of often highly technical industries, including animal pharmaceuticals, agriculture chemicals, food processing, health care, seed production, research and development. St. Joseph's agribusiness community includes the corporate headquarters for Research Seeds, a global high- tech agricultural company. There is also Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Phoenix Scientific, Agri Labs and Custom Fermentation. Another company, Phoenix Scientific, is building a $50 million campus in the Mitchell Woods Business facility. Several of these corporations are located in St. Joseph because northwest Missouri boasts the state's highest crop yields for soybeans and corn, while providing easy access to raw materials for manufacturing through the area's excellent transportation network. Other relevant companies represent a first wave of the animal science trend envisioned by St. Joseph's Life Sciences network. One of the largest of these newer operations is the Friskies Product Technology Center, part of the global Nestlé R&D network. Located in southern St. Joseph since 1990, the facility is one of two Nestlé research centers in the world. The Friskies Product Technology Center provides state-of-the-art resources for the study and care of companion animals. Last year, the PTC completed an $8 million renovation and expansion to enhance the center's research capabilities, creating several new jobs in the process. The potential of St. Joseph's life science potential can be seen in this one area. The growing companion animal or pet industry is a $6.3 billion a year business worldwide. More than a dozen St. Joe firms are also involved in this industry, as well as broader animal science fields such as research and manufacturing. Both Heartland Health and Missouri Western State College have formally committed to St. Joseph's Life Sciences initiative. Several departments at Heart-land are currently involved in cutting-edge research and clinical trials that relate directly to life sciences. One of Missouri Western's projects involves working directly with area companies to assess the training needs of the local work force in terms of life science capabilities. Late in 2002, the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce contracted with a national consulting firm to develop a specific strategy to grow and attract businesses related to agricultural sciences to this area. The strategy and implementation plan will serve to lead efforts to bring new jobs and investment. The Chamber also continued to promote community-wide Life Sciences Network meetings. This ongoing series of discussions targets several goals. The most important may be promoting an open dialog of this topic within the community. With the number of jobs, economic impact and even the city's lifestyle involved, most agree all of St. Joseph must support this strategic step. |
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