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Merck will officially build vaccine plant in Durham

Merck & Co., Inc. has officially announced that it will locate its new vaccine manufacturing facility in Durham County, bringing approximately zoo jobs and up to $300 million in additional investment to the area.

"Merck is proud to announce the selection of Durham as the location for its new vaccine manufacturing facility," said Ray Gilmartin, chairman, president and CEO of Merck. "This facility will play a key role in helping our company provide the highest quality vaccines to patients around the world, and to meet future demand for these products. We appreciate the strong support that state and local officials have provided in helping us bring this new manufacturing facility to North Carolina. We are proud to be a growing part of North Carolina's economy, and we look forward to being a good neighbor in Durham County."

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Merck will benefit from $39.4 million in state incentives in exchange for spending $300 million on its vaccine facility, which will employ about 200 people.

Merck will receive up to $24 million in Site Infrastructure Development Program (SIDP) funding, which will be used to help the company acquire and develop the 256-acre site in Durham County's Treyburn Corporate Park where the vaccine manufacturing plant will be located. Merck is the first recipient of financial assistance from the SIDP.

Of the $24 million, no more than $10.5 million will be available for acquisition of the property. The remaining $13.5 million will be available for site preparation activities, underground utilities, parking lots and infrastructure such as bridges, retaining walls and storm basins.

Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck also will receive up to $4.1 million in Job Development Investment Grant funds, which are awarded to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects.

The incentive package also includes $1.46 million in William S. Lee tax credits, $625,000 in worker training, $3 million from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and $6.14 million in sales tax refunds.

A fiscal cost-benefit analysis indicates the Merck plant will generate $118 million in gross state product annually and an additional 360 direct and indirect (multiplier) jobs.

Site preparation at the Durham location will begin in June, and the company plans to start construction in the summer. The four primary buildings--the production facility, administration building, powerhouse and warehouse--will include 272,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. Merck expects the facility to be operational and fully staffed in 2008 with employees who will earn an average salary of $55,000 per year.

This will be the first vaccine manufacturing facility for Merck outside of its vaccine division headquarters in West Point, Pa.

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Merck will officially build vaccine plant in Durham

BT Catalyst, May-June, 2004

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