It’s hard to find economic success stories in a pandemic that aren’t somehow a result of the crisis, but there’s one standing on Amgen Rhode Island’s West Greenwich campus.
A $200 million biomanufacturing plant – the first of its modular design in the United States – was finished this year. When it becomes fully operational in 2022, it will lead to the hiring of about 150 people to high-paying jobs that will be desperately needed in the state post-pandemic.
As this week’s cover story reports, the story of the company’s decision to build in Rhode Island is one in which both the state and Amgen can take pride.
The California-based company could have built the plant just about anywhere but chose Rhode Island, in part because it has been successful here. What helped persuade the company to expand locally was a competitive incentive package from the state. That included up to $9.5 million in tax credits and another $3.3 million in exemptions from sales and use taxes tied to the construction and furnishings.
And the 120,000-square-foot facility itself is something of a modern marvel of efficiency and ingenuity in modular construction.
It was constructed in China, then disassembled and shipped to Rhode Island for reassembly. It will feature portable equipment that will allow the company cutting-edge flexibility in shifting production among different medicines to meet changing demands.
While the proof will be in the expected job growth, the plant is an example of the promise of targeted tax incentives that benefit both the company and state.