A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a $43.6 million expansion at Bayer’s Myerstown manufacturing facility on Nov. 30.
“This expansion shows Bayer’s continued dedication to our consumers, our employees and the community. Our expanded footprint in Myerstown will help streamline the production and distribution of Bayer’s science-backed products. As a leading life sciences company, Bayer – and its Consumer Health division – is dedicated to delivering superior health and nutrition through our trusted brands,” said Michael Sullivan, vice president, product supply North America.
According to a company spokesperson the 70,000-square-foot addition will expand packaging and production for Bayer’s over-the-counter (OTC) products. The addition is located north of the existing B3 OTC manufacturing building. The space will include room for eight packaging lines and will “accelerate the modernization process, ensuring that current operations are streamlined and advanced”.
The $43.6 million figure for the expansion represents both construction cost and the cost for necessary equipment to outfit the building. The expansion is slated to be completed in 2025.
The rooftop of the new expansion has been designed to accommodate an area for rooftop solar panels sometime in the future. Information provided by a Bayer spokesperson indicates that generation capacity for solar panels on the new building rooftop is approximately 486kW. A project timeline has been developed for the solar panels, but it could be close to when the annex project is being finalized. Additional solar panels have been planned in the field and the total generation capacity is up to 2.57MW.
Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. is the general contractor for the expansion. The project will add jobs both in the short-term and long-term. In the short term there will be about 70-75 construction jobs added, as well as up to 50-75 operational jobs upon finalization of the project, which is expected in 2025.
“The jobs created by this project will be great for the community. Bayer has always been a shining star in the community for both its jobs and community outreach,” said Susan Eberly, president and CEO, Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corporation, “This project also has a spinoff effect. It will utilitze local contractors, and those contractors will need goods and supplies. They’ll also eat at local restaurants. It’s a big deal for our economy.”
Currently Bayer’s Myerstown manufacturing facility employs more than 630 fulltime employees. The facility manufactures Bayer products such as Aleve, Claritin, Midol, Coricidin, Philips Milk of Magnesia, Alka-Seltzer, Flintstone Vitamins and One-A-Day supplements. The site is currently spread over 68 acres with over half a million square feet of manufacturing space. In 2021, the facility manufactured 14.1 billion tablets, 3.9 million liquid liters and 169.1 million packaged units of product on site. Bayer has been at this location for 75 years; a 75th anniversary celebration was held in October.
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