photo by: AdobeStock

Another 200 jobs and nearly $1 billion in investment is coming to De Soto — about 15 miles east of Lawrence — Kansas officials announced Thursday morning.

Merck Animal Health announced it will undertake an $895 million expansion at its existing manufacturing facility in De Soto. The expansion is expected to create 200 new jobs, according to a press release from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s office.

The facility, which is located along Kansas Highway 10 on the west edge of De Soto, manufactures a variety of pharmaceuticals for the veterinary and animal health industries. The $895 million expansion is the largest ever for Merck Animal Health, and is being touted as the second largest private investment in the history of Kansas, according to Kelly’s office. The largest is the $4 billion Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant, which also is located in De Soto.

The expansion represents growth in a key industry for the state, as Kansas leaders have worked to promote the area between Manhattan and Kansas City as the best location in the country for businesses in the animal health industry.

“”Our De Soto manufacturing facility is strategically located in the heart of the Animal Health Corridor.” Merck Animal Health President Richard DeLuca said in a press release. “This region is renowned for its concentration of animal health companies, fostering an unparalleled ecosystem for innovation, collaboration and industry leadership. This investment in our site is designed to increase Merck Animal Health’s ability to meet the growing customer demand for its portfolio of animal biologics products and ensure the company remains at the forefront of innovation in the animal health sector. This initiative also reflects our dedication to advancing animal health and our on-going investment in the communities where we operate.”

The release didn’t provide specific information about the new jobs, such as positions or salary ranges. However, the release said the new project will include both additions to the manufacturing operations and the company’s research and development division. Merck plans to invest $860 million into the manufacturing facility and $35 million into research and development laboratories at the site.

Site preparation and design work on the project is expected to start immediately. The manufacturing portion of the facility is expected to be complete in 2030. The project is expected to create 2,500 construction jobs, according to Kelly’s office.

Kelly’s press release did not make clear what financial incentives the state offered to attract the expansion project, but the release did refer to it as a “public-private partnership.”

“Public-private partnerships that lead to major global projects, such as those with Merck, Fiserv and Panasonic — just to name a few recent successes — are occurring because people believe in Kansas. They believe in who we are, what we are doing, and the direction we have taken.”

The deal to bring Fiserv to the former Sprint campus in Overland Park was announced in late April. The Wisconsin-based financial technology company plans to bring 2,000 jobs to Kansas, with average wages of slightly more than $100,000 per year, Kansas officials announced.

photo by: Google Maps/Journal-World

The blue star shows the site of the Merck Animal Health facility on the west edge of De Soto.