Behind Georgia’s pursuit of the Baxter International plant

As construction workers prepare to break ground on the high-tech facility near Covington this week, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers: The 1,500 or so workers the plant could employ when it’s up and running in 2018; the more than $210 million in taxpayer-funded incentives offered to land the company; and the $1 billion Baxter expects to spend on the complex.

What’s often overshadowed is the behind-the-scenes jockeying that led to Georgia landing the plant, considered a milestone moment as the state shores up its biosciences industry.

“We had the feeling we were always the bridesmaid and never the bride” when it came to attracting bioscience companies, said Carol Henderson, the state economic recruiter who led the effort to land the plant.

With Baxter’s decision to build in Georgia, though, that’s not the case any more.

Decade-long endeavor

Georgia recruiters started building the groundwork for the deal about a decade ago when they made building the bioscience industry a priority and began developing deeper relationships with the powerful consultants who wield influence on a firm’s decision to expand.

Henderson directs the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s health sciences division, and she was intrigued when a whopping 36-page request for information landed on her desk in June 2008. It was sent by Deloitte consultants on behalf of an unnamed pharmaceutical company launching a global search for a new plant.

Many requests that pour into the office don’t lead anywhere, but every so often one has the potential to be a game-changer. So a team of about seven specialists dove into the questions, which centered on the infrastructure of possible sites for a sprawling plant. Within two weeks, they worked with metro Atlanta agencies to put together a thick book that narrowed down a few sites for the mysterious project.

Henderson and her colleagues are part of the state’s economic development arm, which has a roughly $40 million budget and about 180 employees scattered across Georgia and in a few international offices. Based on the top two floors of a Midtown tower, the department works to recruit new businesses and expand and retain the firms that are already here.

The Baxter project went dark until April 2009, when Georgia was notified it was on the short-list for the deal. But recruiters still didn’t know who the company was, how big the project would be or even how long the short list was. They did know, however, that their work was far from over.

“You’re excited. You’re thrilled, ” said Henderson. “But that’s when things kick into overdrive.”

Within two weeks, the anonymous company wanted to schedule a three-day visit. Recruiters canceled vacations and rescheduled appointments to make way for a team of about a dozen engineers, finance specialists and others who toured communities, choppered over vacant tracts of land and had private sit-downs with local executives to fish for details.

The scouts who visited metro Atlanta tried their best not to tip their hands, but Henderson remembers feeling confident after bidding them farewell. But the long period of silence that came soon after didn’t soothe any nerves, and neither did the visit by Deloitte consultants in December 2009. They flew to Atlanta bearing the news that the project had slowed amid the economic downturn.

Around the same time, scouts were also scouring other locations in North Carolina, already home to a thriving pharmaceutical hub that includes two other Baxter facilities. State recruiters heard about the competition through the grapevine and knew they had their work cut out.

A marathon and a sprint

“It was a marathon project in some respects but quite frankly it was a sprint in others, ” said Gov. Nathan Deal.

The sprint started about May 2011, when the company wanted more details about state infrastructure, roads and logistics. And it wanted to send a team of executives back to Georgia, this time with a specific site in mind: Stanton Springs, a sprawling site about an hour east of Atlanta that straddles four counties.

Around then, the company finally revealed itself to be Baxter and asked state officials to sign a nondisclosure agreement to prevent leaks to the media or rivals. By then, the short list had been winnowed to a few finalists —- including top rival North Carolina.

An exhaustive series of visits followed, each seeming more in-depth than the next. Engineers wanted details about ground soil composition, roads and logistics. Human resources specialists wanted to delve deep into Georgia’s workforce training. Lawyers wanted to pore through the state’s tax code.

One big sticking point kept popping up as the search heated up. Baxter was concerned about the state’s ability to supply a steady workforce pipeline to the industry, so Georgia officials scrambled to solve the problem. The solution: A $14 million training facility that would initially cater to Baxter employees but eventually be used for other industry training.

By then, state recruiters felt they knew the project inside and out. But it wasn’t like most courtships. Baxter officials didn’t want to see golf courses or nightlife, they didn’t want to be taken to fancy restaurants or ball games.

“They were all about the nuts and bolts, ” said Henderson.

All the while, Baxter was still combing other sites, with one near North Carolina’s vaunted Research Triangle emerging as a chief competitor. That’s why Baxter Chief Executive Robert Parkinson’s visit to Georgia in early 2012 was so crucial.

It was the state’s best chance to ink the agreement with him, and Deal met with the executive for an hour at a secret location outside the statehouse, which he wouldn’t reveal.

The governor said the conversation turned to Georgia’s economic climate, and he said he assured his guest “that we truly want you here and we’ll treat you right when you come.”

“He wanted to see me. He wanted to know who I was, I guess, what my personality was. We related to the fact that we were both farm boys growing up, ” said Deal, who grew up in Sandersville. “We had a lot in common on a personal level. That may sound like a very small thing, but I think it’s very important.”

In all, the company could receive more than $210 million in state and local incentives, tax breaks and other exemptions, including the training facility. North Carolina officials wouldn’t comment on their offer, but officials indicated the package Georgia offered was more generous.

“We were aggressive on this one, ” said Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Economic Development.

All that remained was Baxter’s decision.

‘We had the perseverance’

Henderson had done her part. She kept Georgia in the game and delivered the project to the governor’s office. As they waited for Baxter’s final word on whether the state beat out North Carolina, she told people it was a 50-50 shot.

When the phone call came on April 19 that Baxter was coming to Georgia, Henderson felt a wave of relief.

“We had the perseverance, ” she said. “And we decided never to give up.”

In the end, Baxter’s management pointed to the new training center and Georgia’s Quick Start workforce education program as deciding factors.

“It always starts with the people, ” said Ludwig Hantson, a Baxter executive, after the deal was sealed.

Henderson is still the point person for Baxter for the next two years as workers prepare the site, and she has grown used to missing family events at her hometown in Indiana, scheduling trips at the last minute and working during vacations to make time for her job.

She tells friends that developing the project is a lot like raising a baby. It has made her laugh. It has made her cry. And, without a doubt, it has made her lose plenty of sleep.

She’s trying to rest up. This marathon is over. But the next one awaits.