KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The animal health division of global pharmaceutical company Merck is doubling down on its operations in De Soto.
Merck Animal Health, along with local, regional and state officials announced Thursday the company will invest $895 million to expand its plant in De Soto.
Officials described the investment as the largest ever for the company and the second largest in the state of Kansas.
The proposal calls for an $860 million, 200,000-square-foot expansion of the current manufacturing facility, located at 35500 W. 91st Street. Thursday’s announcement also calls for a $35 million investment in research and development laboratories.
The expansion plans build off of improvements made in the area to support the $4 billion Panasonic EV battery plant, which is under development across Kansas Highway 10.
Merck anticipates its expansion will lead to 200 new full-time jobs when the facility comes online in 2030. Roughly 2,500 construction workers will be needed to build the expanded facilities.
The investment will allow Merck to expand its filling and freeze-dryer capacity for large-molecule vaccines and biologic products.
“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,” Merck Animal Health President Richard DeLuca said Thursday in a press release. “This initiative also reflects our dedication to advancing animal health and our ongoing investment in the communities where we operate.”
DeLuca cited the region’s reputation and concentration of animal health companies as part of ongoing investments in the region.
“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,” Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday in a press release. “They believe in who we are, what we are doing and the direction we have taken.”
Merck established a presence in De Soto roughly 25 years ago and has deepened the relationship with the Johnson County suburb ever since. About 300 employees currently work at the site, which produces swine, equine, bovine and canine products. The existing facility is roughly 300,000 square feet, of which roughly 98,000 is allocated for manufacturing.
“This is a true success story: we’ve not only retained a major employer, but we’ve helped create the conditions for their continued growth,” De Soto Mayor Rick Walker said. “It’s exactly the kind of outcome we work toward - keeping and expanding the businesses that make De Soto a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
Work to begin preparing the site for the expansion is set to begin immediately.
The region's Animal Health Corridor is anchored in Kansas City and stretches to Manhattan, Kansas, to the west and Columbia, Missouri, to the east. The corridor includes more than 300 companies focused on animal health - the largest concentration anywhere in the world.
"This announcement reaffirms what we've long known - the Animal Health Corridor is where global leaders come to grow," KC Animal Health Corridor President Kimberly Young said Thursday. "Merck Animal Health's expansion in De Soto is more than a vote of confidence - it's a signal to the world that this region is built for ambitious, industry-defining work."
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