What? A company moving to Connecticut? Significant job-growth plans?
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What? A company moving to Connecticut? Significant job-growth plans?
Amid the drumbeat that Connecticut is too expensive and financially unpredictable for many businesses (and wealthy residents) to stomach, Little Rock, Ark.-based SCA Pharmaceuticals packed its bags for the Nutmeg State, leasing a plant in Windsor, building out and equipping the site to meet its production needs and opening Nov. 27. It's SCA's first site outside Arkansas.
Sure, SCA got some state aid (who doesn't anymore), but any company moving to Connecticut these days, filling 142 full-time jobs (as of Jan. 2) and planning to employ 361 by 2021, sparked our interest to learn more about SCA.
Brenden Roche, SCA's senior marketing coordinator in Windsor, was eager to answer some questions.
SCA produces pre-filled syringes and sterile admixtures for use in hospitals and other healthcare systems. Essentially, it takes commercially available pharmaceuticals and repackages them to customer specifications and concentrations. This helps hospitals improve the reliability of their drug supply, reduce drug waste, minimize medication errors, increase their compliance with drug-preparation regulations and reduce the labor burden associated with drug preparation, Roche said.
SCA is hiring for all positions, but its biggest needs include pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, aseptic assistants, cleaning, shipping, among other positions.
Why did SCA choose to open its facility in this state?
SCA services many healthcare facilities on the East Coast. Connecticut allows us to deliver products to those customers quicker and at reduced shipping costs, which we can pass back to customers.
What is SCA applying its $8.5 million state loan toward?
Mostly capital equipment investments required to open a state-of-the-art sterile compounding facility.
What's driving SCA's job growth?
Utilizing an outsourcing organization such as SCA helps hospitals meet their demands to ensure patients receive their medications on time and as prescribed.
What's SCA's biggest challenge operating a bioscience manufacturing plant in Connecticut?
We understand that every single dose of medication we produce goes to a patient. We must have strict procedures and practices to monitor every aspect of our facility to ensure every single patient receives safe medication.
What's the biggest opportunity operating in this state?
The market for sterilely compounded pharmaceuticals is expanding rapidly. Connecticut gives us the room we needed to expand as well as access to a pool of great people.
