TERRE HAUTE — Eli Lilly and Co., the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant, announced Wednesday it is closing its Elanco animal health facility on South First Street in Terre Haute, effective early in 2016.
The decision will affect 23 employees at the plant, all of whom will be offered comparable positions at Lilly’s Vermillion County plant near Clinton, a company spokesman told the Tribune-Star. Elanco is the animal health division of Eli Lilly.
Lilly, which employs about 500 people at the Clinton plant, is consolidating its animal enzyme manufacturing to a site in Great Britain, said Ed Sagebiel, a Lilly spokesman. Eli Lilly purchased the Terre Haute plant, formerly ChemGen, in 2012.
The decision was not a reflection on the productivity or efficiency of workers at the Terre Haute plant, Sagebiel said. It is solely a result of Lilly’s desire to consolidate its animal enzyme production at a single location, he said.
“The individuals at the site have tremendous technical skills and background,” Sagebiel said.
Lilly plans to sell the property on South First Street, Sagebiel said. That building and property will be paying about $63,000 in real property taxes this year, according to the Vigo County government website.
Elanco management informed workers Wednesday morning, the company said. They will all be offered jobs at the Clinton plant similar to what they are doing now and at a similar pay grade, Sagebiel said. Employees who don’t want to take positions at the Vermillion County plant will be offered severance packages in line with their years of employment, he said.
Of the nearly 500 workers at Lilly’s plant in Vermillion County, almost 200 live in Terre Haute, company officials said in a conference call with the Tribune-Star.
The Terre Haute plant makes animal feed enzymes that help animals digest food more efficiently, saving farmers money and raising farm productivity. In April, Lilly announced it was buying Novartis Animal Health, the second-biggest deal in the company’s long history.
The Terre Haute workers will be transitioned to the Clinton plant to help make products for Elanco, Sagebiel said. “We’re able to maintain the employees in good jobs with a part of the company that is growing and expanding,” he said. “As Elanco is growing, that [Clinton] site is growing in importance as well.”
The Elanco property in Terre Haute is along the Wabash River, an area targeted for development by the Wabash River Economic Development and Beautification group, better known as Riverscape.