By ANNIE GOELLER, Daily Journal of Johnson County
Johnson County lost a bid to get a coveted pharmaecutical distributor and its 1,300 jobs and $140 million investment.
Medco Health Solutions Inc. picked a site near Zionsville in Boone County for what is being billed as the world's largest and most advanced automated pharmacy. Medco officials were looking at land near Main Street and Interstate 65 in Greenwood and in Hendricks County.
Medco would have been the largest employer in Johnson County, paying an average wage of $50,000 to $53,000.
The 318,000-square-foot mail-order pharmacy will employ pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, engineering technology, pharmacy support and management positions to dispense more than 1 million prescriptions a week at peak operation.
Medco, based in New Jersey, announced about a month ago it planned to locate in Central Indiana, and company officials said Boone, Johnson and Hendricks counties were in the running.
The announcement put the three communities in an unusual competition for good-paying jobs that would diversify the economy.
Indiana's business-friendly environment, modern transportation infrastructure, skilled labor pool and proximity to several schools of pharmacy including Butler University and Purdue University were other notable factors in the site selection process, Medco officials said.
A month ago, Gov. Mitch Daniels likened the Medco investment to that of Honda in Greensburg.
"In terms of economic impact, this is right there with Honda and the other big blockbusters Indiana has captured in recent years, but Medco's decision to come here is more than that. It's a huge leap in the diversification of the Indiana economy, widening the range of opportunity for our young people. Finally, Medco is the world leader in its field, and the Indiana we are building intends to be known for leadership," Daniels said.
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