By MEGGIE. I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

GREENFIELD, Ind. — Less than one year after breaking ground, Elanco Animal Health opened doors to its new world headquarters in the same central Indiana community the company has called home for more than 50 years.

“We made a deliberate decision to stay in Greenfield, Ind. for several reasons,” said Ted McKinney of Elanco and emcee for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 27. McKinney cited Greenfield’s infrastructure, abatement offering and cooperative city officials as key reasons for the animal pharmaceutical company to stay in the Hancock County city just east of Indianapolis.

Elanco originally announced plans of its relocation in September 2008, when its previous home site off U.S. 40 in Greenfield was purchased by Covance, a life sciences company.

“The city of Greenfield has been home to Elanco - and particularly Eli Lilly - for a very long time, and we hope to keep it that way,” said Greenfield Mayor Brad DeReamer.

DeReamer credited the success of the complex building project to the commercial development company at the helm of the facility’s design and development – Browning Investments.

Construction on the new state-of-the-art facility began in July 2009, and according to Elanco’s President Jeff Simmons, the project was finished ahead of schedule and under budget.

Browning, an Indianapolis, Ind.-based company, built the new Elanco headquarters on a 52-acre site now known as Progress Park in Greenfield. According to Browning, the facility encompasses about 130,000 square feet on about 20 acres north of Interstate 70. This is the first project in the new business park, and will leave 32 remaining acres for additional development within the campus.

Owner Michael Browning made a deliberate effort to recognize a number of individuals “in the trenches” of the building project including an extensive list of Browning employees, Elanco staff, additional contractors and city officials. “Also, I think it’s important that we recognize Bob Egleston today for selling this land as a future development site we now call Progress Park,” said DeReamer. “Bob has always thought of what’s best for Greenfield – he’s has lots of lucrative offers on this land and could’ve made big bucks selling it someone else. We’re happy he chose a choice that would favor economic development for our city.”

“It’s the best decision I ever made,” echoed landowner and longtime Greenfield resident Egleston.

Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman resonated the positive emotions by adding that “the way Elanco has built this facility from the ground up is a great snapshot of the way you’ve built a career of success in life sciences. We’re excited to see what comes next from Elanco Animal Health.” In fact, besides expanding its physical structure, according to Elanco Global Media Relations and Communications Specialist Joan Todd, Elanco has grown in recent years in both sales and product offerings, posting revenues of more than $1 billion in 2008.
As a division of Eli Lilly, Elanco primarily supports livestock health, as well as more recently supporting companion animal pharmaceutical needs.