Business View Magazine | April 2020

194 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2020 plant in Montgomery, which is an hour away,” Huguley notes. Other companies in Opelika include Baxter International Inc., previously known as Gambro Renal Products, a manufacturer of dialyzers for kidney dialysis; Pharmavite, a global leader and manufacturer of Nature Made dietary supplements; and Golden State Foods Corp., one of the largest diversified suppliers to the quick- service restaurant and retail industries. “When Gambro came here in 2006, they made the largest capital investment in the history of Lee County - $165 million,” says Mayor Gary Fuller. “It’s a clean room environment and the highest paying manufacturing jobs in the metro. Then Baxter purchased them, and two years ago, they completed a $252 million expansion. They hired 200 more people at those high-paying jobs and now employ a total of just over 500. Pharmavite and Golden State Foods both had a presence in California, so for both of them, this was another location on the east coast, and they both chose Opelika. Pharmavite makes Nature Made-branded vitamins, minerals, and supplements; Golden State Foods produces hamburger patties, primarily for McDonalds, as well as beef for Nestlé manufacturing facilities. It’s a huge, huge operation.” Several of Opelika’s companies reside in the city’s Northeast Opelika Industrial Park, a 2,400- acre development, located along the western boundary of Interstate 85 - one hour from Montgomery, and less than one hour and fifteen minutes from Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. “We have a very heavy utility structure in place there,” says Huguley. “We have the electric providers (Tallapoosa River Electric Cooperative and Alabama Power Company); the natural gas (Alagasco and Southeast Gas); and all the water you could ever need (Opelika Utilities). Some communities have issues with water capacity; that is not a problem for us. We also have a very strong communications infrastructure (Point Broadband, and AT&T). And we still have room