Detroit-based Caraco Pharmaceutical to grow from 500 to 1,000 over next decade

Caraco Pharmaceutical is on a rapid growth pace, fueling an expansion. Good thing a state tax abatement made sure that the company is staying put. Caraco will build a 140,000-square feet addition to its facility that is located just blocks south of Henry Ford Hospital.

The abatements are tied to Caraco’s pledge to grow its staff from just over 500 to 1,098 by 2017. The head-quarters will include research and development, dispensing, manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance and administrative and marketing.

The Detroit-based company manufactures generic pharmaceuticals across a broad spectrum of therapeutic classes — ranging from anti-diabetes to anti-hypertension to pain relief, to name just a few.

Although relocation was explored, CEO Dan Carmody found that it did not make sense to uproot the company. “First and foremost, the team of people that built this company to date all reside here, and we wouldn’t want to uproot them,” he says.

Other factors came into play. “All products approved by the FDA are tied to the actual site where we filed for them,” says Camody. “Lastly, the state and city have made a commitment with a succession plan for training people and interviewing people to help us build our future team.”

The training program is a collaboration with Henry Ford Community College, Wayne County Community College and Wayne State University. The program is intended to certify existing employees as well as to develop an internship program that might evolve into a pipeline for future full-time employees.

So far, Caraco has been able to take advantage of locally-educated talent, former Pfizer employees and even talent from around the country.

Carmody is at peace with the decision to expand in-place. “This area will continue to evolve, the renaissance will continue to happen,” he says. “You’ve got good Midwest values, a lower cost to live here — being part of a growing company on top of that is as close as you’re going to get to a utopia.”

Source: Dan Carmody, Caraco
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh