Two companies to move into Vermillion Technology Center
The Vermillion Technology Center will be occupied by multiple businesses by the end of the year.
On Tuesday the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company announced that Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Navigant Cymetrix signed leases to move into the center. The two businesses will have an estimated $6.1 million impact on the community.
Biotest, a leader in the collection of source plasma used in the manufacturing of critical care therapies that treat life-threatening disorders in a variety of therapeutic areas, will bring about 40-60 jobs to the Vermillion area, according to a statement from the VCDC. The corporation is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. Biotest will move into the building at the end of October.
Navigant “provides healthcare organizations and physician practices with comprehensive business process outsourcing solutions.” Navigant opened a facility in Vermillion in 2013 and currently employs about 70 people at that location. The company, like Biotest, is also headquartered out of the state in Irvine, Cal. The company plans on occupying the building sometime in May after renovations are made.
The Vermillion Technology Center, a 32,000-square-foot building, was originally built for Twin Cities-based Eagle Creek Software Services. After the $4.2 million building was completed, the software company refused to move into the office space because of “agreement issues.”
A lawsuit between the VCDC and Eagle Creek is pending, after a summary of judgement hearing this past October resulted in both parties’ summary judgements being denied because of an ambiguous contract. Last month the VCDC announced it would be moving its offices from the Vermillion Technology Center to a downtown location.
The VCDC and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development have been working together to bring businesses to the area since before the center was built. The VCDC also announced Tuesday that it was awarded a REDI (Revolving Economic Development and Initiative) Fund loan, approved last month by the Board of Economic Development. The loan “will assist the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development.”
Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Tuesday praised both companies’ decisions to come to Vermillion.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Biotest to South Dakota, and I’d like to congratulate both companies on their decisions to move into the Vermillion Technology Center (VTC),” Daugaard said in a press release. “The VTC is a great facility, and I’m pleased to hear the REDI Fund can assist with securing two quality companies.”
