Editorial: The broader implications of GE's Marlborough move
We're two-thirds of the way through the year, and the recent announcement that GE Healthcare Life Sciences will move its headquarters — and more than 500 jobs — into Marlborough by next spring is clearly one of the biggest business stories in Central Massachusetts of 2014.
It may be hard to top it between now and New Year's Day.
The chief reason is that it's not just another company that's moving into the region; it's the fact that a division of a Fortune 10 company, one with a long-standing and respected brand that is recognized worldwide, is making its home here.
This move of a GE divisional headquarters can have a far-reaching impact that extends to the broader regional economy. Here's a list of five big winners:
MARLBOROUGH — The fourth largest city in Central Massachusetts has been the region's biggest economic success story over the last two years. Its advantageous location at the junction of major routes is a help, but credit must also be given to the city's public-private partnership working model, as well as the administration of Mayor Arthur Vigeant for working with GE for more than a year to get the deal done.
CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS — The region has become a player in the growing life sciences market, but not as much to rival Greater Boston as to complement it. The recognition by GE of the availability of adequate real estate at the right price in Central Massachusetts, plus the presence of talented potential employees to help fill the more than 220 new jobs the company wants to add in Marlborough, reaffirms what many public officials have been pitching to companies that are considering moves to the region. In addition, GE offers yet another reason to keep a few college graduates from taking their degrees elsewhere to launch their careers.
HIGHER EDUCATION — The region's colleges will have another marquee employer to work with and supply talent. This is especially good news for WPI and its Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center, which offers introductory and continuing education in this growing industry.
MEDICAL RESEARCH — It's also a boost for the University of Massachusetts Medical School and its research efforts. A partnership with a company like GE can help procure more grants from the National Institutes for Health (NIH). The school has long been the leader in Central Massachusetts in NIH grant funding. In the 2013 federal fiscal year, for instance, it secured 312 awards totaling more than $130 million, second in the Bay State to only Harvard Medical School ($185 million). “One of the goals of our research is … is to get therapies to patients,” Jim Leary, vice chancellor of community and government relations for UMass, told us last week. An early partnership with a company helps push that forward, he noted, and GE stands as yet another potential partner.
THE LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY — GE Healthcare Life Sciences focuses much of its work within three business units: bioprocessing, which makes products that assist in biopharmaceutical manufacturing; applied research, which assists life sciences organizations in their research efforts; and quality testing and forensics, which helps in the processing of DNA profiles. And the company is investing in a cell therapy unit, which has potential for GE as it grows globally, said Eric Roman, general manager for research and applied markets with GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
For a region that has seen big-name exits and downsizings over the past several years, such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Fidelity Investments, the entry of GE Healthcare Life Sciences is a reason for not just rolling out the welcome mat. It's also a sign of the potential for Central Massachusetts' economic growth with an industry of the future. The Worcester-Marlborough-Cambridge corridor is getting stronger on its western wing, a very positive sign for the whole state, and this region, in particular.
WBJ Web Partners
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