Baxter provided another update after late last month it closed its largest manufacturing facility following flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
The North Cove facility in Marion, N.C., which employs more than 2,500 people, focuses primarily on making intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions. The company said it’s the country’s largest manufacturer of these solutions but it’s been shut down since the rain and storm surge resulted in water permeating the facility.
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The company said it continues to support its employees as they begin the recovery process. The vast majority of employees are accounted for, and it’s still working to reach a small number of its colleagues. Outreach to those employees in remote locations, where people are having difficulty getting out of their homes due to damaged roads and bridges, continues door-to-door on ATVs.
Supplies, electricity, and cell service remain very limited in the area. Baxter said it is helping employees and the community through its Employee Support Center located a few miles from the closed plant. The Center has been staffed by more than 100 employees and is supporting hundreds of colleagues already.
“Our goal is to get more employees back to work as soon as possible as we establish safe working areas and local infrastructure is restored,” the company said. “We have continued paying employees since the plant has been closed.”
Baxter shared some encouraging progress on cleanup and remediation, including:
- The temporary “rock bridge” it installed is supporting transport in and out of the site. The company expects a second bridge will be installed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation soon.
- It has not identified any structural damage to the facility to date, and it is anticipate engineering certification within the next two weeks.
- Electrical power to the site is now available and the local aquifer, which is the main source of water used in the manufacturing process, is intact.
- Remediation is progressing, and Baxter expects to begin communicating anticipated production plans within the next two weeks.
Baxter has resumed shipments to hospitals and dialysis patients after the temporary hold last week, based on allocations as previously communicated. The company has moved finished goods from its North Cove site that were not impacted by the storm and are inspecting other finished goods onsite. This inventory will be used to support current allocations in the short term. At the same time, several of Baxter’s global plants are scaling and ramping production to help meet U.S. needs, and it expects to receive product from these sources throughout the month of October. The company will communicate adjustments to allocations within the next two weeks as it assesses timing of inbound products and shipments.