Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County welcomes Fresenius Medical Care North America to the City of Shasta Lake

International medical products company expands business to Shasta County

SHASTA LAKE, Calif. (April 24, 2008) – The Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County officially introduced Fresenius Medical Care North America to Shasta county on April 23 at a grand opening ceremony. The ceremony included a ribbon cutting presentation offered by Mayor Larry J. Farr, Shasta Lake. Following the presentation, Shasta county business leaders and public officials toured the 77,000-square-foot facility located in the Shasta Gateway Industrial Park in Shasta Lake, Calif.

Fresenius Medical Care North America is the city of Shasta Lake’s exclusive distribution center for kidney dialysis medical supplies. With a customer population concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the distribution center is positioned in a central location serving 1,200 regional clients, including hospitals, clinics and home patients.

The Enterprise Zone Program offered by the Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County was influential in the selection of Shasta Lake as the new home of the distribution center.

“Besides the distribution center’s geographic location, which allows us to serve our customers in the Pacific Northwest, Shasta Lake was ideal because of the Enterprise Zone Program. The program offered hiring tax credits and incentives for selecting an area located within a Shasta County enterprise zone,” said John Corrick, Fresenius Medical Care distribution center.

EDC of Shasta offers the Enterprise Zone Program to target economically distressed areas using special state and local incentives to promote business investment and job creation.  With assistance from the program, Fresenius Medical Care North America employs a staff of 42 employees.

“Fresenius Medical Care North America has brought quality jobs to Shasta County,” said Greg O’ Sullivan, president for the Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County. “This is another indication of the welcoming business environment that Shasta County provides for companies.”

Fresenius Medical Care is one of the nation’s largest integrated providers of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis because of chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 1,600,000 individuals worldwide. Through its network of 2,238 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to 173,863 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis products which includes hemodialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposable products.

A nonprofit corporation, the Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County provides information and facilitation for companies looking to expand or relocate in Shasta County. For more information on the Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County, visit its website at www.shastaedc.org.