Procter & Gamble Co. will move its Iams pet care operation from its birthplace in the Dayton area to Mason, the company said Thursday.
Iams, now called the North American Pet Care unit, will move from Vandalia, north of Dayton, to P&G’s Mason Business Center beginning in early October, according to a news release. All of the unit’s approximately 240 employees will also relocate to Mason.
P&G said in the release that the move will boost productivity and allow for more collaboration between the pet care unit and the oral care, personal health and pharmaceuticals businesses that are housed in Mason. About 2,000 currently work at the complex, on Mason Montgomery Road.
In December, P&G said it planned to sell or otherwise phase out its $2.2 billion, 525-employee pharmaceutical business. But Iams spokesman Jason Taylor said the move is not a sign P&G will be cutting pharmaceutical jobs.
"This is a normal thing, that they would accommodate a move,” he said. "There’s nobody moving out of Mason in order for us to move in there.”
For that matter, a sale of P&G's pharmaceuticals business is not imminent. Analysts have said the business could be a tough sell because of the dearth of financing in the acquisitions market and a lack of blockbuster drugs in its portfolio. Some suggested P&G might have to put off a sale until 2010.
The pet care business produces and markets the premium Iams and Eukanuba dog and cat food lines. P&G acquired Iams in 1999 from founder Clayton Mathile.
About 250 employees at the Iams-Eukanuba manufacturing and R&D complex in Preble County will not be part of the move, the company said.
The Vandalia building, which P&G owns, will be put up for lease or sale, Taylor said.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), headquartered in Cincinnati, develops, manufactures and markets consumer products and pharmaceuticals.
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