Bartlett is Becoming a Hub for Life Science Industry
When Top RX started as a one-man operation in a two-car garage 21 years ago, Bartlett wasn’t even thinking about creating a life sciences industry cluster. But that has changed today, with a dozen or more such businesses now calling Bartlett home.
Top RX is a homegrown generic pharmaceutical distribution company run by a rare breed – a bona fide Bartlett native. “I’ve seen Bartlett when we had a couple of hundred people living here,” says John Ray, company president and CEO. “My mother still lives in the house I grew up in. This was a bedroom community that has really grown.”
And so has Top RX. Since the company’s founding in 1987, employment has grown to 115, and sales are topping $75 million. “We could have chosen to move,” says Ray, “but we like the neighborhood. From a workforce and logistics standpoint, this is a perfect place to be.”
The Memphis area is known for being a major point on the map when it comes to life science and the biotech industry, says Clay Banks, director of economic development for the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce. “This is partly due to the success of companies like Smith and Nephew, MedTronic and Wright Medical. Many spin-off companies and suppliers to these companies have evolved and set their roots here in Bartlett.”
The community today is home to medical device, health science and pharmaceutical businesses that supply the world with everything from surgical tools and equipment to life-saving drugs.
“Bartlett offers a great educated workforce that attracts the high-tech life science employers,” says Banks. “This region has one of the best labor markets in the country, and employers are drawn to the work ethic, skill level and education of the local labor market.”
The chamber and employers work regularly with higher education facilities such as Southwest Tennessee Community College to better educate the workforce and offer programs tailored to the employers’ specific skill needs.
Working with the life sciences sector and other existing employers in the community is at the top of the list, says Banks.
“We have a strong, diverse foundation of local existing businesses, and we want to help and encourage them to continue to grow and prosper,” he says.
One of the ways this is done is through the Primary Industry Council, which was formed to represent the needs and concerns of the primary industries of Northeast Shelby County. Among the issues addressed are infrastructure, workforce needs and business-friendly legislation. And it also has another benefit – new job creation and capital investment.
“Building relationships and working with our existing businesses can help us attract new companies into Bartlett,” says Banks. “Defining our strengths helps us determine which companies to target, and since the life science cluster is so predominant here, we often have success attracting new life science companies.”
