Merial is one of the world’s leading animal-health-care companies, manufacturing essential parasiticides and vaccines, as well as numerous other pharmaceuticals for animal health. Merial’s FRONTLINE® Plus, HEARTGARD®, IVOMEC®, and EPRINEX® are among the world’s first products to control both internal and external parasites.

The company recently moved its North American headquarters from New Jersey to metro Atlanta after having had a presence in both Athens and Gainesville for several years.

“We now have our headquarters for the Western Hemisphere within one hour of our facilities,” says Kevin Carroll, Merial’s executive director of human resources. “The move has improved our business synergy, bringing us together as a company so we can focus on our customers and continue to be innovative. We have a wonderful workforce in Georgia and appreciate the accessibility of Hartsfield International Airport,” he adds.

The company, which was founded in 1997 through the merger of Merck and Co. and Aventis S.A., has a presence in 150 countries with more than 6,500 employees worldwide. Merial boasts 20 manufacturing sites across the globe and annual sales of more than $1.6 billion. The company also just moved the management of its worldwide research and development offices to Atlanta.

Brian O’Boyle, Merial’s director of human resources in the North American office, commends Quick Start for its contributions in making the company’s transition a smooth one and notes that the new employee-orientation video the company will be using is “outstanding.” “Quick Start has been a tremendous help. We couldn’t be more happy with the work process and staff. The video is a terrific illustration of who we are and reflects the professional level of the agency’s service,” says O’Boyle.

Merial’s three facilities in Georgia employ approximately 1,000, and 400 of them will be at the headquarters in Atlanta. The company has a capital investment of about $20 million in Georgia. Quick Start has aided Merial at its distribution center in Athens and its Customer Care center at the headquarters in metro Atlanta.

Says Carroll: “Quick Start provided us with great energy in making the move south. They helped us stay focused, which was absolutely essential to the transition.”

Quick Start’s training for Merial includes customer service and leadership skills and customer service quality improvement, in addition to new employee recruitment and orientation. As research and development at Merial expands, the company will continue its focus on creating innovative products and solutions to enhance the health, well-being and performance of animals. QS

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