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Search #ABSTRACT#
Dey L.P. Isn't Resting on its Laurels
Napa Valley Register, March 26, 2004
By JEANNE LIGHTLY
Register Business Editor
Dey L.P. isn't a household name. But the Napa-based company, with about 800 of its 1,100 employees working in its south Napa facility, has its products in a growing number of households.
The manufacturer of generic and brand-name pharmaceuticals that target allergies and respiratory diseases is number seven on North Bay Biz's top 500 list of the largest companies in the region. It is a generous donor to local causes and one of the largest employers in Napa County.
But life is not easy in the pharmaceuticals industry, and Dey has had its share of unwelcome news recently. Earlier this year, it laid off 35 local workers and stopped hiring temporary help. Then the company was one of five named in a fraud suit brought by the attorney general of Ohio over pricing issues.
Those are the wages of competition in the drug market, which is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country and is subject to fierce political and competitive pressures.
But Napa-based Dey CEO Mel Engle sees opportunities to grow the business with a shift toward name-brand products and an emphasis on fostering a positive workplace.
"The culture I'm trying to create is one of openness and full disclosure," said Engle. Engle succeeded former CEO Charles Rice in January and is charged with enlarging Dey -- a U.S. affiliate of the international pharmaceutical giant Merck in Darmstadt, Germany -- into a billion-dollar company.
"I find that when things get tough, if you have a culture of disclosure then people will trust you," Engle said. "We seem to be doing pretty well the past couple of years, so now is the time to instill that trust."
Dey took in approximately $300 million last year, and aims to achieve annual revenues of $1 billion by the end of the decade.
It is probably best known for the EpiPen, a compact device that quickly and easily injects life-saving epinephrine into people suffering severe allergic reactions to stimuli such as foods and bee stings, Engle noted.
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