An international pharmaceutical company with its Canadian headquarters in Burlington has been named a top employer in the region. Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. has been named one of the top employers in Hamilton-Niagara for 2019. The special designation recognizes employers in greater Hamilton and the Niagara region that lead their industries in being exceptional places to work.

There were 15 winners of the award for 2019 with five of them based in Burlington. The other recipients are Joseph Brant Hospital, Sodexo Canada Ltd., Burlington Hydro Inc. and the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation Inc.

“We are honoured to be recognized as one of the top employers in Hamilton-Niagara,” said Richard Mole, president and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada).

“Every day our colleagues help improve the health of Canadian patients and enable them to continue doing the things that matter most to them. This award reflects the value we place on our employees and the work they do.”

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and is still family owned; it was founded more than 130 years ago by Albert Boehringer.

The company has operated in Canada since 1972. It has 50,000 employees worldwide with about 600 across Canada.

In 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim had net sales of nearly 18.1 billion euros. Research and development expenditure, exceeding three billion euros, equaled 17 per cent of net sales.

“Improving the health and quality of life of patients is the goal of Boehringer Ingelheim, a research-driven pharmaceutical company. In doing so, the focus is on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date. The company therefore concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients’ lives. In animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim stands for advanced prevention,” the company said in a press release.

To be selected as a top employer, companies are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

They are graded on eight criteria: physical workplace; work atmosphere; social, health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.

The full list of Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers for 2019 and the detailed reasons for selection are available on the competition homepage (https://bit.ly/2PVgKvn).