Anda Distribution, a Florida-based distributor of generic pharmaceuticals, announced Thursday, Aug. 11, that the company will bring about 70 new jobs to Olive Branch with the construction of a warehouse and distribution facility.

The 234,000-square-foot facility, which will be at the Crossroads Distribution Center off U.S. 78 in Olive Branch, in neighboring DeSoto County, is projected to be operational by second quarter 2012.

The project represents about a $23 million investment by Anda, the fourth-largest U.S. distributor of generic drugs.

“I welcome Anda to North Mississippi, and I know the company will be able to effectively meet the needs of its customers from its prime location in the Crossroads Distribution Center,” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said in a statement. “Anda’s new facility will have a significant economic impact on the area. I thank the company for its investment in Mississippi and, more importantly, for the jobs it is creating for Mississippians.”

Anda officials credited the cooperation of Barbour’s administration and the Mississippi Development Authority in its decision to invest in Olive Branch and relocate operations from its current facility in Groveport, Ohio, to the state.

“We are very appreciative of the pro-business, pro-investment climate of Mississippi and Gov. Barbour’s administration, and of the welcome and support we have received from the state, DeSoto County and Olive Branch government and business leaders,” Anda Distribution executive vice president and CEO Albert Paonessa III said in a statement.

“We are proud to join the number of companies that have located operations, or expanded current operations here, over the past several years. We look forward to being a solid contributor to local employment, the local business community and to enhancing our service to our national customers following our initiation of operations at the Olive Branch facility.”

Paonessa said the Olive Branch facility will enable the company to maximize its proximity to and business relationship with its primary shipper, Memphis-based FedEx.

“The new facility, as planned, will be more appropriately sized than our current leased facility in Ohio, resulting in significant efficiencies that will further streamline Anda’s operations,” he said in a statement. “Finally, Mississippi was very supportive of our efforts to locate in the greater Memphis area and to creating additional jobs to support the local economy.”

The Mississippi Development Authority worked with company and local officials to provide assistance for the project through the Momentum Mississippi Incentives program, as well as assistance for workforce training. The city of Olive Branch and DeSoto County provided assistance for public infrastructure improvements.

“By choosing to locate in the state, Anda joins other health care companies that have opened distribution facilities in North Mississippi,” MDA executive director Leland Speed said in a statement. “That is a testimonial to the fact that Mississippi is in a great location for companies with distribution needs. I am grateful to Anda for its investment in our state and in our workforce, and I am glad MDA was able to help bring this project to fruition.”

Headquartered in Weston, Fla., Anda Distribution is a division of Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., a global specialty pharmaceutical company with 2010 revenues of about $3.6 billion.

Anda Distribution primarily distributes generic, select-brand pharmaceutical products, vaccines, injectables and over-the-counter medicines from more than 200 suppliers to more than 65,000 locations in the U.S.

The Anda announcement is the latest in a string of economic development wins for Olive Branch, which in the past year or so has landed a trio of large-scale deals.

Soladigm Inc., a green technology company from California’s Silicon Valley, is moving into the Olive Branch Industrial Park with a plant that employs more than 300 people and as many as 350.

Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. last summer announced it was moving a Memphis distribution center – and 125 jobs – to 1.2 million square feet in Olive Branch.

And last year state health officials in Mississippi signed off on approval of plans for a 100-bed, $137 million Methodist Le Bonheur hospital in Olive Branch. The hospital will employ about 480 people.