Schletter, Inc., one of the largest designers and manufacturers of solar mounting systems, will establish a production and distribution facility in Shelby, creating 305 jobs by the end of 2016, Gov. Bev Perdue announced on Monday.

Schletter is an internationally recognized manufacturer of a diverse product mix including solar mounting systems, waste management solutions and customized bracket manufacturing.

The average wage for the new jobs is expected to be $40,660 plus benefits. The average annual wage in Cleveland County is $32,760.

According to a release, the company has been manufacturing its systems in the U.S. since 2008. The company’s only U.S. production facility is in Arizona and currently supplies 25 percent of all solar mounting systems produced in the U.S.

The new facility in Shelby represents a more than $27 million investment and will serve as the production and distribution hub of Schletter’s East Coast operation, housing all functions required to produce the company’s eight types of solar mounting systems. In addition to the manufacturing operations, the Shelby location will become Schletter’s U.S. headquarters.

The project was made possible in part by state grants from the One North Carolina Fund and the Job Development Investment Grant. The company has been awarded a grant of up to $630,000 from One North Carolina Fund and requires a local match. The grant is contingent upon approval of local incentives.

On Monday, the state Economic Investment Committee awarded a Job Development Investment Grant to Schletter. These grants are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.

The company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 65 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the nine years in which the company meets annual performance targets.

If Schletter meets the targets called for under the agreement and sustains them for nine years, the grant could yield as much as $2.93 million in maximum benefits for the company.

Company owner Ludwig Schletter said in the release the decision to locate in North Carolina “was primarily based on providing improved services for our East Coast customers; faster delivery of our products, and reduced logistics costs.”