NC announces 639 new manufacturing jobs in the Charlotte area

Three manufacturing companies have pledged to create 639 new jobs in Iredell, Gaston and Burke counties, state officials announced Thursday.

The companies will receive financial incentives from North Carolina, marking the ninth incentives deal in the past four weeks to help lure new industry to the state.

“It’s been a great week for jobs announcements,” Dave Efird, general counsel for the state Department of Commerce, said at Thursday’s meeting of a committee that approves state grants. It was the third meeting this week.

Nearly $5 million in incentives are targeted for the three projects in the western part of the state. If the companies meet hiring and investment requirements, they will get $3.8 million from the Jobs Incentive Development Grant program and nearly $1 million from a state community colleges training fund.

Together, the companies plan to invest $72.8 million.

Among the awards was a $1.3 million grant to Tristone Flowtech USA, a subsidiary of a German auto-industry supplier, which makes automotive engine battery cooling products. The company chose Iredell County north of Charlotte for its first manufacturing operation in the United States.

North Carolina has been beefing up its auto industry grants, partly in hopes of landing a major manufacturing operation joint venture between Toyota and Mazda.

Tristone must hire 302 employees over five years, beginning in 2019, to receive the full incentives, which are paid out over 12 years. The company says it intends to invest $23 million in the Mooresville project.

Belgium-headquartered Dhollandia, which makes hydraulic lifts for trucks and other vehicles, is also creating its first manufacturing plant in the United States. It will create 150 jobs and invest $30 million in Bessemer City in Gaston County, also near Charlotte. Its incentive package could pay out $1.6 million over 12 years.

Sunrise Global Marketing, which makes battery-powered outdoor equipment such as leaf blowers and pressure washers, plans to create 187 jobs over five years in Burke County. It plans to invest $23 million to expand its operations with a facility that can accommodate warehousing, assembly and manufacturing.

The company, which is headquartered in Mooresville, could get $1.8 million in state incentives over 12 years.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 12:47 PM with the headline "NC announces 639 new manufacturing jobs in the Charlotte area."