Pharmaceutical company plans $177 million expansion, nearly 400 new jobs near Charlotte
Over-the-counter pharmaceutical company BestCo LLC is investing another $177 million in expanding its Mooresville facilities, according to a Thursday announcement from the Iredell County Economic Development Corporation and state officials.
It also is adding nearly 400 jobs. BestCo, based in Mooresville, develops and manufactures over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and dietary supplements.
The investment, designed to increase the company’s production capacity, will create 394 jobs with an average salary of $51,209, slightly higher than the Iredell County average. The company is moving into an existing 215,000 square foot manufacturing building at 208 Manufacturers Blvd., about 40 minutes north of Charlotte, and building a new facility on the same site.
BestCo invested about $50 million in an expansion in 2019. At the time, the company had about 500 employees. When the latest expansion is complete, that number will have doubled.
The company will receive up to $2,000,250 in state incentives in the form of a 12-year, performance-based Job Development Investment Grant.
“North Carolina is one of the top locations in the world for pharmaceutical(s),” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news release. “Manufacturers like BestCo help keep us there.”
About BestCo
BestCo’s customers include private label retailers in the food, drugstore and mass merchant industries in addition to branded global consumer product companies.
BestCo’s products include Lozenges, Soft Chews, pan-coated SuperChew and the industry’s first drug-compliant chewable gel gummy, known as the SuperGel, according to the state.
BestCo’s project in Mooresville will add production and packaging capacity to its current operations, with a focus on its gummy line of products.
“The ongoing support and partnership from state, county and city officials has been instrumental in BestCo’s rapid growth and success in the region in recent years,” company President Tim Condron said in a statement.
Investment across the region
The counties surrounding Charlotte have attracted a number of large-scale economic development projects in the last year.
Last month, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced that it would build a major manufacturing facility in Concord, creating about 600 jobs and investing nearly $1 billion. The facility will be at the old Phillip Morris cigarette manufacturing site.
That same site attracted a $740 million investment from beverage companies Red Bull and Rauch last summer. The companies plan to build a 2 million square foot facility there.
In Catawba County, about an hour north of Charlotte, Corning Optical Communications announced plans last fall to add 200 jobs and expand its current operations.
And back in Mooresville, Atlanta-based bottling company Battle Copacking is investing $13.6 million to build a plant, the company announced in early January. That project will create 21 jobs with annual wages higher than the Iredell County average.
This is a developing story
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 3:31 PM.
