NC grocery distributor’s expansion plan creates 125 jobs in $35-million move
Merchants Distributors, a wholesale grocery seller, will add 125 jobs and invest $35 million in new services and operations in Hickory, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday.
The company, which is headquartered in Hickory, plans to add about 250,000 square feet to its perishable capacity at its Caldwell County facility there, the governor said.
Merchants Distributors and its parent company, Alex Lee, Inc., supply grocery items to over 600 stores across the U.S. and other locations, according to the state.
Merchants Distributors CEO Brian George said he was excited to be able to expand in the company’s hometown. “North Carolina continues to support business growth and invest in workforce development which makes expanding at this location possible,” George said in the news release.
The development will be aided by a Job Development Investment Grant from North Carolina’s Economic Investment Committee. The grant allows Merchants Distributors to be reimbursed up to $1.08 million over 12 years, depending on its success meeting job creation and investment targets.
The average salary of the new jobs will be $59,092, higher than Caldwell County’s average wage of $43,905, according to the state.
The expansion will also bring $7 million in annual economic investment to the state and local area, the release said.
Hickory is about an hour north of Charlotte. While most of Hickory sits in Catawba County, parts of the city extend into Burke and Caldwell counties.
This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 1:03 PM.
