North Carolina’s top job-creating development projects
Date Published:North Carolina’s reputation as a jobs magnet keeps rocking along: It was first in Site Selection magazine’s 2018 Prosperity Cup ranking of most competitive business states and first in Forbes’ best-states-for-business listing. Just missing a trifecta, the state settled for third in CEO magazine’s rankings.
Half of this year’s list includes projects occurring outside Durham, Mecklenburg and Wake counties. That’s refreshing news for state officials, who want less-populated areas also to benefit from the strengthening economy.
The Research Triangle Region makes up 8 of the 20 announcements. See below for an excerpt from the full article.
#2 Infosys
Bangalore, India
NEW JOBS: 2,000
COUNTY: Wake
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $8.7M
N.C. INCENTIVES: $22.4m
In June, the technology-services and consulting company tapped IBM’s former digital commerce leader Deverre Lierman to lead its Triangle operation, which will include software developers, analysts and other positions. The Raleigh expansion is part of Infosys’ plan to hire 10,000 workers at four U.S. technology and innovation hubs — others are in Indianapolis, Hartford, Conn., and Providence, R.I.
#6 (tied) MetLife
New York
NEW JOBS: 500
COUNTY: Wake
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: NA
N.C. INCENTIVES: None
The insurance giant broke ground in October on a third building at its Global Technology Campus, which opened in 2015 and houses 1,500 workers in Cary. Raleigh’s Highwoods Properties is the developer. Investment figures were not disclosed, though expenditures on the first two buildings topped $125 million. MetLife, which is in line to receive $87 million in incentives related to its previous N.C. expansion, expects the project to be complete in the first quarter of 2019.
#8 Fresenius Kabi
Bad Homburg, Germany
NEW JOBS: 445
COUNTY: Wilson
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $150m
N.C. INCENTIVES: $7.2M
The German drugmaker is building a plant to produce prefilled syringes for a variety of conditions, a market that is expected to top $6 billion by 2020. Average annual salary for the new jobs will be about $60,000, including benefits. Fresenius came to North Carolina through its 2016 acquisition of Becton Dickinson’s prescription drug business. It currently employs about 100 people in Wilson.
#9 Corning
Corning, N.Y.
NEW JOBS: 428
COUNTIES: Durham (317 jobs), Edgecombe (111 jobs)
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $275M ($189 million in Durham and $86 million in Edgecombe)
N.C. INCENTIVES: $4.5m
With more than 4,000 employees in the state, Corning has been one of North Carolina’s most active job creators in recent years. The new Durham plant will make Valor Glass, a damage-resistant product used to make medicine containers. The new product is a result of a collaboration with drugmakers Merck and Pfizer. In addition, the company will build a warehouse in Tarboro adjacent to the 1,449-acre Kingsboro Megasite.
#10 LabCorp
Burlington
NEW JOBS: 422
COUNTY: Durham
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $30M
N.C. INCENTIVES: $8.2m
The medical-testing company with a market cap topping $19 billion has been expanding aggressively through acquisitions, adding services beyond diagnostics. Jobs at a new RTP facility will include information-technology designers, software developers, operations staff and managers. LabCorp also plans to consolidate staff now working in several Triangle locations. LabCorp employs more than 60,000 people worldwide, including more than 8,900 in the state.
#14 RiceWrap Foods
Raleigh
NEW JOBS: 305
COUNTY: Granville
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $9.9m
N.C. INCENTIVES: $1.9m
The manufacturer specializing in sushi rice will create 305 new jobs including production operators; logistics and sales personnel; and managers. Salaries for the new positions will average $40,005, slightly higher than Granville County’s average of $38,857. Earlier this year, RiceWrap received a strategic investment from San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods.
#17 (tie) Victra
Raleigh
NEW JOBS: 250
COUNTY: Wake
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $5m
N.C. INCENTIVES: $3.3M
Victra, formerly known as A Wireless, is Verizon’s largest exclusive independent agent by store count. The company is moving its headquarters from Greenville to Raleigh. Brothers Richard and David Balot founded the business in 1996 in Wilson. It employs more than 5,500 people and has more than 1,150 retail locations across 46 states.
#17 (tie) Ipreo
New York
NEW JOBS: 250
COUNTY: Wake
PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $2.1m
N.C. INCENTIVES: $2.1m
The global provider of financial services, technology, data and analytics has doubled its U.S. headcount since 2013. More than 500 of its 1,700 U.S. employees work at its downtown Raleigh office. Owned by private-equity groups affiliated with Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Group, the company provides financial software, capital-markets intelligence and real-time data and analysis products. The average wage for the new positions will be $66,720.