Out-of-state manufacturer heads to Charlotte area, adding over 100 jobs in $21M plant
North Carolina officials said Tuesday the state is providing an economic incentives package worth $1.6 million to a North Dakota-based manufacturer with plans to invest in a Cleveland County site.
Steffes, a manufacturer of equipment used in oil exploration and agriculture, is investing $20.9 million into upfitting a facility in Shelby, according to the N.C. Economic Investment Committee, which was meeting about the move Tuesday.
The company is planning the expansion to support existing customers and growth in the Southeast U.S., according to the committee’s executive summary of the project.
The initiative will create 130 new jobs between 2021 and 2025 in the county, with a minimum average wage of $47,000, according to the state. Cleveland County’s average wage is $40,466, the state said.
The expansion will be facilitated by a $1.4 million, 12-year performance-based Job Development Investment Grant from the state.
Steffes was also offered $88,000 in local incentives.
Cleveland County is about an hour west of Charlotte. It is classified as a Tier 1 county by the N.C. Department of Commerce, one of the state’s 40 most economically distressed counties.
North Carolina beat out two other states to land the project; the company was also considering sites in Dorchester County, S.C. and Greene County, Tenn., according to the committee.
Steffes, which was established in 1947, has two additional manufacturing facilities in North Dakota and customer support facilities in Wyoming, Texas and Oklahoma, according to its website.
More expansions around Charlotte
Other companies have announced expansion activity in the Charlotte area in recent weeks.
Last month, global compact equipment manufacturer Doosan Bobcat began construction of a $70 million manufacturing campus in Statesville.
And on July 14, beverage manufacturers Red Bull and Rauch announced a $740 million investment in a new facility in Concord at the site of the old Phillip Morris plant.
The project will create more than 400 jobs in the area, Gov. Cooper said, and is the largest economic development in the Cabarrus County’s history.
Soon after, Ball Corp. said it would also join the campus, creating 220 jobs and invest $384 million there. Ball is an aluminum beverage packaging company based in Colorado.
The (Raleigh) News & Observer reporter Zach Eanes contributed
