Mount Airy's small-town atmosphere enabled it to land a plant project from an Arkansas manufacturing company.
Central States Manufacturing Inc., based near Fort Smith, Ark., said yesterday that it will create 45 jobs and spend at least $4.5 million on capital investments at the plant.
The company makes metal building components for post-frame, commercial and residential customers.
It already has plants in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana and Texas.
Operations at the Mount Airy plant will include forming, cutting and assembling coated steel parts and panels.
"We are very excited about expanding our operations into North Carolina and to the eastern region of our market," Donna Leger, the president of Central States, said in a prepared statement.
"The people we have encountered in the Surry County area match our company culture and our values, and we couldn't be more pleased with our selection of Mount Airy as our fifth plant site," Leger said.
The company is eligible for a $135,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, which the governor can provide to existing companies or companies creating jobs and capital investment in the state.
Earlier this month, about $472,000 in local incentives were approved for the company. The company is eligible for an annual 80 percent rebate of its property taxes over five years, according to Todd Tucker, the president of the Surry County Economic Development Partnership Inc.
The jobs come as welcome news to a county with a 12.7 percent unemployment rate in July -- the fourth highest in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina.
"We believe the ability to draw from a work force steeped in manufacturing, as well as having a small-town feel, were keys to attracting Central States to our site," Tucker said.
The plant is expected to open by next fall on a 10-acre site in Piedmont Triad West Corporate Park. Tucker said.
The company's initial plans are for a 30,000-square-foot plant that's expandable to 50,000 square feet.
According to the governor's office, the jobs will pay an average annual wage of $40,656, not including benefits. By comparison, the average annual wage in Surry County is $28,236.
"The Piedmont Triad is an excellent manufacturing location, and this announcement reflects a revitalization of the manufacturing economy, which bodes well for our entire region," said Don Kirkman, the president and chief executive of the Piedmont Triad Partnership.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
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