The strategy of offering incentives to companies that pay less than the average wage in a county has resurfaced in the Triad.
However, state and Rockingham County officials are not backing down from offering up to a combined $92,800 in incentives to WhiteRidge Plastics LLC for expanding its plant in Reidsville.
The company said yesterday that it would create 55 jobs and spend more than $1.2 million on the expansion over three years.
The average wage for the new WhiteRidge jobs would be $21,856, not counting benefits, according to the governor's office. That equates to about $420 a week, or $10.50 an hour for a 40-hour workweek.
By comparison, the average wage in Rockingham is $30,472, or 39 percent higher. That equates to about $586 a week, or $14.65 an hour.
The company has about 100 jobs in Reidsville, where it makes parts for the automotive, industrial, agricultural, tool and custom-parts markets.
"The unemployment rate here remains excessively high, and if we can gain jobs with health benefits attached, we're going to do it," said Graham Pervier, the president of Rockingham County Partnership for Economic Development.
Rockingham's unemployment rate of 14.1 percent in March was the highest in the Triad.
"When the economy turns around, we will look at being more selective," Pervier said.
WhiteRidge is expanding at the plant because of its "strategic location and size," said Max Barton, the director of corporate communications for Myers Industries Inc., the parent company of WhiteRidge, based in Akron, Ohio.
Most incentive offers make two demands of a company: new jobs at a wage equal to or higher than the county average, and a capital investment in equipment and infrastructure.
The incentive vs. low-wage debate surfaced in 2004 when Dell Inc. was made eligible for up to $268 million in state incentives for its pledge to create up to 1,700 jobs for its plant in southeastern Forsyth County.
The General Assembly amended the state's William S. Lee Act, a system of tax credits for investment and job creation, to enable Dell to pay an average wage of between $25,000 and $28,000 a year. The Forsyth County average was $31,000 at the time.
Dell later established an annual wage range of between $19,760 and $29,120 -- or $9.50 to $14 an hour -- for the bulk of its production workers.
For WhiteRidge, the state is providing a $45,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.
Rockingham County commissioners are considering making WhiteRidge eligible for $23,637 in incentives, while the city of Reidsville is considering a $24,134 offer -- both over three years. The votes are likely to be held in June or July.
State Rep. Nelson Cole, D-Rockingham, said he welcomes the new WhiteRidge jobs, particularly "during these tough economic times."
The WhiteRidge incentive package is the second offered in the state this month involving a county with a high unemployment rate and a low-wage job commitment.
On May 19, the governor's office said that Advanced Textile Solutions Inc., a specialty fabrics manufacturer, would open a plant in Caldwell County -- a county with a 16.3 percent jobless rate. The company plans to create 127 jobs and spend $500,000 on capital investment over three years.
The company said it would pay an average wage of $19,111 -- the lowest wage level ever to qualify for state incentives. The average wage in Caldwell is $29,756.
Advanced will receive a $127,000 state grant and a matching local incentive package.
"There is no wage standard for Tier 1 counties, in terms of these grants," said Katharine Neal, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Commerce. Tier 1 counties, which include Caldwell and Rockingham, are considered among the most economically distressed in the state.
"The company must still meet agreed-on job-retention and creation numbers, wages and investment to receive grant funds," Neal said.
rcraver@wsjournal.com | 727-7376
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