Pharmaceutical manufacturer Exela Pharma Sciences will expands its facility in Caldwell County.
The company will invest $8.5 million over the next three years in its Lenoir manufacturing facility. The expansion is expected to create 38 new jobs for the company which currently has just over 40 employees.
Expansion was made possible by a $189,000 grant Exela received from the One North Carolina Fund, a state grant program to promote technology-based industries.
Exela develops and manufactures injectable and ophthalmic pharmaceutical products. The planned expansion will create high-paying jobs in the industries of the future. The average annual salary for these new jobs will be $47,395, plus benefits. This is significantly higher than the Caldwell County average annual salary of $29,640.
“Exela is pleased to be in a position to pursue its expansion plans and create these high paying jobs in Caldwell County,” said Phanesh Koneru, Exela’s president and CEO. “Exela is thankful to the officials of the City of Lenoir, Caldwell County, and the State of North Carolina for their continued support of Exela’s business.”
About the One North Carolina Fund
The One North Carolina Fund is a grant program launched in 2005 by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Office of Science and Technology.
The program provides financial assistance, through local governments, to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs throughout the state. Participating companies receive no money up front and must meet standards in job creation and investment performance in order to qualify for grant funds.
According to Commerce, the program is responsible for creating or retaining more than 500 high-wage private-sector jobs and helping more than 200 small businesses commercialize products in technology-based industries, such as biotech.
(C) NC Biotceh Center
