KINSTON – Another $70 million in investment in Lenoir County is coming soon from the publicly-traded global company West Pharmaceutical Services.
The company, which already operates a manufacturing plant in Kinston, plans to add at least 70 additional employees along with the investment it plans to make, over the next few years.
The plant opened some forty years ago. Last year, the company planned a $50 million capital investment, anticipating about 90 jobs.
The plant’s current workforce is more than 500 people, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
“This expansion is a welcome example of the advantages that North Carolina offers companies of all kinds,” said Governor Cooper in a statement.
The project, known as “Project Storm,” is anticipated to have a $3.4 million impact through payroll jobs, annually.
“When West could have expanded anywhere in the world, they still chose Lenoir County,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “With the largest manufacturing workforce in the southeastern United States, North Carolina has a firm commitment to developing and delivering a diverse pool of talent through a robust workforce training system.”
Continued expansion
The company’s investment will increase production capacity, add warehouse and distribution space, and support the company’s mission, according to a statement from Mike Fisher, the site director at the company’s Kinston facility, in a statement.
“We look forward to being able to support our local community with more job opportunities as a result of this expansion and are excited to contribute to a continued bright future in Kinston,” said Fisher.
West Pharmaceutical Services increasing eastern NC workforce by more than 20%
There will be additional opportunities for workers, Fisher noted in the statement. Wages will vary, but the annual wage is expected to exceed the county area average wage.
The company will receive a performance-based grant of $300,000 from the ONE North Carolina Fund, according to a statement.
The company generated more than $2.1 billion in net sales in 2020, and is a publicly-traded company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: WST).
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story cited an official public document, the meeting minutes from the Lenoir County Commissioners January 3, 2022 meeting, that included a notation that the commissioners had approved a resolution that authorized the county to file a formal application for a $500,000 building reuse permit. Our story quoted the text of that document that included a statement that there had been an authorization of awarding of grants by the NC Rural Economic Development Center. The NC Rural Center is not a grantmaker, the organization told WRAL TechWire, and thus the prior published quote was incorrect.
