HICKORY — CommScope, Inc., a network infrastructure provider based in Hickory, has announced plans to add 250 new jobs via a $60.3 million investment in Catawba County. The expansion will add to the company’s fiber-optic cable manufacturing operations.
Salaries for the new positions will vary but the average annual wage will be just shy of $57,500, more than $5,000 more than the county’s current average salary of $52,172. These positions could add as much as $14 million to the community each year.
The expansion is supported by a North Carolina Department of Commerce Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) that was approved at today’s Economic Investment Committee meeting. The 12-year grant authorizes potential reimbursement of nearly $1.9 million to CommScope. In return, the investment is expected to result in $20.6 million in state revenue and grow the NC economy by more than $834 million. CommScope had also been considering expansions in South Carolina and Mexico.
Governor Roy Cooper announced the investment Tuesday via the Governor’s office website.
“Connecting every household in North Carolina to high-speed internet is going to take a lot of fiber, and with this expansion, CommScope is answering the call not only with American jobs, but North Carolina jobs,” the governor said in the post. “We appreciate CommScope’s additional investment in Catawba County and their confidence in our workforce to improve the nation’s fiber-optic infrastructure.”
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CommScope [NASDAQ: COMM] is a Fortune 500 company that began with coaxial cable production more than 45 years ago. They now provide end-to-end solutions for wired and wireless networks.
“CommScope is in the business of providing connectivity solutions, and we are proud to produce the fiber cables that help ensure all Americans have access to Broadband, right here in the State of North Carolina,” said Chuck Treadway, President & CEO of CommScope. “We appreciate our long-standing relationship with the State and Catawba County. This investment and jobs creation over the next four years will continue to keep the focus on North Carolina as the fiber cable hub of the U.S.”
