(The Center Square) – With ready electric power supply next to a new, huge factory building, the Johnston County community of Benson had a decisive advantage landing a nearly $1 billion rare-earth magnet plant in North Carolina.
Chris Johnson, economic development director for the county, told TCS the 500,000 square foot building was built by private investors as a “speculative” project to attract industry.
It is located next to a 30 megawatt electric substation, Johnson said.
Vulcan Elements Inc. will operate the largest rare-earth magnet factory outside of China, according to state officials. Benson is at the intersection of Interstates 95 and 40, easily within an hour of five major military installations and roughly halfway between New York and Miami.
“We were fortunate to be able to check a lot of the boxes,” Johnson said of the nationwide search by Vulcan for the magnet plant site. “In the world of economic development, seldom is there just one thing. It’s a series of a dozen things or so. We were very fortunate to be in the location that we are, having the building that they needed, having the power that they needed.”
The factory is expected to create 1,000 jobs over the next four years with an average wage of $81,900, according to the state.
Rare-earth magnets are used in motors, sensors, generators and actuators, including defense systems, according to the state. Top Vulcan executives who met with county officials during the selection process have military backgrounds, Johnson added.
“The reason Johnston County has been growing is because the Triangle is growing,” Johnson said.
East of I-95 is still largely agricultural, which remains the top industry in the county. U.S. 70, which is being transitioned into Interstate 42, which will give the county access to three interstates.
“If you look at a geographic map, Johnston County is literally the center of the East Coast wheel,” Johnson said. “We are 800 plus miles to New York or Maine and 800 miles plus to Miami.”
About 77% of Johnston County workers commute to jobs outside the county, the economic development director said. The Vulcan project can help lower that percentage.
“Obviously when you are talking about salaries of $80,000 to $90,000 on average, that is almost twice the county average and nearly three times the average of the town of Benson,” Johnson said. “People who live in Johnston County, live in Benson, no longer have to get in their cars and drive 45 minutes to work. They can just drive five minutes now.”
Benson is excited to become a part of a renewal of industry in the United States, particularly for products as important as rare-earth magnets, Town Manager Dane Rideout told The Center Square.
“This is a game changer,” he said.
