(The Center Square) – Expansion by a North Carolina company will go from High Point down Interstate 74 to Asheboro, home of a new $20 million factory for Environmental Air Systems.
Tuesday’s announcement from the state Commerce Department said the new facility will feature robots and semi-automatic saws but will also create 300 jobs. State and local incentives formed a package of about $5.5 million.
Environmental Air Systems was purchased by Comfort Systems USA Inc. in 2016.
The company plans a 300,000-square foot factory to produce prefabricated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Among the company’s previous projects was a 600,000-square foot hospital for the University of Maryland.
“We delivered a fully integrated modular Central Utility Plant to power the facility’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems with turnkey efficiency,” the company said on its website. “EAS engineered, fabricated, and shipped approximately 30,000 square feet of CUP infrastructure, delivered in 93 modular sections for streamlined on-site installation.”
The company offers services to companies including engineering design, manufacturing and installation “while providing the precision and reliability demanded by today’s AI-driven, data-intensive environments,” it says on its website.
Competitors for the new factory in Asheboro included Danville, Va., and Rock Hill, S.C. Asheboro was chosen in part because of a robust labor market, a strong logistics network, and the incentive package.
“EAS’s decision to expand into Asheboro demonstrates the growing demand for North Carolina’s skilled workforce and business-friendly environment,” Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said in a statement. “This project will drive economic growth and enhance our state’s competitiveness in advanced modular manufacturing.”
The jobs at the EAS plant will pay an average annual salary of $55,133, according to the state.
Economists question the effectiveness of financial incentives to businesses to expand or come to a new state. Context is encouraged when wages are introduced because a few corporate leaders at a site can skew the average higher while the median wage would not have the same ratio.
