Haywood County and Canton officials couldn’t contain their smiles last week, turning back a state and national trend by announcing the location of a new manufacturing facility expected to bring at least 150 jobs to the Beaverdam Industrial Park.

“It’s good to see that we are bucking some of the current economic trends,”said County Manager Jack Horton during press conference at the Canton Municipal Building.

County Economic Development Commission Director Jay Hinson was perhaps even more elated.
“Those dark clouds swirling around my head are breaking up,” the typically reserved Hinson said, breaking into a wide smile.

Hinson said the company first discovered the available building by searching the website of AdvantageWest, the state economic development organization serving the 23 western counties. From there the company contacted Hinson and began negotiations.

The good news about the expansion into the industrial park by Magnetics Inc. of Pennsylvania was buttressed by two other announcements — the relocation to Canton’s old CP&L building of the 18 employees who work in Blue Ridge Paper Products’ corporate headquarters in Asheville and plans by Smoky Mountain Travel Center to open a 30-employee RV service center at the Newfound exit off Interstate 40.

“It’s good to be coming home,” said Karen Lally, director of corporate communications for Blue Ridge Paper, an employee-owned paper manufacturer which was formerly Champion International.

Magnetics paid $5.9 million for the 239,000-square-foot facility built in 1996 in the Beaverdam Industrial Park. It will manufacture magnetic devices for uses in the electronics industry and invest up to $22 million in the facility

“This is an expansion, not a move,” Hinson said.

Magnetics is a division of Spang and Company of Butler, Penn. The family-company has been in business since 1894, according to Horton. The stability of the company makes it particularly welcome, according to Horton.

“Hopefully, this is the beginning of a long-term relationship,” said Horton.

The building the company will occupy has had three different entities own it since it was built. Originally, Echlin Inc. announced plans to build automobile components in the plant. That company was consolidated into Dana Corp., which eventually opened the plant and began operations. CVS (Commercial Vehicle Systems) was a division of Dana, and they are the ones who announced plans to close the plant as of March 1.

The county had provided about $1.15 million in incentives to the entities who have occupied the building, including $800,000 for 40 acres of land and $300,000 for grading. The town of Canton had also paid 25 percent of land costs. Right now, the county and state are hoping to recoup at least $50,000 apiece as part of the job creation incentive package it offered CVS. Horton and Ronnie James, who works with the Asheville office of the state Department of Commerce, says negotiations are currently under way to get that money back.

CVS irked elected officials in Haywood County by taking $50,000 from both state and the county in job-creation incentives six weeks before announcing it would close.

As it stands now, Magnetic has not discussed possible incentives with the town or county. James said state tax credits available under the William Lea Act for job creation and investment are worth up to $1.85 million if Magnetic meets its initial investment and employment goals. If the company exceeds its hiring goals and investment plans, it would be eligible for additional tax credits, James said.

According to Hinson, Magnetic employees are expected to earn slightly more than the $10 per hour average wage in Haywood County.

By landing the firm, Haywood is indeed reversing a statewide and local trend. In Haywood County, Dayco rubber closed five years and about 400 jobs were lost. Blue Ridge Paper still employs 1,300 at its two Haywood plants, but a decade ago the number was more than 2,000. Wellco, a maker of shoes, announced its closure just over two years ago. And in March, CVS announced its closure and the loss of 240 jobs.

Although North Carolina remains among the most successful states in the nation in attracting new firms, about 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost statewide since 1990.

 

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