Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that Superior Essex Inc., a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of wire and cable products, intends to open its second manufacturing facility in Tarboro. The company plans to create an additional 116 jobs over five years and invest incrementally more than $58 million in the facility. The project was made possible in part by a state grant from the Job Development Investment Grant program.
“My top priority is jobs, and the competition for them is fierce,” Gov. Perdue said. “Once again we won the day with our job-ready workforce, business friendly climate and outstanding infrastructure – the results of our policies and hard-fought investments in education and worker training.”
This project will provide the infrastructure and equipment for Superior Essex to manufacture power cables for the commercial, industrial and utility markets. Superior Essex, based in Atlanta, has an 80-year company heritage in the production and supply of cable and wire products for many commercial and industrial applications. Superior Essex is part of LS Cable, a multi-industry corporation with approximately 10,000 employees and more than 70 offices in 24 countries. LS Cable supplies a wide range of energy and telecom solutions for the energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive, railway, telecommunications and electronic industries.
While individual wages for the 116 jobs will vary by job function, the overall average for the new jobs will be $41,289 a year, not including benefits. The Edgecombe County average annual wage is $33,176.
“We are extremely pleased to be expanding our business into the power cable market segment and to be partnering with the state of North Carolina in the process,” said Stephen Carter, CEO of Superior Essex Inc.
“These jobs are part of the answer to communities like Tarboro, hammered by the recession and looking for help,” said Sen. Clark Jenkins, of Tarboro. “But this great news also delivers a response to our critics who want to do nothing but cut and slice away the very economic development tools that enabled us to grow these jobs here in North Carolina.”
“In this day and this economy, education equals jobs,” said Rep. Joe Tolson, of Pinetops. “Our state is where we are today, and Superior Essex is creating these jobs today, because we have invested in educating and training our workforce. Today’s education investments are tomorrow’s jobs.”
To help facilitate this expansion, the state Economic Investment Committee today voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to Superior Essex. JDIGs are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 65 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the nine years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If Superior Essex meets the targets called for under the agreement, the JDIG could yield $1.2 million in maximum benefits for the company.
Other partners that assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community Colleges, Edgecombe County, the Town of Tarboro, Carolinas Gateway Partnership and Golden Leaf Foundation.
Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create well-paying jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
For more information about Superior Essex, including job opportunities, visit www.superioressex.com.