Pamlico Air, an air filtration manufacturing company, will expand its North Carolina operations with a new facility in Beaufort County, creating 39 jobs, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $1.4 million in Washington.
“It comes as no surprise that we are announcing manufacturing jobs during Manufacturing week,” said Governor Cooper. “Companies like Pamlico Air continue to choose expansion in North Carolina because of our state’s workforce and our focus on building the foundation for a strong economic future.”
Pamlico Air, formerly organized as Cleanaire LLC, is a high-quality air filtration manufacturer that services retail, wholesale, commercial, and industrial markets nationally. The company will launch a new division to design, develop, and produce high efficiency air filtration products and related equipment for the pharmaceutical, microelectronics, biotech, nuclear, and healthcare markets. The company’s headquarters, also located in Washington, will remain at its present location.
“Eastern North Carolina is home to a lot of the Pamlico Air family,” said Travis Stephenson, CEO of Pamlico Air. “Locating our High Purity facility here with our corporate office made sense for lots of reasons. It’s a great fit for us, and Pamlico Air is a great fit for Beaufort County.”
“Manufacturing is the heartbeat of the North Carolina economy and even the coronavirus has never stopped it,” said Secretary of Commerce Anthony M. Copeland. “Companies like Pamlico Air that expand their existing operations here make a powerful statement about the health of our state.”
Today’s announcement comes during a week that Governor Cooper proclaims as North Carolina Manufacturing Week, marking the importance of this sector of the state’s economy. With more than 470,000 manufacturing employees across the state, North Carolina has the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeast and ninth largest in the nation. Manufacturing accounts for 19% of North Carolina’s economic output at $100.1 billion.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce led the state’s support for Pamlico Air during its site evaluation and decision-making process.
Salaries for the new jobs will vary by position but the average annual wage will be $38,077, in line with the Beaufort County average of $38,008.
A performance-based grant of $120,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Pamlico Air’s expansion in North Carolina. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One NC grants require a matching grant from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.
In addition to the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, other key partners in the project include the North Carolina Community College System, Beaufort County Community College, the MidEast Commission, the City of Washington, Beaufort County, and Beaufort County Economic Development.
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