Lenoir looking up with jobs infusion

Companies are making plans in a county that has suffered deep losses from plant closings

India's largest company has added further momentum to a turnaround in Lenoir County, which in recent months has gone from bleeding jobs to adding a slew of new ones.

The U.S. subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries announced Friday that it plans to add 204 jobs and invest $215 million at its first North American manufacturing facility, near Kinston. The company plans to lease part of a DuPont facility formerly operated by Unifi to make plastic resin used in drink and food containers, and specialty polyester yarns.

"This is where we're going: We're moving forward," said George W. Graham Jr., vice chairman of the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners.

Friday's announcement from Reliance marks the third consecutive month that Lenoir, about 90 miles southeast of Raleigh, has been earmarked for a major infusion of new jobs.

Last month, Kansas-based Spirit Aerosystems, which makes components for aircraft manufacturers, pledged to invest $570.5 million in a new plant that will create 1,031 jobs at the Global TransPark. That came on the heels of the April announcement by Mississippi's Sanderson Farms that it would build a chicken processing plant, feed mill and hatchery expected to employ 1,500 in Kinston by 2010.

"This is an economic developer's dream for these things to happen," said Mark Pope, the county's economic development director.

Prior to those developments, however, Lenoir County was on its heels.

Smithfield Packing said in March that it would close its ham factory, eliminating 476 jobs. And Unifi announced last August that it was closing its Kinston operations, putting 260 employees out of work.

That Unifi space will now be home to Reliance, which plans to pay its workers average annual wages of $46,500. The Lenoir County average is $27,040.

Graham said that he never despaired when the job situation turned south in Lenoir.

"We have a good product," he said. "We are located almost in the middle of Eastern North Carolina. We have good employees. ... People are discovering us now."

Reliance chose Lenoir County over other locations because of the existing facility, the area's history in the polyester business, and state and local incentives, President Thakur Sharma said in a prepared statement.

On Friday, state officials awarded Reliance financial incentives worth as much as $2.22 million in exchange for creating and keeping the jobs.

Lenoir County has offered an additional $4 million in incentives to Reliance, which also is contingent on the company meeting its employment and investment targets, Pope said.

Graham said he is optimistic that Reliance will hire some former Unifi and Smithfield Packing workers, although they may need some training.

The state community college system has talked to Reliance about providing customized training for its workers, said spokeswoman Audrey Bailey. The value of that training will depend on how many workers are involved and what level of training is required.