Insulation maker K-Flex adding 100 jobs in Franklin County

Italian insulation manufacturer K-Flex plans to add 100 jobs and invest $45 million to double the size of its Youngsville plant over the next four years, the N.C. Department of Commerce announced Wednesday.

In exchange for expanding its North American headquarters, K-Flex stands to receive more than $2.45 million in state and local incentives.

The state is offering a $1.1 million Job Development Investment Grant over 12 years if K-Flex meets its hiring and investment targets. Franklin County officials meet Monday to vote on a $1.35 million incentive package contingent on the company’s infrastructure investment and it keeping each of the 100 hires for at least 12 months.

K-Flex will be hiring supervisors, skilled operators and maintenance technicians, among other positions, at an average annual salary of $49,100. The average annual wage in Franklin County is $39,067.

K-Flex employs 195 people at its 350,421-square-foot facility and plans to double the size by adding a distribution center and a new production line. The company is the fourth-largest employer in Franklin County and will become the third largest after its expansion, said Richie Duncan, director of Franklin County Economic Development Commission.

K-Flex also operates five distribution centers in Texas, California, Georgia and Florida. The company makes gaskets, seals and other insulation products for the plumbing, industrial, marine, oil and gas, HVAC, acoustic and other industries.

The company, which traces its origins to the creation of L’Isolante K-Flex near Milan, Italy, employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. Its North Carolina facility was established in 2002.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Insulation maker K-Flex adding 100 jobs in Franklin County."