Hundreds of jobs are coming to Person County
Outdoor furniture maker Polywood plans to bring 384 jobs to Person County, after receiving an incentive package worth more than $3.9 million from the state.
The Syracuse, Indiana-based company turns recycled products into furniture. The average annual wage for the jobs is more than $43,000 and the jobs are expected to be added over a five-year time period. The site is at 3300 Jim Thorpe Highway in Roxboro.
The state was competing with Indiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. The N.C. Economic Investment Committee approved the state grant at a special meeting Tuesday morning.
Person County, which is north of Durham and borders the state of Virginia, will also contribute more than $1 million.
Gov. Roy Cooper made the formal announcement at 11:30 a.m. at the Homestead Restaurant in Timberlake, a community between Roxboro and Durham.
“Bringing good jobs to rural communities like Person County is essential to helping all of North Carolina thrive,” Cooper said in a statement. “Innovative companies like Polywood show how North Carolina’s furniture industry can continue to adapt and succeed, thanks to our strong workforce.”
Polywood will also invest more than $35 million into its Person County operations by 2022, according to the terms of the incentives.
Polywood traces its history back to the late 1980s, when the company began to make plastic lumber-like products from the leftover plastics of government recycling programs. One of the company’s well-known products is an Adirondack chair made from the wood alternative the company produces.
The company said its Indiana facility is over capacity, which is why it needed to build a new campus.
“We are excited about opening our new full-scale production campus in North Carolina,” Polywood CEO Doug Rassi said in a statement. “The skilled manufacturing workforce, high level of information technology and growth potential in the state make it an excellent choice for our expansion.”
Beyond furniture manufacturing, the Roxboro site will also have a reclamation center for recycled plastics.
This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 11:15 AM.