French tech company picks Triangle town for HQ, plans RTP lab partnerships
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- CITEL selects Hillsborough for North American HQ with $12.5M investment and 79 jobs.
- Company projects a $4.7M local payroll impact, 40+ relocations and RTP lab ties.
- State offers $50K One North Carolina grant, contingent on 57 jobs and local match.
A French company specializing in surge protection for electric, electronic and data-processing equipment has picked Hillsborough for its new North American headquarters.
The $12.5 million investment by CITEL America Inc., is expected to bring 79 new jobs to Orange County, paying an average of $83,611 a year, according to state officials and an Orange County notice posted Monday in The News & Observer.
Over 40 existing CITEL employees could relocate to the area, filling more than half of the new jobs, the notice said.
In total, the company’s Hillsborough payroll is expected to have a $4.7 million-plus impact on the region’s economy, according to a news release from N.C. Gov. Josh Stein’s office.
The company will receive a $50,000 performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund to help with the light-industrial expansion once it creates 57 jobs and makes a $15.25 million capital investment, the governor’s office said.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners will consider a local match — $100,433, paid in five annual installments — at a Dec. 9 public hearing in the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill. The local incentive is contingent on CITEL creating the additional 22 jobs, the notice said.
Industrial site located in Hillsborough
Patrice Bethea, deputy communications director with the N.C. Department of Commerce, confirmed Wednesday that the proposed site is at 315 Executive Court, in the Meadowlands complex off U.S. 70-A.
The former Stihl industrial plant has been on the market for about eight months and is priced at $8.5 million, according to a Pickett Sprouse commercial real estate official. The 8.8-acre site is near Big Spoon Roasters and Summit Design and Engineering Services.
Stihl Inc., a Germany-based outdoor power tool and equipment manufacturer moved its Mid-Atlantic Stihl distribution and training facility to the Mebane area earlier this year.
CITEL’s Hillsborough headquarters will be its “most significant U.S. investment to date and reaffirms our long-term commitment to serving the North American market,” CITEL Group President Henri Guichard said in the news release.
RTP partnerships benefit from expansion
CITEL America Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of CITEL Group, a family-owned surge protection manufacturer founded in 1937. The company specializes in products that serve data centers, industrial automation, renewable energy, telecommunications and transportation.
The company is also working with Research Triangle Park-based companies to develop a UL-certified surge test laboratory. It will be one of three CITEL certified labs on three continents, the release said.
“This expansion marks a pivotal step for CITEL,” CITEL Inc. Vice President Patrick Coyle said. “By combining advanced engineering, surge test laboratories and domestic manufacturing in one location, CITEL RTP will feed our innovation and allow us to be even more responsive to our local customers and long-term partners.”
The deal for the 82,900-square-foot Hillsborough facility came together after Stein and state Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley met with CITEL’s leaders during the Paris Air Show in June, the release said. The new location will have jobs in administration, manufacturing, engineering, and sales and marketing, it said.
CITEL also has locations in Houston, Texas, and Miami, Florida.
“North Carolina is on the rise, and companies like CITEL are taking notice,” Stein said in the release. “With our world-class workforce and collaborative ‘Team North Carolina’ approach to economic development, we’re proud to welcome these new jobs to Orange County and are confident CITEL will find great success here.”
State Sen. Graig Meyer and Rep. Renée Price called the news a “big win for Hillsborough” that will strengthen the local economy and create an opportunity for Orange County residents by generating “much more than jobs.”
“I am pleased to support and welcome economic development that strengthens the financial stability and social fabric of our community,” Price said.
