News broke last month that a call center will bring 500 jobs to Lowell, offering higher-than-average wages to Gaston County workers. Charlotte-based Sonic Automotive’s decision to put the project in Gaston capped a year of big business news in the county.
In all, major businesses in 2018 announced plans to create more than 800 jobs and invest about about $69 million into the local economy, according to the Gaston County Economic Development Commission.
“We’ve been very pleased with this year,” said Steve Nye, the commission’s marketing director.
Many of the jobs pay more than Gaston’s average annual wage of roughly $38,000 per year. In most cases, the county offered tax breaks as incentives to big companies to relocate or expand here.
It’s worth noting that 2018’s major business moves came after a major announcement in late 2017: Belgian manufacturing company Dhollandia would open its North American manufacturing facility in Bessemer City.
Ground broke on Dhollandia’s site in April, and the company since announced plans to expand its facility to 280,000 square feet.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the major business developments in Gaston over the last year.
• Dhollandia Manufacturing in the South Ridge Business Park, which is under construction, is expected to create 150-200 jobs paying an average of $40,000 annually.
• Chalmers & Kubeck Inc. announced plans to move into the old Henry Fibers building in Gastonia in early 2018. The manufacturing company invested about $1.4 million and created roughly 20 jobs.
• Turkish textiles manufacturer METYX announced in March it will open its U.S. headquarters in Ranlo, buying the old Pacific Coast Feather Co. site off Lowell Road. METYX planned to invest about $12.6 million and create about 200 jobs paying an average of roughly $28,500.
• In June, developers broke ground on a new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott off N.C. 273 in Mount Holly. The project involves an investment of roughly $13 million, and about 60 people could work there once it’s complete.
• In July, Firestone Fibers & Textiles Co. and Advanced Drainage Systems both announced they were expanding operations in Gaston County, creating about 28 jobs that pay, on average, $39,000 a year depending on experience. Firestone planned to invest $19.7 million to expand its Kings Mountain plant and create about 25 jobs. Advanced Drainage planned to invest about $3.4 million and create about 13 jobs at its site in Bessemer City.
• Australian manufacturer Era Polymers Corp. announced in November that it was opening its first American manufacturing facility in Stanley. The company bought DSM Desotech Inc. property for the site, and the project is expected to involve $9.2 million of investment and create about 20 jobs with an average wage of roughly $66,000.
• Last — but certainly not least — is Sonic Automotive, which announced in December that it will invest $11.2 million in a site just off Interstate 85 in Lowell. The Charlotte company recently built a facility there for a dealership but decided to use it instead as part of a national call center. It’s the largest office development in the history of Gaston County, and the project is expected to create about 500 jobs at an average of $53,000.
You can reach Dashiell Coleman at 704-869-1819 or on Twitter @DashiellColeman
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