CHINA GROVE — Hitachi Metals North Carolina will add 65 full-time jobs and invest about $60 million at a ferrite magnet manufacturing plant in Rowan County over the next four years, Gov. Bev Perdue’s office announced today.
Salaries will vary by job function, but the average annual wage for the new jobs will be $43,108 not including benefits. The Rowan County average annual wage is $36,036.
Hitachi will get a $153,700 grant from the One North Carolina Fund as an incentive for the expansion.
The expansion will double the company’s employment at its Hitachi Metals Drive site, according to figures provided by the governor’s office. The company will produce neodymium magnets engineered primarily for use in hybrid and electric vehicles. The new plant will support the company’s efforts to expand its magnet supply capacity to meet an increase in global demand.
“Hitachi Metals is pleased to be locating a new rare earth magnet facility in China Grove,” Mikio Yasuoka, president of Hitachi Metals Neomax Company, said in a press release.
He said Perdue’s October visit to Japan and the One North Carolina fund grant “were helpful in making the decision to locate in North Carolina. We look forward to our continued good working relationship with the State of North Carolina, Rowan County and the Town of China Grove.”
Perdue met with company leaders from Hitachi Metals during her recent economic development mission to Asia. While there, Perdue and Commerce Department officials encouraged business prospects to invest in North Carolina and to buy North Carolina products and services, the press release said. The goal of the mission was to grow high-potential sectors in North Carolina including energy, advanced manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and information technology.
“My top priority is creating jobs, and when we met with Hitachi officials in Asia a few weeks ago, we emphasized the many benefits of expanding in North Carolina,” Perdue said in the press release. “Our state’s top-ranked business climate, skilled workforce and job training programs make a great fit for global manufacturers like Hitachi.”