KANNAPOLIS — A Kannapolis-based pharmaceutical maker plans to add 119 jobs at its plant, state officials announced today.
Salaries will vary by job function, but the average salary for the new positions will be $37,616, plus benefits. The average annual wage in Rowan County is $36,036.
Ei Inc., a developer and manufacturer of topical pharmaceutical and skin care products, will expand its operations in the Rowan County portion of Kannapolis. The company plans to invest $13.2 million during the next three years.
Ei — which previously was called Harmony Labs — develops and manufactures prescription, over-the-counter, animal health and therapeutic skin care products. The company currently employs more than 200 people in North Carolina.
The company is seeking to partner with KeraNetics to commercialize research and patents that were developed at the Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
“We are excited about the opportunity to be a critical part of KeraNetics’ commercialization plan for its unique keratin protein pharmaceutical products, which will enable our businesses to grow and create jobs in the state of North Carolina,” Mike Kane, CEO at Ei Inc., said in a press release.
Local and state incentives helped make the project possible. Rowan County commissioners voted March 5 to rebate 75 percent of the new property tax revenue created by the project. And on March 12, the Kannapolis City Council approved about $320,000 in tax breaks over three years.
It wasn’t clear this morning if those numbers still hold. In Ei’s proposal for incentives, the company said it would create 154 jobs and invest about $28.5 million in its expansion.
The state’s One North Carolina Fund also provided a $500,000 grant for the project.
For more information on Ei, including job opportunities, visit: www.eisolutionworks.com