American Roller Bearing Industries, a Hickory-based manufacturer, plans to add 231 jobs at its facilities in Burke and Alexander counties over the next five years.
The company was awarded state incentives worth just over $2 million today if it meets hiring and investment goals. Burke and Alexander counties are also providing $800,000 in incentives.
ARB will spend $23.7 million expanding its existing facilities in Morganton and Hiddenite. The company currently employs 341 people in North Carolina.
The new jobs will pay average annual wages of $38,564. That's above both the Burke County average of $30,784, and the Alexander County average of $26,728.
Over 90 percent of the new jobs will be in Morganton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte. Both plants make anti-friction bearings used in a variety of different industries, including railroads, construction and mining.
ARB also considered sites in South Carolina, N.C. Commerce Department officials said today.
ARB moved all of its manufacturing operations to North Carolina in the early 1980s. Its corporate headquarters was relocated to Hickory in 2007.
The Economic Investment Committee's vote on the ARB incentives package was noteworthy in that, unlike the vast majority of such votes, this one was not unanimous.
James Upham, a Wilmington financial advisor who was recently appointed to the committee by N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, voted against the package.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or 
