The economy giveth and the economy taketh away.
Gov. Bev Perdue today announced the opening of a manufacturing plant in Mount Airy, using her gubernatorial bully pulpit to praise the resilience of the state's manufacturing sector.
But as this plant opens about 2 1/2 hours northwest of Raleigh, another plant nearby will wind down operations.
Central States Manufacturing, based in Arkansas, will open a metalworking plant that will create 45 jobs at an average annual wage of $40,656, not including benefits. The company stands to receive $135,000 in state grants if it meets the hiring targets.
Last week, however, the latest in a series of manufacturers notified the state it would be shutting down operations. WEK Industries said it would cut 71 employees and shutter its plant by Dec. 14 in Reidsville, about two hours northwest of Raleigh. Some employees may be offered an option to transfer.
WEK, which makes plastic components for cars and motorcycles, blamed the closure on "asset and product line consolidations."
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or