A prepared-foods factory in Catawba County will add 500 jobs over the next three years, providing another bright spot for the state's economy.
The Pierre Foods plant already employs more than 700 workers at the Claremont facility, about 170 miles west of Raleigh. The new jobs will pay average annual salaries of $26,467.
The Cincinnati-based company is seeing increasing demand for its pre-cooked meats and ready-to-eat sandwiches that found in vending machines, convenience stores and at other locations.
The state will give the company a $600,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, Gov. Bev Perdue's office announced this afternoon. That fund's money requires matching grants from local officials.
Los Angeles private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management took control of Pierre Foods in December 2008 after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or
Comments
Claremont
Fri, 03/05/2010 - 21:13 — smithfieldsamGosh, darn. I drove through there today because of construction on Interstate 40. I never saw this coming! But I did find a pizza joint there right in the middle of town along U.S. 70. check it out at www(DOT)flickr(DOT)com/jimpomeranz