A metal manufacturer is building a new facility in Richmond County, a project that the company said will create 54 jobs and invest $510,000 in the county's economy over the next three years.

FerroFan, Inc. is a subsidiary of Corona Machinery Corp., which is an international metal fabrication company.

The jobs at the new FerroFan facility, to be located in Hamlet, N.C., will pay an average of $30,019 annually, plus benefits. That is more than the average annual wage in Richmond County, of $28,548.

The company said Richmond makes a good location for its new facility because of its labor force and geography.

Gov. Bev Perdue’s office said the project was spurred in part by an $81,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, a state program through the North Carolina Department of Commerce that pays incentives to companies that meet certain hiring and investment targets.