A clothing manufacturer announced Wednesday that it will open a new ring-spinning factory in Rowan County and create 170 jobs over the next two years.

CanAm Yarns, a subsidiary of Gildan Activewear, will invest more than $50 million in the project in Salisbury.

The company is eligible to receive $1.55 million in incentives if it meets hiring and investment goals.

The average annual payroll for the project will be $6.1 million, or $35,882 per employee. The Rowan County average is $36,712.

Gildan currently employs 100 people at a yarn-spinning facility in Bladen County and 294 people at a distribution center in Rockingham County.

CanAm, which makes yarn for Gildan's knitting facilities, was formed in 2003 as a joint venture between Gildan and Frontier Spinning Mills.

Gildan recently acquired Frontier's interest in the venture.
 

A Canadian company that makes T-shirts, underwear, socks and other clothing plans to spend $20 million to expand a distribution center in Eden, N.C.

But the expansion is contingent on Gildan Activewear receiving economic incentives to help offset the cost, said Genevieve Gosselin, a spokeswoman for the Montreal-based company.

She declined to discuss details of potential incentives, but added: "We're very positive that incentives will be approved."

Charles Winkler, a spokesman with the N.C. Department of Commerce, declined to comment on possible incentives for Gildan.

Gildan's plans call for increasing capacity about 40 percent at the 650,000 square-foot facility in Rockingham County, about 100 miles northwest of Raleigh. The operation distributes T-shirts, polo shirts and other products to wholesale customers, and employs about 280 people.