AKG, a manufacturer of heating and cooling systems, said today that it is expanding its facility in Mebane and adding 76 jobs over the next three years.

The $3.3 million project will add 42,000 square feet to AKG's Mebane plant, which currently employs 311 people and serves as the German company's North American headquarters.

AKG received a $100,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

Earlier this month Orange County officials approved giving AKG $100,000 in five annual installments of $20,000.

Mebane has also pledged to provide the company $60,000.

The average annual wage for the new jobs will be $42,710 plus benefits. The Orange County average is $33,852.

The Mebane plant, which opened in 1981, is one of 11 manufacturing facilities AKG has around the world.

The company's heating systems are used in a variety of industries, including construction, forestry, agriculture and mining.

As the new Tanger Outlets center in Mebane prepares for its Nov. 5 grand opening, more details are coming about what exactly will be happening on the center's first weekend in business.

Tanger will host a number of events from Nov. 5 through Nov. 7, including a free concert by country star Sara Evans and a special celebrity appearance by Stacy London, of hit TLC show "What Not to Wear."

Click read more for the full itinerary of events. The Tanger Outlet Center in Mebane is located at 4000 Arrowhead Boulevard, off I-40/85, Exit 154.  Shopping hours are Monday-Saturday: 10 am -9 pm and Sunday: 11 am-7 pm.

The company behind the three-month-old Z-Bowl Family Entertainment Center in Mebane is already planning to expand with additional locations in Gibsonville and Greenville.

The Z-Bowl center in Mebane is a 40,000-square-foot entertainment emporium, with 18 bowling lanes, private party rooms a bar and a restaurant. It opened in May (see our story about it here) and has become a popular local hangout.

Now developer FEC Partners says it will open a smaller Z-Bowl annex in Gibsonville, a town west of Mebane and about 70 miles from Raleigh. The company also said today that it is actively looking for a property east of the Triangle in Greenville, where it wants to build "Z-Bowl-Pirate-Bowl," a facility similar to the one in Mebane but witha bigger bar and restaurant.

Between the two new sites, Z-Bowl expects to hire an additional 80 people. Construction on the Gibsonville property should start before the end of the year.

The tenant list is almost set at the soon-to-open Tanger Outlet Center in Mebane.

Headlining the 317,000-square-foot center will be a large Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th outlet store. Other notable names include QVC, Brooks Brothers, Children's Place, Coach Factory, J.Crew, Tommy Hilfiger, Kay Jewelers, Levi's and Nine West.

The center is scheduled to open on Nov. 5, just in time for the big holiday shopping season. It is expected to employ more than 800 people and result in $7 million in additional sales tax revenue for the state annually. You can view construction photos and site renderings on the Tanger Outlet Center Website.

Click Read More for a full list of the retailers that were announced today during a media preview of the center.

Mark Harders of Raleigh has qualified for the eGolf Amateur Golf Tour
Championship to be played Oct. 22-24 at Hilton Head Island, S.C., in
October.

Harders advanced as a flight winner in Saturday's Raleigh Tour major
championship tournament at Mill Creek Golf Club in Mebane, where 112
golfers turned out. Harders won the C Flight with an 84.

Durham's Daren Green just missed one of the automatic invitations. Rob
Nash of Clemmons edged Green for the B Flight title with a par on the
first playoff hole.

In Mebane this morning, construction will officially begin on a new $60 million Tanger Outlet Center.

The center is on Arrowhead Boulevard, just off of I-40/85, and is 317,000 square feet.

Among the 80 stores planned: Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, Banana Republic Factory Store, Coach Factory, Gap Outlet, J. Crew, Michael Kors, BCBG/Girls, Nike Factory Store and Tommy Hilfiger.

The center is scheduled to open in the fall and employ 800 people.

Tanger also owns two other outlet centers in the state, in Nags Head and Blowing Rock.