Trinity Frozen Foods will build a sweet potato process facility in Robeson County.

The Charlotte-based company plans to hire 149 workers and invest more than $15 million over the next three years in Pembroke.

The jobs will pay an average annual salary of $23,405 dollars, plus benefits.

The company could receive up to $500,000 from the One North Carolina Fund if it meets job creation requirements, according to the announcement from Gov. Pat McCrory's office. The grant is also contingent upon a local funding match.

The company closed on a first round of equity financing earlier this year and said at the time it planned to build a sweet potato processing facility in either North or South Carolina to be near growers.

Most raw sweet potatoes from the Carolinas are now shipped to Arkansas, Louisiana or Quebec to be processed for food makers, the company's CFO Chip Wilson said a statement in January when announcing the funding.

The 150,000 square foot processing plant is expected to begin operations in July. The company markets sweet potato fries to food service and retail markets. Its fries are sold under the Sweet Sensations and Frizzles brands but it also produces private label products for supermarkets.

The plant will initially produce 12 to 15 million pounds of sweet potato fries annually, but the plans call for expanding to produce 50 million pounds of sweet potato fries each year.

North Carolina is the No. 1 sweet potato producing state in the country, according to the state's Sweet Potato Commission Foundation.

North State Flexibles, which makes flexible packaging products, plans to expand its Guilford County facility.

The expansion, according to the governor's office, will lead to a $4.4 million investment and create 41 jobs over the next three years. The average annual salary is $31,700, below the county average of $42,170.

North State Flexibles is a subsidiary of St. Johns Packaging. It currently employs 120 people in Guilford County where it makes packaging for food and personal care companies.

The company will receive a grant from the One North Carolina Fund of up to $61,500 if it meets hiring goals and receives a funding match from the local government.

Awesome Products, laundry detergent and cleaning products manufacturer, will build a facility in Mount Airy and create 90 jobs over the next three years.

The company will invest $22 million in the facility which will be about 140 miles northwest of Raleigh. Workers will make household chemicals such as bleach, degreasers and cleaners. The plant will also serve as a distribution center for customers in the Northeast and Southeast.

A German company that makes products used in the auto industry plans to locate its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Shelby.

KSM Castings NC plans to hire 189 people by the end of 2018. It will build a 110,000 square foot production facility and invest more than $45 million in the Cleveland County operations, according to press release from the N.C. Department of Commerce.

If it meets hiring and investment goals, the company could receive as much as $705,000 from the state's One North Carolina Fund, and as much as $2.86 million in Job Development Investment Grants.

Kalo Foods, a baker of gluten-free gourmet food products, plans to locate its operations in Rockingham County.

The project, which received a $70,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, will create 21 jobs. Kalo will invest nearly $650,000 in the facility in Stokesdale.

A fresh produce distributor announced Friday that it will expand its operations in Rowan County and create 90 jobs over the next three years.

Freshouse II plans to invest $6.3 million in its facility in Salisbury, about 50 miles southwest of Greensboro.

The company will receive a $100,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund if it meets hiring and investment goals.

Freshouse currently employs more than 115 people in North Carolina.

The average annual payroll for the new jobs will be $2.3 million plus benefits, or about $25,555 a year per employee.

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.

A Wisconsin-based fan and ventilation company plans an expansion of its operations in Cleveland County, creating 62 jobs and investing $7.8 million in the next three years in Kings Mountain.

The new jobs at Greenheck Fan Corporation will pay an average annual wage of $31,985, plus benefits. Currently, the company employs more than 50 people in North Carolina.

Greenheck, which often sells ventilation systems meant to increase energy efficiency, will build a new manufacturing facility alongside its existing Kings Mountain factory, which manufactures kitchen ventilation equipment.

The company, headquartered in Schofield, took a year to make the decision where to locate its expansion, said Jon Krueger, vice-president of human resources and administrative services. The company selected the location in part because of the high percentage of its products that are shipped to the East Coast.

 The company may receive a $150,000 economic development grant from the One North Carolina Fund for the expansion, if it meets job creation and performance targets.

A manufacturer of automotive parts is expanding in Person County.

GKN Driveline plans to add 131 jobs over the next five years and invest $24.1 million at its facility in Roxboro. It could receive almost $1.5 million in state and local grants if it meets those investment and hiring goals.

Asheville-based furniture maker SBFI North America announced Friday it will locate a facility in McDowell County and create 25 jobs over the next three years.

The company will invest $1.4 million in the plant in Old Fort, about 25 miles east of Asheville.

SBFI will receive a $75,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund if it meets hiring and investment goals.

The average annual wage for the new jobs will be $31,080, above the McDowell County average of $29,692.

SBFI and its related companies employ more than 90 people in North Carolina. The company makes trading desks and control room furniture.