Business

OFFICIALS CELEBRATE NEW PLANT, 350 JOBS

Gov. Pat McCrory presents carved wooden bowl to Linamar President Jim Jarrell.

By Bill Moss, Published: February 22, 2016

Celebrating one of the most prized industrial plant catches in recent decades, state and county leaders on Monday announced that an international partnership of two respected manufacturers would build a $217 million plant on a 52-acre site in Ferncliff Industrial Park in Mills River.

“The message here today is that Henderson County is open for business,” County Manager Steve Wyatt said. “This is a special time in the history of this community.”

The announcement brought Gov. Pat McCrory and the state commerce secretary to Hendersonville to praise the Canadian-Swiss partnership that created the idea. McCrory and other speakers saluted the local industry-recruiting team and promised that good jobs with benefits would bring benefits for years to come. The partnership could break ground as early as next month and start production in mid-2017. The plant will pay an average wage of $47,700 and add a $16.7 million payroll to the fast-growing northern Henderson County area, officials said.

“We’re just so fortunate to have this tremendous jolt of energy that’s coming to this region,” McCrory said. “It’s going to help a lot of families. It’s going to help a lot of people.”

"Mills River is the place they chose in Henderson County," he added. "Not only are we bringing 350 new jobs. These companies will invest $217 million in a new plant in Mills River. That means we’re going to have a lot of construction jobs and other type jobs to spin off. Compound that number and you’ll see the impact that this is going to have on Western North Carolina.”

Georg Fischer Corp., a 213-year-old Swiss company, and Ontario-based Linamar Corp. announced last July that they had formed a partnership to build a new high-pressure light metal die-casting plant in the Southeast U.S.

The Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development successfully recruited the plant, beating out Columbia, S.C., the other finalist. The plant will locate on a 52-acre site in Ferncliff. In an economic development incentive offer that Wyatt described as pushing the envelope, Henderson County agreed to advance GF Linamar $4.6 million to buy the property and would hold a mortgage and deed of trust to secure the loan.

In all, Henderson County has promised up to $6.9 million while Mills River pledged $302,926 in tax incentives over 14 years.

“Let me tell you these county commissioners were asked to push the envelope,” Wyatt said. “They were asked to get outside of their comfort level, to be aggressive. We say we don’t make the rules, we just decide whether we want to play, and these commissioners stepped up to the plate and decided we’re going to play. We can play with the big boys.”

He also praised the work of state Sen. Tom Apodaca and Andrew Tate, the president of the Partnership for Economic Development, in recruiting the plant. The bonds that form in high-pressure, high stakes negotiation ultimately produced a good marriage, he said.

"I felt the emotion of the commitment of this great partnership," he said. "GF Linamar and Henderson County values met, and they line up. They are a great partner, a great neighbor, great folks to have in the community.”

Under the agreement for tax rebates, GF Linamar must invest at least $42.3 million in the manufacturing plant plus $174.9 million in machinery and equipment through 2023. The $217 million total does not include the $4.6 million land acquisition cost. The prospective GF Linamar plant would be between Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and the Asheville Regional Airport on the northern part of the industrial park.

The state of North Carolina on Monday approved a Job Development Investment Grant of $4.2 million over the next 12 years as the company creates and maintains these manufacturing jobs.

"These are investment grants that are based upon revenue that they bring, jobs that they bring in,” McCrory said.

The project was also got a boost from a performance-based grant from the One North Carolina fund of up to $500,000. The One North Carolina Fund provides financial assistance, through local governments, to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. Companies receive no money up front and must meet job creation and investment performance standards to qualify for grant funds.

"We've been meeting with this company and having discussions for a long time," added the governor, who has made job growth a priority. "The last meeting we had with them was at the Grove Park Inn on a beautiful night where they got to look over the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. We had a wonderful meal with about 20 people. We exchanged hockey sticks and hockey uniforms. These are hockey players, by the way."

Before that dinner, local and state officials had been working to bring the joint venture to Mills River. Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla III traveled to Switzerland to recruit Georg Fisher.

"This is a recruitment based upon relationships, long term relationships," McCrory said. "And it didn’t happen by accident because this company could have gone anywhere in the United States."

The governor also announced that the state Golden Leaf Foundation had approved a $550,000 grant for specialized training equipment at Blue Ridge Community College. BRCC President Molly Parkhill said the college would use the money for training in the kind of die-casting the plant uses and also for plastic molding used by other county manufacturers.

“We trust and believe in the strong workforce here in Henderson County,” said Josef Edbauer, the head of GF Automotive.

“At Linamar we talk a lot about team,” Linamar President Jim Jarrell said. “A great team when you think about iy has really compelling goals. It has simple processes, it has measuring systems, it has communications systems but ultimately it has a high degree of trust. To me it’s like a lubricant. When you have trust it makes things work better together.”

“What we’re doing here is absolutely impressive,” Jarrell added. “This is state of the art manufacturing for fuel-efficient vehicles using light-weight materials.”

The companies announced last summer their intention to "enter the promising North American automotive market" with a new plant that would make light metal components for a European car manufacturer.

“Both parties will also cooperate in Asia and in Europe in order to meet their respective customers demand for integrated casting solutions,” GF Corp. said. “The joint venture plans to produce lightweight powertrain and structural components, drawing from the expertise of both partners."

“GF and Linamar complement each other very well combining leading expertise in casting respectively in machining” GF CEO Yves Serra said in the news release. “Our cooperation allows both partners to offer integrated solutions to their customers and for GF Automotive to expand its activities in the promising North American market.”

Founded in 1802 when 29-year-old Johann Conrad Fischer made a copper smelting plant out of a water-driven mill, GF Automotive has 126 companies, including 47 production facilities, in 31 countries. A worldwide automotive supplier, GF specializes in lightweight solutions for the automotive industry.

Founded in 1966, Linamar Corp. has 48 manufacturing facilities and a workforce of 19,500 employees. The company is known for its expertise in precision machining of metallic powertrain products for the automotive industry.