GREENVILLE — Pitt County’s workforce and welcoming nature played key roles in the decision by a Japanese manufacturer of medical devices to build its first North American plant in Greenville.
Nipro, an Osaka, Japan-based manufacturer of medical devices for diabetes, kidney disease and other renal health issues, said it will build a 550,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility north of Greenville off of Old Creek Road near U.S. Highway 264 Bypass. The campus also will include a medical training center for health care providers and a customer service center.
Nipro’s new plant is expected to create 232 jobs and spur more than $397 million in investment in Pitt.
Gov. Roy Cooper joined a cadre of company officials and state and local leaders in air-conditioned tents on Wednesday at the site to unveil details about the company’s much-anticipated arrival. Cooper said that Nipro will join the more than two dozen other life sciences manufacturers that already call the area home.
“North Carolina’s life sciences sector is where we have really been recruiting a lot,” Cooper told officials at Wednesday’s gathering. “It continues to grow and we are now the fourth largest in the United States, right here in North Carolina.
“Nipro has also learned what companies like Thermo-Fisher and Boviet Solar already know,” the governor said, referring to the biotech giant a short distance from the site and the Vietnamese solar company that announced in April it will be bringing 900 jobs to town. “This county and the surrounding area is a great place to live and to do business.”
Cooper said he was particularly grateful for Japanese partners like Nipro who have created American jobs. He said approximately 225 Japanese businesses are in the state. Japan has the world’s fourth-largest economy and ranks as the state’s top source of direct foreign investment.
“I think the number one quality people come for is our skilled, dedicated and diverse workforce, the people of North Carolina,” Cooper said. “Some of our best salespeople are CEOs of companies that are already here.”
Wednesday’s announcement came almost three months after Boviet announced a project expected to bring 908 jobs and a $294 million investment in neighboring Indigreen Corporate Park. Cooper said the state should take that as a challenge to invest in infrastructure like education and quality child care to ensure businesses continue to want to put down roots.
Tsuyoshi Yamazaki, senior managing director of global business at Nipro, said Greenville stood out amid other potential sites as Nipro sought a North American base over the course of two years.
“I like the city and people. It’s so warm,” Yamazaki said. “I think what we will be doing most is to have a better set-up for people to get trained.
“(I feel) very comfortable,” Yamazaki said of being able to fit in amid neighboring industries, which include Grady-White Boats, Hyster Yale lift trucks, Catalent pharmaceuticals and MrBeast. “Good neighbors, very good to talk and very good to learn.”
Yamazaki said this year marks Nipro’s 70th anniversary and that the company felt a need to establish a stronger U.S. presence in order to make a difference for patients in need. He said the facility will be where “Japanese precision meets American craftsmanship.”
Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony was replete with Japanese customs. Performers sang and played flutes and drums as guests filed into the white tents where the facility will stand. Cooper presented Yamazaki with a vase bearing the North Carolina seal and Pitt County Commissioner Chris Nunnally gave the Nipro leader a sculpture from a local artist.
Following Cooper’s announcement, local elected officials, Nipro leaders and guests were invited to observe a traditional Shinto ceremony to bless the ground and instill good fortune and business in the years to come.
Kelly Andrews, executive director of Pitt County Economic Development, said the experience was different than the many other groundbreakings she has attended.
”This is definitely a first,” Andrews said. “It’s unique and it’s special. We’re honored to have Nipro here in Pitt County.”
The average salary for new positions created by Nipro will be $56,147, higher than Pitt County’s current average of $50,937, according to the Greenville-ENC Alliance, the area’s economic development partnership. The new jobs could create a payroll impact of over $13 million for the region annually, officials said.
Nipro’s project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier Wednesday. Over the course of the 12-year term of the grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $797 million.
Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs and the capital investment, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $2,484,000, spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.
The Pitt County Board of Commissioners on June 17 approved a local incentive in addition to the sale of 130 acres owned by the county.
The incentive gives the company 70 percent of the net increase in ad valorem taxes it pays for a seven-year period, with a cap set at $9 million over the life of the project.
The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 160 percent.
Construction will begin on Nipro’s Pitt County facility by the end of 2024 and the plant is expected to be operational in 2026. Hiring will begin in 2026, the Greenville-ENC Alliance said.
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