New plant will produce Mucinex, bring 289 jobs here

Reckitt Benckiser Health, a United Kingdom-based health, hygiene and nutrition company, is bringing 289 new full-time jobs to Wilson with a new Mucinex production facility.

Wilson Economic Development Council Director Jennifer Lantz said the economic development announcement, one of two made Tuesday morning, includes $145,593,000 in economic investment and an average salary of $80,182 for the 289 new jobs being created.

“You may not recognize the name, but this is a huge company,” Lantz said. “They sell product in almost every country in the world. They have 40,000 employees worldwide and are located in 68 countries. Some of their products include Airborne, Mucinex, Biofreeze, Gaviscon, Neuriva, Durex, Clearasil, Air Wick, Calgon, Lysol, Vanish and Woolite.”

Lantz said Reckitt purchased the former Sandoz facility and will renovate the building for Mucinex production, both in liquid and tablet form.

Chris Tedesco, senior vice president of the health business unit in North America for Reckitt, said Wilson was a natural fit based on its already established life science base.

“We’re really excited by what Wilson has built for life sciences in the region,” Tedesco said. “As we look to our objective to expand brand production to satisfy significant increases in demand, it’s a great fit for us. We’re excited as a company for Wilson. We’re a company committed for healthier lives, happier homes.”

Tedesco said Mucinex is used by upwards of one-third of all homes and is a leading name in the upper respiratory brand of health.

“We’re really excited for the opportunity to bring more to the U.S. and Wilson to achieve our expansion goals,” Tedesco said. “The priority is to expand Mucinex, but we will evaluate opportunities in other OTC (over the counter) brands later down the line. Right now, we’re much more focused on the opportunity with Mucinex.”

Tedesco said the he expects the Wilson facility to be in production by 2027.

Marc Littlewood, strategic projects director for manufacturing at Reckitt, said Wilson County is situated within one of the most important pharmaceutical hubs in the U.S. with access to a highly educated and talented workforce.

“This site is important to our long-term growth strategy,” Littlewood said. “We are grateful to the state of North Carolina and Wilson County for its support and look forward to joining the community.”

Reckitt is set to receive economic incentives from the city and county “for the purpose of constructing a new manufacturing facility within the city and county of Wilson, resulting in additional monetary investment and the creation of new jobs.” The agreement is for the city and county to each pay the company one half of a $4.2 million economic incentive, paid out over a seven-year period.

NEOPAC EXPANSION

Neopac, a packaging and dosing application company already located in Wilson, will be expanding its manufacturing capabilities in Wilson, creating 27 new jobs with an average salary of $63,315 and $10 million in economic investment.

“They (Neopac) plan to expand their plant with a new cosmetic tube line for the pharmaceutical industry,” Lantz said. “They’re adding the ability to make 70 million more tubes per year and print the packaging on them. This is a company that hasn’t been here very long. They located in 2018, so it’s exciting to see them grow.”

Neopac Director of Finance Friedrich Holz said the Neopac is excited for the new tube line.

“These investments give us the opportunity to continue to grow in Wilson County and further demonstrate our commitment to the long-term success of this site,” Holz said. “We look froward to providing opportunities for new employees to join us at our state-of-the-art facility in a great environment with interesting work.”

Lantz thanked Rep. Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson, and Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson, for their help in bringing a $30 million grant to Wilson Community College for a biotechnology education training center. She said the center is crucial to gaining interest from industries and companies in the life science community.

“If you look at Wilson’s economic data, our smallest population is 18 to 44,” Fontenot told the Times. “We have not had educational or economic opportunities that have led to career level salary positions that keep our best talents here. This (training facility) changes that. When you have a population of 18 to 44 shrinking and a population of 44 to 84 growing, that will create economic hardships and problems later on. I am glad we’re able to remedy that, and I really look forward to changing the face of Wilson on so many levels.”

Wilson City Council and Wilson County Board of Commissioners each agreed to pay the company one half of a $210,000 economic incentive, paid out over a three-year period, to Neopac for, “the purpose of constructing an expansion of its manufacturing facility within the city and county of Wilson, resulting in additional monetary investments and the creation of new jobs.”

Wilson County Board of Commissioners Chair Rob Boyette said credit for the two announcements belongs to the Wilson Economic Development team.

“Today’s announcement is just another example of how well our Economic Development team is performing in today’s environment,” Boyette said. “I really believe that Jennifer Lantz, her staff and the many volunteers, are really making Wilson County the place that managers and people developing jobs really want to come to.”

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