Anthem Displays LLC, a national manufacturer of digital billboards, will create 17 jobs in Bladen County, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The project will generate a $3.6 million investment in Elizabethtown.
“North Carolina continues to attract new jobs in a wide range of industries,” said Governor Cooper. “Global companies like Anthem Displays see the potential of growing in southeastern North Carolina because of the strong workforce that is ready to get to work.”
Anthem Displays is an industry leader in state-of-the-art digital outdoor advertising displays and solutions. In 2018, Prismaflex International, a worldwide operator of direct-out-of-home advertising, took a minority stake in Anthem Displays. Anthem Displays provides digital display technology for advertising companies, including Lamar Advertising, globally and in all 50 U.S. states. Its Boulder, Colorado location will consolidate and relocate electronics and firmware operations to Elizabethtown, where the company currently employs nine workers in the design and manufacture of display frames.
“We are pleased to build upon our 35-year history in Bladen County,” says Nico Marais, Partner of Anthem Displays. “The majority of the outdoor billboard market is east of the Mississippi River, which was one of the top reasons for consolidating our operations to North Carolina. This expansion will provide greater efficiencies and quality in producing our digital billboards for our customer base.”
“Our one-of-a-kind talent, convenient access to global markets and moderate business costs continue to attract jobs and investment both nationally and internationally,” North Carolina Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland said. “Anthem Displays’ expansion in Bladen County is further evidence that our state and its economy are as resilient as any in the world.”
Among the positions Anthem Displays will add in Elizabethtown are electronic assembly personnel and managerial staff. The average annual salary for the new positions could exceed $38,300, creating an annual payroll impact of more than $651,750 per year for the local economy. The current average annual wage in Bladen County is $34,856. The company’s expansion will occur at a facility developed by Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-industrial, a nonprofit corporation supported by the Golden Leaf Foundation, USDA Rural Development, and the US Economic Development Administration.
A performance-based grant of $50,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help locate Anthem Displays to Bladen County. The One N.C. Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One N.C. grants require a matching grant from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.
“Nothing speaks more credibly to the quality of North Carolina’s business climate than when an existing business weighs its options and decides to bring more jobs and production to one of our communities,” said N.C. Representative William D. Brisson. “I’m proud of the great work of our economic development leaders in facilitating Anthem Display’s expansion to Bladen County.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce worked closely with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina in leading a collaborative state effort to support the company’s expansion. Other key partners in the project include the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority, the North Carolina Community College System, Golden Leaf Foundation, North Carolina’s Southeast, Four County Electric Membership Corporation, Bladen Community College, Bladen County Economic Development Commission, Bladen County Board of Commissioners, Bladen County Committee of 100 and the Town of Elizabethtown.