Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that TIMCO Aerosystems, LLC., one of the largest providers of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services in the world, will open a passenger seat manufacturing operation in Wallburg. The company plans to create 275 jobs over the next five years and invest $2.75 million at the facility. The project was made possible in part by state grants from the Job Development Investment Grant program and One North Carolina Fund.
“Creating jobs is my number one priority, and TIMCO Aerosystems decision to open its East Coast manufacturing operation in North Carolina is a big win,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “By expanding its stake in the state, TIMCO has demonstrated that our own investments in education, worker training, aerospace and infrastructure have paid off. We have created the kind of business climate and workforce that is attracting new companies and encouraging the ones that are here to grow.”
The TIMCO group currently employs 1,182 people in Greensboro. While individual wages for the 275 additional jobs will vary by job function, the overall average wage for the new jobs is $34,728, not including benefits. That is higher than the county average of $29,640 in Davidson County.
TIMCO Aerosystems, a unit of TIMCO Aviation Services, one of the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (“MRO”) providers in the world, develops, manufactures, integrates and certifies interior cabins and monuments including galley systems, lavatories and aircraft seating. The facility in Wallburg will engineer and manufacture these interior components, including the company’s growing line of FeatherWeight™, fuel-saving products.
Kevin Carter, Co-CEO of TIMCO along with Ron Utecht, said, “We undertook a comprehensive assessment of various locations around the country for the expanded facilities. At the end of the day, the impressive partnership of the Governor, the State Legislature, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, North Carolina Community Colleges, Davidson County and the Town of Wallburg, recognized the opportunity before us and really worked hard with our team on a compelling plan to take advantage of something that doesn’t come along frequently in the aerospace industry.”
“The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently ranked North Carolina as No. 4 in job growth, and today’s announcement is an example of why,” said Rep. Hugh Holliman, of Lexington. “Our investments in education and infrastructure have put North Carolina on track for the kind of national attention it is now getting for helping lead the nation into recovery.”
To help facilitate this expansion, the company has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the state’s One North Carolina Fund. This fund provides cash grants to attract business projects deemed by the governor to be vital to a healthy and growing state economy. No money is paid up front and companies must meet job creation and investment targets to receive payments. One North Carolina Fund grants also require a local match, and this grant is contingent upon approval of local incentives.
Also, the state Economic Investment Committee today voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to TIMCO. JDIGs are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 60 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the nine years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If TIMCO meets the targets called for under the agreement and sustains them for nine years, the JDIG could yield $1.798 million in maximum benefits for the company.
Other partners who assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community Colleges, Davidson County Economic Development Commission, and Town of Wallburg.
Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create well-paying jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
For more information about TIMCO, including job opportunities, visit www.timco.aero.