Triangle Business Journal by Amanda Jones Hoyle, Staff Writer
Injectable drug manufacturer Hospira will expand and modernize its production plant in Rocky Mount with plans to add another 200 jobs to its existing workforce of more than 2,400 people in Nash County.
Hospira (NYSE: HSP) will be awarded a $645,000 grant from the state’s One North Carolina Fund if the company invests at least $85 million over the next three years in the expansion, according to a news release from Gov. Beverly Perdue’s office.
The company could also receive more than $12.5 million in local economic development incentives over the next 10 years after reaching an agreement with government officials from Nash County and the City of Rocky Mount.
Officials from Hospira, one of the largest private employers in Nash County, have stated that the total investment at the Rocky Mount plant could reach up to $270 million over the next 10 years.
The average annual wage for the new jobs created with the expansion will be $51,780, plus benefits, which is higher than the Nash County average annual wage of $34,112.
The Lake Forest, Ill.-based company, which is one of the world’s largest generic injectable pharmaceutical manufacturers, also has a production plant in Clayton that employs about 300 people.
