Fortune 500 company to make $70 million expansion, create jobs in Johnston County
Manufacturing company Berry Global Inc. is investing $70 million in expanding its Benson plant, described as a “generational project” that will bring 63 new jobs to the town, Johnston County announced Monday.
The county board of commissioners and Benson town board unanimously approved performance-based economic incentives for Berry Global during a joint meeting Monday as part of a working agreement.
The international Fortune 500 company, headquartered in Evansville, Ind., makes plastic packaging and nonwoven fabrics, including disinfectant wipes. The company has been based in Benson since the 1960s and the town’s largest private employer with more than 215 people working at its plant on 1206 Chicopee Road.
The new jobs will pay an average salary of nearly $45,000 a year, higher than the Johnston County average individual income of about $30,000, officials said.
“Even in the dark cloud of a global pandemic, this announcement is due to the epitome of a great public-private partnership between a pro-business government and a tremendous corporate partner,” said county economic development Chris Johnson at Monday’s meeting.
Johnson said the economic incentives from the town and county are contingent on the return of Berry Global’s investment that will increase public tax revenue.
Its expansion comes as demand for wipes for infection prevention surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the county said in a news release.
“As we developed our plans to expand our manufacturing footprint... we considered multiple locations in-state and out-of-state,” said Paul Harmon, vice president of product development and marketing at Berry Global. “The incentives proposed played a very important art of our decision and for our final site selection. We genuinely appreciate the consideration and support for our investment.”
A study of Berry Global’s investment, once its expansion is operational, found that the return on investment would result in nearly $21.5 million annually for the county’s economy, according to an analysis by Dr. Michael Walden, a North Carolina State University economist, on behalf of the county.
The facility will add $71,116 in annual tax revenues to the Town of Benson and $160,872 to Johnston County, the county said in a news release.
Berry Global has a presence in North Carolina and employs 1,200 people at facilities in Ahoskie, Charlotte, Matthews, Mooresville, Rocky Mount and Statesville.
