HICKORY — US Conec plans to invest more than $149.7 million in a manufacturing expansion that will add 224 jobs in Catawba County and retain about 300 existing local positions.
The Hickory-headquartered company designs and manufactures high-density optical-interconnect components used in advanced computing infrastructure, enterprise and telecommunications networks, circuit boards, and industrial and military markets. US Conec has been based in Hickory since its founding in 1992.
The state and city announcements describe the building scope differently. The City of Hickory says US Conec will equip and upfit a 221,000-square-foot industrial building now under construction at Catawba Commerce Center in Fairgrove Business Park. North Carolina Commerce describes a 200,000-square-foot building for advanced manufacturing, research and development, administrative operations and distribution.
Average annual pay for the new engineering, operator, technician and support positions is expected to be $56,982, slightly above Catawba County’s $56,937 average, according to Commerce. At full staffing, the positions could add more than $12.7 million in annual payroll.
The company and local officials expect the expansion and hiring to be completed by the end of 2030. The added capacity is intended to help US Conec meet demand tied to the build-out of advanced-computing and communications infrastructure.
A performance-based $500,000 One North Carolina Fund grant will support the project. The company will receive no money upfront and must meet job-creation and capital-investment targets. The state award also requires matching local participation.
Separate local incentives are not final. Hickory and Catawba County expect to consider them at public hearings in mid-November, according to the city.
The new jobs and investment are committed in the public announcement, but much of the physical expansion and hiring remains prospective. The business consequence is the scale of the capital plan, payroll and local workforce growth for a homegrown advanced-manufacturing company.