SANFORD – STERIS plans to invest $600 million in a 600,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center expected to create about 335 jobs in Lee County.
The company announced Aug. 5 that the formulated chemistries Center of Excellence will be built at Helix Innovation Park at The Brickyard. STERIS described it as the largest manufacturing investment at a single site in the company’s history.
The campus is planned as a hub for products used in infection prevention and contamination control for health care and pharmaceutical customers. The operation is expected to include manufacturing, research and development, laboratory, warehouse and distribution work.
Construction is planned in phases, beginning with distribution. STERIS said the site is expected to become operational in two to three years. After the campus is completed, the company expects to transition existing chemistries manufacturing and distribution from St. Louis and Plymouth, Minnesota, to Sanford.
The 335 North Carolina jobs are expected to be created over four years, through 2030, according to WRAL’s account of the state’s Economic Investment Committee meeting. The positions will span manufacturing, research and development, distribution and operations, with an average annual salary of $68,704. The state listed Lee County’s average at $59,903.
A state Job Development Investment Grant authorizes potential reimbursements of up to $3.213 million over 12 years. Payments are contingent on STERIS meeting annual job-creation and investment targets verified by the departments of Commerce and Revenue. State officials estimate the project will add $1.8 billion to North Carolina’s economy over the grant term.
WRAL reported that Lee County commissioners approved a performance-based package of as much as $12.9 million on July 13 and that Sanford City Council approved a similar package of as much as $11 million on July 21. Those local incentives also depend on the company meeting hiring and investment commitments.
STERIS President and CEO Dan Carestio said the site decision followed an analysis of existing facilities and customer demand. He said the center is intended to increase capacity, speed product development and improve the company’s U.S. chemistries manufacturing and distribution network. State officials cited the region’s technical workforce and life-sciences base.
Sanford Mayor Rebecca Salmon and Lee County commissioners Chair Samantha Martin welcomed the project as a source of skilled jobs and a further addition to the area’s health care manufacturing cluster. The company has not announced a specific construction-start date, and the investment, hiring and opening timeline remain forward-looking.
Sources:
N.C. Department of Commerce project and incentive details
North Carolina Biotechnology Center project report
WRAL reporting on hiring schedule and local incentives
Image credit: Official STERIS logo courtesy of STERIS plc. Editorial graphic does not depict the planned Sanford facility.