A manufacturer of waste collection trucks and equipment will more than triple the footprint of its local operations in Rowan County.
Amrep, a subsidiary of Charlotte-based Wastequip, is creating 170 jobs with the expansion of its East Coast manufacturing facility in Salisbury. The $21 million project calls for more than 80,000 square feet of new building space adjacent to its facility at 1405 Julian Road.
The expansion will bring Amrep's total footprint there to over 120,000 square feet. Amrep currently employs about 50 workers at its Salisbury facility, company president Eric Mattson said.
The new jobs will include average annual wages of $57,490, which is higher than the county average of $52,101. Amrep is expected to complete its investment in the expansion by the end of 2027.
The new facility is being developed by Beacon Partners as a built-to-suit project for Amrep. Last year, Rowan County approved a land sale to Beacon to facilitate the Amrep expansion under the code name Project Hoist. The land sale included around 20 acres adjacent to Amrep's existing facility.
Ontario, California-based Amrep primarily operated in the western U.S. until it chose Salisbury in 2017 for its first East Coast operation. Amrep's Rowan County operations opened in 2018.
Mattson said the company had always planned to expand in Rowan County and hoped to do so in its first three years there. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed those plans.
"We knew immediately when we got here that this was the place we wanted to be," Mattson said of Amrep selecting Salisbury in 2017. "Not only is it located great and centrally on the Eastern Seaboard, but it is a great business environment to work in."
Rowan EDC President Rod Crider said his team had been working on the Amrep project for over a year. It was almost announced last year before being pushed into 2024. Rowan County approved incentives for the project in October, just weeks after the land sale to Beacon was considered.
Crider said existing industry expansions are the "most rewarding and gratifying" projects his team works on.
The N.C. economic investment committee approved incentives for the Amrep expansion at its meeting today. State officials offered incentives totaling $2.3 million for the project. There was an additional $566,755 in county incentives, state documents show.
The Salisbury site beat out a location in Rock Hill for the project. The N.C. economic investment committee said South Carolina offered incentives ranging between $6 million and $7.5 million for Amrep.
Amrep has been under the ownership of Wastequip since 2019. Wastequip is headquartered in SouthPark.