Korean-based manufacturer Doosan Infracore confirmed what has been widely known this week when the company announced it had purchased the Dana Corp. plant and would employ 400 workers at the site.
Long considered one of the county’s most attractive industrial sites, the plant will be used by Doosan Infracore to manufacture air compressors, light towers and portable generators. The company’s regional headquarters will move to the site from nearby Davidson.
Displaced workers have held out hope for years that the county’s economic development team would land a major manufacturer for the site, bringing hundreds of high-paying jobs to a community that needs them. In fact, the prospect of creating new jobs was one of the major reasons county commissioners were opposed to a proposal to convert the site into a 21st Century education complex.
That’s not exactly how it worked out.
The vast majority of the jobs are already spoken for. Some 340 employees will likely transfer from other regional offices, leaving about five dozen jobs for the company to fill in Statesville in the coming year. We expect there will be no shortage of qualified applicants for these jobs.
Still, in today’s competitive global marketplace where cheap labor and government incentives tend to conspire against cities like Statesville, Doosan Infracore’s announcement was a banner day for Iredell and one that should be celebrated.
Almost as noteworthy was Dana’s decision to move its remaining Statesville workforce of three dozen to the downtown. The old Wachovia bank building had been vacant for too long and it’s exciting to see a new occupant.
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