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Siemens Mobility Plans Lexington, North Carolina, Manufacturing-Rail Service Facility

03/08/2023
Siemens Mobility, Inc., the global manufacturer of rail transportation vehicles and control systems, plans to build a major advanced manufacturing and rail services center in Lexington, North Carolina. The $220 million project is expected to create 506 jobs in Davidson County.

The investment will involve multiple buildings on a 200 acre site and feature more than 11,000 feet of rail track. The company will manufacture passenger rail vehicles allowing it to better serve its East Coast customers.

“After four decades of manufacturing trains in America and on behalf of all 4,000 Siemens Mobility employees in the U.S., we are excited to announce that we will expand to our new east coast hometown in Lexington, North Carolina,” said Marc Buncher, CEO of Siemens Mobility North America. “Now is the moment in time for rail in America and this facility supports our strategy to grow in close proximity to our customers as well as provide us with the added capacity needed to push the boundaries of innovation.”

The project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $1.6 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, as well as a capital investment of $220.2 million, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $5,636,700, spread over 12 years.

State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

"Leading global companies like Siemens Mobility continue to choose North Carolina to build the next generation in innovative clean transportation,” noted Governor Roy Cooper. “Thanks to our state’s skilled workforce, and the proven education and training systems that help people maintain and build those skills, North Carolina is the number one state for manufacturing.”

Siemens Mobility, a separately managed company of Germany’s Siemens AG, has been a leader in intelligent transportation solutions for more than 175 years. The company’s core areas of focus include rolling stock, rail automation and electrification, and a comprehensive software portfolio among other offerings.

“North Carolina’s manufacturing workforce has earned its global reputation for excellence,” added North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “I lead a department that puts people and talent development front and center, and we’ll continue to invest in the workforce development and training programs that have earned us the respect of CEOs around the world.”

Because Siemens Mobility chose a site in Davidson County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 2, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving $626,300 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 2 county such as Davidson, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state.

Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Ports, the North Carolina Railroad Company, Norfolk Southern, ElectriCities of North Carolina, the City of Lexington, Davidson-Davie Community College, the Davidson County Airport Authority, Davidson County and the Davidson County Economic Development Commission.

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