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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Amrep Manufacturing Company Expands Rowan County, North Carolina, Operations

06/03/2024
Amrep Manufacturing Company, a producer of waste collection trucks, plans to expand its operations in Salisbury, North Carolina. The more than $21 million project is expected to create 170 jobs in Rowan County.

The new 80,000-square-foot production space, adjacent to the company's current facility, will produce front load and automated side load trucks for curbside collection.

“This expansion continues Wastequip’s growth platform providing specialized equipment and services to customers in the waste industry as the leading integrated solution provider from generation to rest,” said Marty Bryant, President and CEO of Wastequip.

The project is being supported, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $335.2 million. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $1,614,600, 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.

“Salisbury was Amrep’s first expansion of our manufacturing operations several years ago – and this area, including the highly skilled workforce and cooperation of local and state officials, continues to afford excellent opportunities for us. We are very excited to get this project underway,” noted Eric Mattson, President of Wastequip’s Truck Division.

The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 51 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $1.51 in state revenue. 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.

“Amrep could have expanded anywhere, but they chose North Carolina,” added N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “This investment will require our increased investment in quality education and the workforce training systems to help our business community thrive.”

Amrep’s JDIG agreement could also move as much as $179,400 into a fund that helps rural communities across the state attract business in the future. When companies select a site located in a Tier 2 county such as Rowan, their JDIG agreements move some of the new tax revenue into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account.

“I’ve seen surveys that asked ‘what influenced the decision to go to a particular area,’ and always at the top is discussions with their peers, either in the industry or elsewhere. The fact that we did a good job with Agility, good enough that they said ‘you should come here too,’ to their business partner, it doesn’t get any better,” said Rod Crider, president and CEO of the Rowan Economic Development Council.

Amrep is a subsidiary of Wastequip, a manufacturer of waste handling equipment and a one-stop shop for the cycle of waste hauling, collecting, storing, and transportation. The company currently operates manufacturing sites in 48 states and Mexico.

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 Community College System, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Rowan County, Rowan Economic Development Council, and Duke Energy.

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