News

Fletcher plant adding 70 employees

By Bill Moss, Published: August 5, 2019

Smartrac Technology Fletcher Inc., which won economic development incentives from Henderson County and the town of Fletcher in January, is adding nearly 70 more employees as part of a major expansion.

The additional workers will bring Smartrac's total employment to around 170 employees in Fletcher, the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development said in a news release. Most of the newly created positions will require a high school diploma.

“This project could put Henderson County at the cutting edge of new technology and innovation," County Commission Chair Grady Hawkins said. "Today, RFID tags are already used in almost every business sector and it is exciting for our community to be home to such a great product that creates wonderful jobs for our citizens.”

“Our Fletcher location has utilized a unique combination of local talent and community support to become one of the most innovative and competitive RFID manufacturing plants in North America” added Chris Hykin, Smartrac's vice president for operations. “In an industry that has gone completely global, our plant continues to demonstrate the real potential of a dedicated workforce and the importance of investing in both, people and talent development right here in the US.”

County commissioners and the Fletcher Town Council authorized the incentives for Smartrac in January. Incentives are typically approved for existing manufacturers as a way to encourage local investment and new job creation; companies have to meet thresholds of a minimum investment amount and create new jobs that will pay above the average county wage. The newly announced expansion will help to further strengthen and grow Smartrac’s market position as one of the worldwide leading developer and manufacturer of RFID tags and IoT solutions. High-quality RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) inlays and tags made by Smartrac are used in a wide variety of applications across many industries.
“In Fletcher, Smartrac started its business back in 2005 as former UPM RFID,” said Mayor Rod Whiteside. "We want to do everything we can to support them to become the largest manufacturer of RFID tags in the world over the next few years. RFID tags are everywhere, they are the backbone of product digitization, technology and connectivity… we’re pretty proud of what’s going on in our community.”
The business that started in 2005 was sold to Smartrac in 2012.

“Since that time, they have been a leader in their field, a strong corporate citizen, and advocate for teaching our youth about manufacturing careers," said Steve Gwaltney, chair of the HCPED Board of Directors.