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Global manufacturer to build $38 million plant in Hendersonville (2)

County Commission Chair Bill Lapsley and Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk presented county and city flags to Jim Cormas, who will manage the new Jabil plant in Hendersonville.

By Lightning Reports, Published: December 7, 2020

Jabil Inc., a worldwide company with more than 100 manufacturing plants in 30 countries, will invest $38 million in a factory that will employ 150 people in fulltime jobs with benefits in Hendersonville, the company and the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development announced on Monday night during a meeting of the Board of Commissioners.

Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jabil plans to build a 160,000-square-foot factory in the newly formed industrial park between Upward Road and Crest Road near I-26. The company manufacturers products for the aerospace, communications, defense and health care industries. The Hendersonville plant will specialize in the company's strong and growing business selling diabetes care products. The company began looking at a new factory site when its Arden plant, also a part of Jabil's health care products division, exceeded its capacity. Jabil chose the Hendersonville site after a search that also included sites in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mexico.

Jabil Healthcare is the largest global manufacturing solutions provider in the healthcare industry. The company expects to begin operations in Hendersonville in 2022 and create 150 new jobs by 2025, the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development said in a news release. Both Henderson County and the city of Hendersonville authorized property tax refunds to attract Jabil.

Jabil plans to construct the new facility on roughly 19 acres of the 41-acre Garrison Lane Property in East Flat Rock, which was recently purchased as part of a historic, three-party agreement among Henderson County, the city of Hendersonville and the Economic Investment Fund of Henderson County (an affiliate of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development), to help protect land for industrial development and job creation.

“We’re very proud of our community,” Grady Hawkins, the immediate past chair of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners, said in a news release. “The result of our collaboration is an outstanding new corporate citizen, and now we all get to reap the benefits of Jabil’s presence in Henderson County for years to come.”

Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk added: “Attracting Jabil is a big win for us and truly illustrates the importance of teamwork to advance a common goal. The reward is a higher quality of life and great job opportunities for our community at large.” Monday night she thanked the Gold Leaf Foundation for granting the city money to run water lines to the property.

Jabil is a global manufacturing services company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida with locations across 30 countries employing more than 260,000 people. Jabil designs and manufactures products used across industry sectors including health care, automotive, aerospace and defense and telecommunications. The facility in Henderson County will manufacture plastic components used in pharmaceutical applications.

“Innovative and quality healthcare solutions are at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now,” said Jim Cormas, who will oversee operations at the Hendersonville plant. “Our business is dedicated to providing value to our customers and we’re excited that we’ve been able to find a location that can quickly allow us to grow and help deliver health care to people across the world.”

“We’re excited to see the impact of Jabil’s location to our community,” said Beau Waddell, chair of the Partnership for Economic Development Board of Directors. “But most importantly, we’re proud that Jabil will be making products in our community that will improve global health. We’re most excited to see their broader impact.”

The new facility project was born out of a collaborative effort at the local and state level. The community landed the new employer through the collaboration of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Henderson County and the city of Hendersonville. The project was supported by grants from the Golden Leaf Foundation and the North Carolina Community College System.

To learn more about careers at Jabil Healthcare, visit jabil.com. For more information about the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development and its role in protecting and building a strong local economy, visit www.hcped.org.