$65 Million Expansion In 2019 Will Create Up To 24 Jobs
Novo Nordisk, which announced two years ago a $2 billion facility and 700 new bio-manufacturing jobs in Clayton, have announced yet another expansion project in Johnston County.
Company officials appeared before Johnston County Commissioners on Monday announcing plans for a $65 million expansion of their existing facility on Powhatan Road, their third expansion since 2010.
The expansion will add as many as two dozen new jobs by the end of 2019.
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk currently employs over 1,000 manufacturing workers in Johnston County.
The $65 million expansion is in the growing Diabetes Finished Products Facility (DFPF), which is responsible for the formulation, filling, inspection, assembly and packaging of diabetes and obesity medicines.
The expansion is in addition to a nearby facility currently under construction that will produce Diabetes Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (DAPI) for a range of current and future type 2 diabetes medications and insulins. That facility will employ an additional 700 bio-manufacturing workers once opened in 2021.
“Johnston County is proud to have been part of Novo Nordisk’s growth and success for the past 25 years, and today’s announcement underscores our place at the heart of the company’s global business strategy,” said Jeffrey Carver, chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners. The board voted unanimously (Monday) to approve an agreement with the company that will provide up to $1.9 million in performance-based grants in support of the expansion over the coming 13 years in support of the current expansion, and potentially more in the event of future expansion as long as Novo Nordisk reaches certain employment and investment targets. “We’re grateful to this exceptional corporate citizen for the value-added partnership it continues to build in our community.”
“We’re pleased to call Johnson County our home, and greatly appreciate the trust and partnership the Board of Commissioners and community have given us,” said Chad Henry, corporate vice president and general manager of Clayton’s Diabetes Finished Products site. “The inspiration that drives us to provide innovative care for our patients is matched by our enduring commitment to bringing jobs and economic growth to our community.”
In 2010, a company expansion created 120 jobs in Clayton.
“There’s little risk of over-stating the importance of Novo Nordisk to Johnston County’s economy and indeed that of the Research Triangle Region,” said Cheryl Oliver, chairman of the Johnston County Economic Development Advisory Committee. “But it’s not simply a case of dollars and cents,” she added. “The company plays a vital role in our community through a variety of partnerships, sponsorships and volunteerism programs.”
Novo Nordisk collaborates closely with Johnston Community College and Johnston County Public Schools, for example, in life sciences curricula at the Johnston County Workforce Center, a 30,000-sq.-ft. training facility built on land the company donated to the county. It is also the naming sponsor of the Town of Clayton’s 600-seat multi-purpose performing arts and events venue.
