Charlotte region manufacturer to begin $70 million expansion, adding over 200 jobs

Global compact equipment manufacturer Doosan Bobcat will spend $70 million in the Charlotte region to build its largest manufacturing campus.

Doosan Bobcat will use its own equipment to move dirt Tuesday to begin construction on a 580,000-square-foot expansion at the Statesville campus at 1293 Glenway Drive, according to the company.

The project, expected to be completed in fall 2022, will double the facility’s footprint to nearly 1.2 million square feet, according to the company. The company makes construction, agriculture, landscaping and grounds maintenance equipment and attachments.

The Statesville site, which has 400 full-time employees, will add 42 jobs in the first two years, and up to 250 jobs in five years, according to Doosan Bobcat.

The new, full-time jobs will include production, engineering, supply chain, logistics, warehousing and operations positions with the average salary ranging from $36,000 to $65,0000, according to the company.

Iredell County’s average annual salary is $51,136.

The city of Statesville applied for and received a $1 million North Carolina Department of Commerce Community Development Block Grant. This will help with the construction of a new 4,500-linear-foot water line to support the Doosan Bobcat Statesville manufacturing facility and campus expansion, according to Doosan Bobcat.

Investing in NC

In January, Doosan Bobcat completed an $11 million upgrade at the Statesville facility.

Doosan Bobcat purchased 68 acres adjacent to the current 92-acre campus to add manufacturing space and an attached warehouse and distribution facility, the company said in May.

“This level of investment demonstrates our commitment to North Carolina, which has been an important manufacturing location for us since 2008,” said Mike Ballweber, president of Doosan Bobcat North America, said in a statement in May.

Doosan Bobcat North America, headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota, has about 4,500 employees at 13 facilities in seven states, including the North Carolina manufacturing site.

Other recent expansion plans in Iredell

Another Iredell County expansions involved Jeld-Wen, based in Charlotte. The company is a global manufacturer of windows and doors.

It said it will invest $7.9 million to build a new production facility for VPI Quality Windows in Statesville, creating 235 jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper said in May.

This will be the second manufacturing facility for VPI, which manufactures custom windows for multi-family and commercial properties for more than 25 years.

The new jobs include management, operations support and production staff with an average salary of $51,648.

The Job Development Investment Grants approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee includes incentives of over $2.2 million over 12 years.