Nash County will soon have 100 more jobs. Carolinas Gateway Partnership and Nutkao USA, Inc. announced last week the company will be locating its nut butter manufacturing operation in Rocky Mount and it is expected to invest more than $17 million over the next 5 years.
Nash County will soon have 100 more jobs. Carolinas Gateway Partnership and Nutkao USA, Inc. announced last week the company will be locating its nut butter manufacturing operation in Rocky Mount and it is expected to invest more than $17 million over the next 5 years.
Nutkao’s investment adds to the robust value-added agriculture (VAA) and food processing cluster in eastern NC. There are over 120 firms in the VAA cluster in the eastern region employing more than 20,000 workers. Other major companies include Mt. Olive Pickle, Hillshire Brands (Sara Lee), Sanderson Farms and Smithfield. The extended cluster includes a robust supply chain of companies that design and make production equipment (Aylward), refrigerated/cold storage units (Bally), insulated doors (Frank Door) packaging or glass containers (Verallia/St. Gobain) and many other components and vendors (United States Cold Storage).
“We are excited that Nutkao has decided to expand in the region, adding to this very important cluster” said Kathy Howard, Vice President for Workforce and Client Development. “In the spring of 2014 we will lead a group of local economic developers in partnership with Electricities to the Food Automation and Manufacturing trade show to meet with location consultants and companies that are exploring options for expansion or relocation,” Howard added. The show brings food and beverage processors and suppliers together to gain valuable information on the latest trends and technologies in manufacturing, automation, sustainability and food safety.
Nutkao USA, Inc. is an international producer of nut-based spreads, creams, and fillings. The company produces hazelnut butter spreads, cocoa and cocoa/nut spreads, and milk and dark chocolate spreads. The hazelnut spread market is a growing sub-category of peanut butter throughout the United States.
The Italian-based company has developed into an international leader in the production of spreads in the private label segment. Nutkao also now plays a significant role in the Italian market of semi-finished products for the sweet industry, including liquid chocolate, chocolate drops, and spreads in cisterns and buckets.
Davide Braida, President of Nutkao USA expressed their appreciation, “The USA venture is a key step for Nutkao International development. We are happy to build our new manufacturing operation in Nash County where, thanks to the local authorities support, we have identified the ideal conditions to run our USA business. We appreciate the efforts of the State of North Carolina and we thank all the partners involved. We are here to build a long and fruitful relationship with the local community.”
Salaries will vary by job function, but the average annual wage for the new jobs will be $35,790 plus benefits. The Nash County average annual wage is $35,450.
“We are so pleased and excited that Nutkao USA has selected Nash County as the site for their first US manufacturing facility. This is a great addition to the food manufacturing family already located in the Twin County region. The jobs and investment committed by this company further illustrates that this area is competitive for global projects. Congratulazioni e benvenuti to North Carolina (Congratulations and welcome to North Carolina)!” said Frank Harrison, Chairman of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership.
For more information about Nutkao USA, including job opportunities, visit https://www.nutkao.com/en/
The NCEast Alliance is a regional economic development agency serving more than 1 million residents within several small metropolitan and micropolitan areas from the fringe of the Research Triangle to the Atlantic Coast. For more information on the NCEast Alliance, visit us at www.nceast.org or call 1-800-474-8499.