Thread: Nomacorc gets money to grow

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Nomarcorc gets money to grow
The News & Observer

Nomacorc gets money to grow
Zebulon maker of wine corks will collect $350,000 to keep it from moving to Oklahoma

Kelli Sullivan, left, and Lucinda Davis, sort corks at Nomacorc in Zebulon. The company plans a $16.5 million expansion.
Staff Photos by Takaaki Iwabu

By VICKI LEE PARKER, Staff Writer

After nearly six months of negotiations, Nomacorc, the wine-cork maker that was considering expanding in another state, has finally got a reason to stay put.
Chief executive Marc Noel said Monday that Nomacorc will receive $350,000 in state and local incentives to build its new manufacturing plant near its existing site in Zebulon Industrial Park in Wake County.

The company is planning a $16.5 million expansion, which will include a 60,000-square-foot plant on 6.8 acres. It will create 108 new positions over the next three years, of which 28 have already been filled. The company now has 220 workers.

Earlier this year, Nomacorc, which has been in Zebulon for six years, threatened put those additional jobs in Oklahoma, which had offered it an attractive financial package.
THE PACKAGE

* $150,000 One North Carolina Fund

* $150,000 Town of Zebulon

* $35,000 Zip Development

* $15,000 Edge3/Wake County Economic Development

Noel said he was impressed with the way state and county leaders worked with him.

"We raised their attention toward existing companies ... We say, don't forget about companies that are here creating jobs," said Noel. "They have shown that they can do that. Had they not responded so well, we would have moved and not expanded here in North Carolina."

The incentive package was created through a collaborative effort.

The One North Carolina Fund, which is used by Gov. Mike Easley to recruit new businesses, will provide $150,000 over three years. That money will be matched by the town of Zebulon as required under state rules. Another $15,000 will come from the Edge3 program, which is a collection of economic development funds contributed by private businesses to the Wake County Economic Development office.

And $35,000 of the incentive will actually come from the park owners, ZIP Development Inc., who sold Nomacorc the land, said Zebulon's Mayor Robert S. Matheny. Matheny said that ZIP Development will donate the funds to the town and get a tax deduction; the town will then funnel the money back to Nomacorc.

The various monies were cobbled together after Noel told the state in November that it was considering following its sister company, Nomaco, to Oklahoma. Nomaco, which makes and sells the rubber and polyethylene thermal insulation material used to insulate hot water heaters and large pipes, received tax incentives to build a plant in Oklahoma. That state was making similar overtures to Nomacorc.

"They had a tough competitive package that we were competing against," said John Nelms, director of existing industry for Wake County Economic Development. "We had to work hard to put a solid package together."

This is the third expansion for Nomacorc in three years. In 2001, it doubled the size of its plant and last year it completed a 38,000-square-foot addition, bringing its total to 100,000 square feet. It also opened it first overseas plant in Belgium last year.

Spurring Nomacorc's fast growth is the demand for its synthetic wine corks. Initially, the wine industry resisted artificial corks, worrying that customers would think the corks lessened the traditional wine-drinking experience. But problems with natural corks tainting wine, coupled with the fact that synthetic corks are less expensive, has changed many wineries' opinion. Synthetic corks costs between 8 cents and 9 cents a piece, but natural ones can cost from 20 cents to $2.

During its first year of production in 1999, Nomacorc produced 10 million corks. Now it manufactures 1.5 billion a year for 600 wineries in 35 countries, including France. This latest expansion will double that production.

Nomacorc and Nomaco, which also has headquarters in Zebulon, have created about 1,000 jobs in North Carolina and 1,500 worldwide, Noel said.

"We continue to create jobs because that's what we believe in," said Noel.

Staff writer Vicki Lee Parker can be reached at 829-4898 or vparker@newsobserver.com.

I was going to title this addition as "Well . . . at least they didn' decide to move their company to a foreign country" in the subject line, but it didn't fit the space. I also spent more than 1/2 hour on a post that I accidentally deleted when hitting a back bottom and was going to expalin how I thought this article may tie into immigration issues. I'm too tired tonight at this point to try my original post again that I advertantly deleted, so will try again soon if I receive any feedback - otherwise, this post will be lost among the other thousands or so. Sorry - if anyone even cares.

NOILLEGAL

Are you referring to the possibility of the "new job creations" going to other than Americans?

My first thought as I read this piece was "someone should keep a close eye on this co. to see just who gets these NEW JOBS"

2ndamendsis,

When I saw the article I also was wondering how some of the lower level positions might be filled - i.e. legal or illegal people, but that's not the major point of why I posted this article.

Large corporations, the wealthy elite and some elected officials (like that man in the White House and congress) are trying to destroy our American middle class and our way of life, not to mention making our poor citizens poorer. They are bilking us for every dollar they can get out of greed and wanting more power.

These special interest groups profit from the massive invasion of illegal aliens who take away jobs (and depress wages and benefits) that Americans will do. Then, other Americans find their jobs are taken away by outsourcing to foreign countries, or insourcing where foreigners on visas replace them.

I was disturbed (but not surprised) to read that Nomacorc of Zebulon, NC threatened to move its facilities to Oklahoma. They received $350,000 in "incentives" and are staying in NC. Yet, they can afford a $16.5 million expansion. This is another way corporations are destroying this country. I've been reading material about the billions of "welfare" wealthy corporations receive from not only federal funds, but state and local funds too. And, how do they thank the taxpayers for this "welfare"? They downsize us, etc.

I've seen other posts about corporate greed and someone recently posted an article about Microsoft.

My thoughts, scattered as they are, LOL, is that in order to EXPOSE these massive companies their "hiring stats & tactics" might be the best way to go.

Most people can't understand the depth of this problem........or I really should say that they don't have the time to learn about it. Also, the information is so convoluted that many people get "glazed eyes" and close their ears........and then we've lost what could be an ally.