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MORGANTON — Gov. Roy Cooper’s Office and the North Carolina Department of Commerce have announced the award of a building reuse grant to support the renovation of Ferguson Copeland LLC (dba Chaddock). The company, located at 100 Reep Drive in Morganton, will use the expansion to recapture jobs lost to foreign shores in the early 2000s.
The grant will allow Chaddock the opportunity to recover jobs lost and return them to Western North Carolina. The current location of the company is a revitalized Hanes Textile Plant built in 1964 with approximately 287,000 square feet.
Project Fern will be creating 25 new jobs in Morganton for specialized skilled employees. The new jobs will include machinists, utility workers, upholsterers, cutters and trimmers. The average wage of the jobs will be $44,228, which is more than the current average county rate of $43,261.
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The city of Morganton was the applicant for the grant and it, along with Burke County, will supply a 5% local match for the project. The project is expected to create approximately $1.1 million in new capital investment.
“Not only are the new jobs important but solidifying existing jobs was key to this project,” said Morganton Mayor Ronnie Thompson. “We are grateful for the hard work of all the partners in this project, striving to keep our community competitive.
The building reuse program provides grants to local government units to support economic development activity that leads to the creation of new, full-time jobs and gives priority to projects located in the 80 most-distressed counties in the state.
In addition to the building reuse grant funded by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Solutions is pleased to announce development of recruitment and training plans that will be developed jointly by the Chaddock, Commerce DWS, local area workforce partners and the NC Works Career Centers. The Division of Workforce solutions offers a Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit with an estimated potential value of $19,200 as well as Federal Bonding with an estimated potential value of $30,000.
Additionally, the N.C. Community College System will be offering pre-employment training as well as extensive post-employment training.
“We are prepared to discuss technical training and soft skill training with Chaddock” said John C. Loyack in a letter to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. The value of the Customized Training Program support is estimated to be between $1,600 and $1,800 per eligible trainee.
“These are great projects and we’re excited to announce them,” said Scott Mulwee, chairman of the Burke County Board of Commissioners. “We hope this means Chaddock Furniture will be in Burke County for a long time to come.”
Chaddock was founded in 1958 and has been known for decades for the expertise of its hand-applied finishes and the comfort of its hand-tailored seating. Their made-to-order furniture is custom crafted in just weeks and is finished exclusively in North Carolina facilities.
Burke Development Inc. would like to thank all partners for their efforts on this project including N.C. Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Other key partners in the project include the North Carolina Department of Commerce Workforce Solutions, the North Carolina Community College System, Western Piedmont Community College, Burke County, the city of Morganton and Western Piedmont Council of Governments.
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