Medical device maker Nipro to invest $400 million, hire 232 people in Pitt County

Japanese medical equipment maker Nipro Corp. is preparing for an investment of about $400 million that is expected to create more than 230 jobs in Pitt County.

The Osaka, Japan-based company has been the subject of incentive talks with state and local officials, people familiar with the company’s plans told WRAL on Tuesday. An announcement on the deal is not expected until Wednesday at the earliest.

The Pitt County Board of Commissioners met last month to consider economic development incentives for the project, dubbed “Project Bluefin,” which would be built on land currently owned by the county. The county approved up to $9 million in tax breaks for the project, which would be built in phases over seven years, according to county documents that do not identify the company.

The company expects to create 232 jobs, with an average annual salary exceeding Pitt’s current median wage of $50,937, according to district documents.

Economic incentive agreements are typically contingent on a company meeting its employment and investment targets.

A Nipro spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

North Carolina Department of Commerce officials have scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday. The department’s Economic Investment Committee is expected to discuss one or more economic development projects at the meeting. A commerce spokesman declined to provide details about the agenda.

Economic development deals are typically highly secretive; companies request anonymity as they consider expansion plans, negotiate with state and local governments and work to acquire properties. Information about such deals is often exempt from open records laws.

“We are talking to a number of companies that are considering locations across the country and abroad,” said David Rhoades, a spokesman for the Commerce Department. “But until those companies make a public statement about their decision, we do not comment on those discussions.”

Nipro’s expansion would be the latest initiative in Pitt County and another success for BioPharma Crescent, a five-county region in eastern North Carolina that is home to a large concentration of biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Boviet Solar, a Vietnamese solar panel manufacturer, announced in April that it would build its first North American factory in Greenville — a $294 million project that is expected to create 908 jobs. It was one of the state’s largest job announcements this year and the largest economic development in Pitt County history, according to local officials.

The deal with Nipro would also be the latest Japanese company to announce an expansion in the state — part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s push to attract international companies to North Carolina. Cooper and officials from the N.C. Department of Commerce and the N.C. Economic Development Partnership have traveled to France, Germany and Switzerland for a series of meetings on economic development. North Carolina is home to more than 1,700 foreign companies, employing more than 300,000 people.

Japan is one of the United States’ largest trading partners and the largest source of foreign investment in North Carolina. At least 225 Japanese companies have significant presence in the state, employing more than 30,500 people, according to the governor’s office. That number is expected to grow by thousands of jobs in the coming years, Cooper’s office said.

Japanese confectionery company Morinaga & Co. Ltd. said Tuesday it plans to build a second factory and create 204 jobs in Orange County to expand production of its popular Hi-Chew candies. The company said it is investing $136 million to build the 133,000-square-foot factory at its headquarters in Mebane. The company plans to begin construction in October and begin production at the plant in early 2027.

Cooper’s recent trips to Japan have helped bring thousands of manufacturing jobs to the state. Since the trade mission to Japan, North Carolina has announced about 4,380 new jobs with Japanese companies, including Toyota, Fujifilm Diosynth, Dai Nippon Printing, Kyowa Kirin and Morinaga.