Cabarrus Today

City of Kannapolis issued the following announcement on June 9.

The Beverage Co-Packing Company Will Invest $68 million in Kannapolis, NC.

Today, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that Prime Beverage Group, a new contract beverage manufacturer, will create 231 new jobs in Cabarrus County by establishing its first manufacturing operation in an existing speculative building located at 1858 Kannapolis Parkway in Kannapolis. Both Kannapolis City Council and Cabarrus County Commissioners approved five-year performance-based economic development grants for the project. The combined total local grant amount is estimated to be $2,539,192 over five years.

“Companies of all kinds find North Carolina the ideal location to innovate new products and serve new markets,” said Governor Cooper. “Prime Beverage Group’s choice of our state showcases our readiness to overcome the impact of the pandemic and move our economy forward.”

Prime Beverage Group is a beverage co-packing company that contracts with brand-name beverage companies to mix and package their canned drinks. Formed by beverage industry leaders, Prime Beverage will establish a full-service, state-of-the-art production facility in Kannapolis, subsequently investing $68 million into the city. The 300,000 square foot facility will include a warehouse and high-speed manufacturing lines to produce various high-quality products. With new packaging technology, Prime Beverage can fill up to 1,500 cans per minute.

“Utilizing the latest innovations in technology and high-speed equipment, Prime Beverage Group will bring much needed capacity at the highest efficiencies with the lowest cost to the co-packing market.” said Jeremy Lantz, CEO of Prime Beverage Group. “The decision to locate here in Cabarrus County is a reflection of the community of Kannapolis and the workforce that lives here and in the surrounding communities.  Prime Beverage Group is excited to make Kannapolis our home.”

“We welcome Prime Beverage Group to their new home in the City of Kannapolis. The firm has selected a great location to do business and we look forward to assisting them as they begin operations. We are appreciative of their significant investment and the 231 good paying jobs they are bringing to our City and County,” commented Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant.

"We were first introduced to this project in Spring of 2019 and have enjoyed working with the team through the location decision process,” noted Samantha Grass, Recruitment Project Manager at Cabarrus Economic Development. “We are very excited that Prime Beverage has officially selected the City of Kannapolis and Cabarrus County for their location. In addition to their investment, their plans include the creation of over 200 new full-time quality jobs. We look forward to them joining our community and assisting them as they grow and expand operations into the future. And we also look forward to working with the Maxis Advisors team in the future to help locate more companies to the community."

Among the positions Prime Beverage will add in Kannapolis are technicians, sales, operations, and managerial personnel. The average salary for the new positions could exceed $65,900, as compared to the current average annual wage in Cabarrus County of $38,892. The company expects to begin hiring in the 4th quarter of this year. Additional information will be shared once hiring details become available.

“We’ve created an infrastructure that supports job growth,” said Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners Chair Steve Morris. “In particular, our focus on workforce development is a long-term investment in our community. We are proud to welcome Prime Beverage Group and appreciate their recognition of these efforts.”

Prime Beverage’s project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by nearly $1.2 billion. Using a formula that considers the new tax revenues generated by the 231 new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $2,430,000 spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

Because Prime Beverage chose to locate in Cabarrus County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $810,000 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Cabarrus, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state. More information on the state’s economic tier designations is available here.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce worked closely with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina in leading a collaborative state effort to support the company’s expansion. Other key partners in the project include the Cabarrus Economic Development Corporation, North Carolina General Assembly, North Carolina Community College System, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Cabarrus County, the City of Kannapolis, and Duke Energy.

Click here to read the State of North Carolina's press release.

Original source: https://www.kannapolisnc.gov/Community/News/ID/1718/Prime-Beverage-Group-to-Add-231-Jobs-in-Kannapolis