Pipe company coming to Fair Bluff

Pipeline Plastics will invest more than $4 million in its new Fair Bluff plant.
Pipeline Plastics will invest more than $4 million in its new Fair Bluff plant.

New jobs and a new industry are coming to Fair Bluff.

Pipeline Plastics Holdings manufactures industrial pipeline systems for construction, municipal systems and other uses. PPH announced today (Thursday) that it will build a $4.6 million manufacturing facility in Fair Bluff, creating 44 new jobs in Columbus County.

The announcement came from Gov. Roy Cooper Thursday morning.

Pipeline Plastics specializes in engineered solid wall polyethylene pipe, with a size range up to 65” diameter utilized in all aspects of infrastructure. The company’s products are used in municipal water and wastewater, industrial, agriculture, irrigation, and mining, energy and natural gas distribution. With three existing production plants in Texas and South Dakota, the new facility in Fair Bluff will enable the company to expand its geographical presence on the East Coast.

The company’s new jobs will yield an average salary above the Columbus County average wage of $35,138. Once the projects’ new jobs are in place, the local region will benefit from a nearly $1.6 million payroll impact in the community, each and every year.

A performance-based grant of $125,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Pipeline Plastics’ expansion in Columbus County. The OneNC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs, the governor’s office said. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All OneNC grants require a matching grant from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.

“We are excited to bring our culture, reputation, and methodology as one of the safest, sustainable, and most efficient companies in the industry,” said Mike Leathers, President & COO, Pipeline Plastics. “This facility will not only create jobs and careers for this location, but be a significant multiplier for the local economy, from jobs to suppliers and transportation.”

“We welcome Pipeline Plastics to North Carolina’s growing portfolio of manufacturing companies,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Our state remains committed to delivering the skilled workers manufacturers need, through the programs and services of the NCWorks system, one of the best workforce development systems in the country.”

Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, Duke Energy, CSX Railroad, the RJ Corman Railroad Company, Southeastern Community College, the Columbus Jobs Foundation, the Columbus County Board of Commissioners, the Town of Fair Bluff, North Carolina’s Southeast, and the Columbus County Economic Development Commission.

About Jefferson Weaver 1928 Articles
Jefferson Weaver is the Managing Editor of Columbus County News and he can be reached at (910) 914-6056, (910) 632-4965, or by email at [email protected].