Created: 8/1/2008 12:23:53 PM 
Raleigh, NC--North Carolina Governor Mike Easley announced Friday that Uniboard Canada Inc. is expanding in Chatham County.
The internationally known manufacturer of pressed wood products plans to invest $142 million to recondition an existing factory and build a new facility. This investment will create 104 new jobs during the next three years. A $250,000 One North Carolina Fund grant help the project happen.
Salaries for the 104 new positions will vary by job type. The average annual wage will be $45,303 not including benefits, substantially more than the Chatham County average annual wage of $29,588.
"North Carolina is a long-time leader in the wood-products industry," said Easley. "Every job like this that we can reclaim in the weak national economy is critical and we are pursuing them aggressively."
Uniboard Canada, headquartered in Laval, Canada, and a subsidiary of Pfleiderer AG in Germany, manufactures decorative laminates, panels and related products.
The company will purchase and refit an existing particleboard plant in Moncure, preserving 146 existing jobs, and construct a new $120 million fiberboard factory on the 400-acre site.
"This is a significant step in Uniboard's strategic plan to strengthen our leadership in engineered wood panels in eastern North America and become the supplier of choice with our customers," said James Hogg, president and CEO of Uniboard.
The One North Carolina Fund assists the state in industry recruitment and expansion by providing financial assistance to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state.
The One NC Grant funding help is contingent upon local matching funds.
So far, the use of this fund, more than 30,000 jobs and $6 billion in investment have been created since 2001.
For more information about the company, including employment opportunities, visit the company's web site at www.uniboard.com.
