RALEIGH – Sanford and Lee County are set to make another major jobs investment on Tuesday with an announcement set at the Governor’s mansion at 2 p.m. following an Economic Investment Committee meeting at which an incentives package is expected to be approved for the project, WRAL TechWire has learned.
And the news is expected to be related to auto manufacturing. Not the auto factory the state has long sought but parts for electric vehicles.
The company reportredly bringing the jobs under the long-rumored “Project Forge” is India-based Bharat Forge, a part of $3 billion conglomerate Kalyani Group.
Hundreds of jobs are planned initially – close to 500 – with the manufacturer committing $170 million to building the plant and related infrastructure.
Michael Smith, CEO of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, declined comment.
Bharat Forge, a 53-year-old company, describes itself as “the world’s largest forging company and amongst one of the best aerospace forging companies and automotive forging company; we have transcontinental presence across ten manufacturing locations spread across India, Germany, Sweden, France and North America.”
The news is expected to be the second large jobs project for the Sanford area in recent weeks. Pfizer said last month that it would invest $500 million in its campus there and add 300 jobs.
The Triangle Business Journal and the Sanford Herald have both reported about Project Forge.
