HICKORY – New Jersey-based Gusmer Enterprises will build a 135,000 square foot manufacturing facility that will produce liquid filtration media and devices for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries in Hickory.

The firm is investing $38.2 million and creating 73 jobs with an average salary of $44,000 by 2023 in the process, the company announced Monday alongside the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation and the City of Hickory.

Gusmer Enterprises

The company selected Hickory ahead of many other locations that it considered, said Marla Gusmer Jeffrey, company president, and is necessary because of a growing demand for its filtration products, some of which are used in the production of COVID-19 treatments.

The company will become the fifth tenant in the Trivium Corporate Center, at Lot 6.  The 270-acre business park is a joint project of the City of Hickory and Catawba County and already houses itm, Corning, and Cataler, along with another recently-announced addition, American Fuji Seal.

“Trivium Corporate Center was created to attract high-quality, low-impact manufacturers by providing a location that is close to amenities, training opportunities, and interstate connectivity,” said Mick Berry, Catawba County Manager and Trivium Corporate Center President.  “The vision of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners and the Hickory City Council, along with the support of the voters who approved the bond funds that made that vision a reality, has done just that, and we are proud to be a part of that success.”

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Gusmer began searching for a southeastern facility in early 2020 as it was seeking to expand production capacity to serve its biotechnology clients, said Julie Pruett, a spokesperson for the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation.

“As Gusmer began to review locations for our new manufacturing site, our goal was to identify a geographic location that offered an exceptional workforce, a competitive cost structure and collaborative local partners that would help to execute our aggressive timeline,” said Marla Gusmer Jeffrey, President of Gusmer Enterprises, Inc.

The company’s manufacturing operation will house multiple departments, and it has plans to hire for a variety of positions including production, maintenance, quality and engineering in the first few years after opening the location, it said in a statement.  Hiring at the facility is expected to begin in late 2021 through 2023.

“It’s a significant investment,” said Pruett.  “It’s going to make a big impact.”

The project is contingent upon the approval of local incentives, details of which were not released to WRAL TechWire, but which will be presented and considered at a joint public hearing by the City of Hickory, Catawba County, and the Trivium Corporate Center Board of Directors on April 13, 2021.

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