Advanced
Manufacturing

Diverse industry reach
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Manufacturing represents more than 34% of the Greenville region’s Gross Regional Product (GRP), more than triple the national average GDP of 10% in this sector. Advanced manufacturing operations in Greenville are particularly clustered in four areas: chemicals and plastics, machinery and metals, wood and paper products, and marine-related manufacturing.

Fast Facts

High-Value
Cost of Living

Labor costs across key occupations are more competitive for employers than the national median thanks to the area’s high-value cost of living

7,100+
Jobs

There are more than 7,100 manufacturing jobs in the Greenville-Pitt County region

State's Best
utility Rates

The best utility rates in North Carolina with excess capacity of natural gas, electricity and water as well as plans to expand the water treatment plant

Chemicals and Plastics

The Greenville region’s chemicals and plastics cluster manufactures a range of specialized products including agricultural chemicals and pesticides, plastics material and resins, synthetic fiber, and artificial and synthetic fibers and filaments as well as fabricated products such as plastic fixtures and packaging for consumer and commercial use. Coastal Agrobusiness, TriEst Ag Group, Avient, Fuji Silysia Chemical, UNX-Christeyns, and CMI Plastics are among the area’s top chemicals and plastics manufacturers.

Machinery and Metals

Nearly 30 companies in the Greenville region with more than a combined 1,000 employees make up the area’s machinery and metals cluster. Major employers including Hyster-Yale, Penco Products, The Roberts Company, United Machine Works, Corbett & Strickland, Jack A. Farrior, North State Steel, Winterville Machine Works, and Mestek are among the machinery manufacturers and primary and fabricated metal manufacturers in the area.

Wood and Paper Products

Anderson Truss Company, Weyerhaeuser, Hexacomb, Package Craft, AccuFlex, and Attindas are among the wood and paper products companies employing 750 workers in the Greenville area. Eastern North Carolina has a deep history in logging that is seen in the finished wood products coming out of the area today, from manufactured homes to wood containers to sanitary paper.

Marine-Related Manufacturing

The Tar River, leading to the Pamlico Sound and Atlantic Ocean, puts Greenville at the doorstep to North Carolina’s coast. Boat and other marine-related manufacturers leverage Greenville’s strength in other clusters—plastics, metals and wood—in addition to producing navigational equipment and electrical components. In addition to production facilities, Grady-White Boats, a leading designer and manufacturer of fiberglass boats, has been based in Greenville for more than 60 years.

Avient

Maker of the world's strongest fiber

CMI Plastics

Manufacturer of plastic thermoform packaging

Fuji Silysia Chemical

Expert in synthetic silica technology

Grady-White Boats

Leading designer and manufacturer of fiberglass boats

Hexacomb

Leading paper-based honeycomb packaging

Hyster Yale

Leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer

North State Steel

Leader in structural steel fabrication

Package Craft

Full-service custom corrugated converter

Penco Products

Premier supplier of steel lockers and shelving products

The Roberts Company

Full-service constructor and fabricator

TriEst Ag Group

Industry leader in soil environment products

UNX-Christeyns

Manufacturer of commercial and industrial textile care products

Weyerhaeuser

One of the world's largest private owners of timberlands

World Cat

World's largest manufacturer of power catamarans

“We are proud to have our Americas’ Division headquarters, a large manufacturing plant and warehouse product development center here in Greenville. The proximity to a major university, large health system, other manufacturing industries, and a strong economic development culture, make it an ideal location for our company.”
Michael Gregory, Vice President, Human Resources
Hyster-Yale Group, Americas’ Division
Recent Announcement

60 New Jobs

World Cat, the largest manufacturer of power catamarans in the world, announced an $8.9 million expansion and an additional 60 new jobs in 2020.  This will be World Cat’s second manufacturing operation in eastern North Carolina.