During a press conference at the old Terex Corporation facility on Raleigh Street, Thursday, Nov. 13, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory and Vertex Rail Technologies LLC. CEO Donald Croteau announced Vertex would spend $55-60 million establishing a crude oil rail car production facility in the space.
Croteau said the company would spend the next 10 months refitting and renovating the building and that the new factory would bring 1,300 jobs to the Wilmington area. A vast majority of those hires would be from Wilmington, New Hanover County and many of the surrounding counties, he said.
With crude oil production increasing in states like North Dakota and other rail car container manufacturers backlogged with demand, Croteau said the time was right for Vertex to tap into that market. In the first year of production Croteau said the facility would produce around 1,400 container cars and by the second year it would begin producing around 4,500 cars.
McCrory and Croteau were joined by N.C. Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo, NHC Commission Chairman Woody White, District Attorney Ben David and Wilmington Business Development CEO Scott Satterfield in the announcement.
