British electronics maker plans 155 new jobs in next 3 years

By Monica Chen

mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM -- British electronics maker ACW Technology has selected Durham as the location of its first manufacturing facility in the U.S., with plans to invest $4.9 million and create 155 jobs in the next three years, the company announced Thursday.

The move was sweetened by a $69,905 incentive package approved last week by the Durham City Council and a $50,000 grant from the state's One North Carolina Fund.

Jeff Benes, a vice president of ACW and general manager of the Durham site, noted the high-technology resources, available qualified workforce and the supply base in the area as positives for the company.

"Durham, centrally located in the Southeast, will allow us to serve future customers in the U.S. region," he said in the announcement.

ACW is headquartered in Southhampton, England, and has manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom and China. The company manufactures printed circuit boards and electronic systems for the commercial, aerospace and defense industries, and provides logistics, testing and repair facilities.

The Durham plant will be the company's first facility in the U.S. Workers here will assemble printed circuit boards and place them into electronic devices.

Durham beat out competition for ACW from Franklin County, which pledged $150,000 in incentives that would've been doubled by a match from the state Department of Commerce.

The 155 jobs the company brings will pay an average annual wage of $33,457, not including benefits, and mostly require a high school diploma.

Keith Burns, the past president of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce who helped recruit the company, said the variety of jobs offered by the company -- in manufacturing, engineering and administration -- will help Durham workers.

"We're really pleased to have ACW be a part of the community," he said. "It does something really good for Durham. It fosters our continued position as a market with really high-skilled workers but it also allows us to serve some of the less skilled workers that we have in the county."

Burns also praised Benes, who has experience working in the Triangle area and in the industry. Benes is co-founder of Catalyst Manufacturing Services, an electronics manufacturing contractor based in Morrisville that has grown into a 85,000-square-foot facility near RTP, as well as another location in New York state.

"He's had a tremendous track record of success," Burns said.

Ted Conner, vice president of Economic Development for the chamber, also said Benes' 25 years of experience in the industry is a plus for getting the facility off the ground.

The company is expected to move into the Research Tri-Center, located between Alston Avenue and Cornwallis Road off N.C. 55, and begin operations by March.

"It's good to see jobs like this in Durham. We've seen a lot of manufacturing jobs that have been laid off," Conner said.

"North Carolina is a prime location for electronics and other technology sector manufacturers seeking the best U.S. location to expand in a challenging global marketplace," Gov. Beverly Perdue said in the announcement. "Our top business climate, skilled workforce and superb quality of life continue to attract successful, growing companies like this one."