Factories in North Carolina
North Carolina has 8,664 manufacturing establishments employing 472,162 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023), 3.8% of US manufacturing jobs and the 9th most of any state. The largest industries by employment are food, chemicals and vehicles, aircraft and parts. We track 54 new plant projects here, 6 under construction.
- Establishments
- 8,664
- Census 2023
- Manufacturing jobs
- 472,162
- Census 2023
- In EPA records
- 4,465
- Active, ECHO
- New plants
- 54
- 6 building
- Sheet
- NC
- Revised
- November 11, 2026
What is made in North Carolina
| Industry (NAICS subsector) | Establishments | Employees | In EPA records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food 311 | 765 | 62,272 | 273 |
| Chemicals 325 | 456 | 48,279 | 511 |
| Vehicles, aircraft and parts 336 | 344 | 39,667 | 211 |
| Fabricated metal products 332 | 1,385 | 38,676 | 364 |
| Plastics and rubber 326 | 380 | 38,603 | 289 |
| Machinery 333 | 486 | 38,455 | 186 |
| Furniture 337 | 682 | 30,962 | 284 |
| Textile mills 313 | 265 | 23,872 | 245 |
| Wood products 321 | 558 | 22,989 | 418 |
| Paper 322 | 169 | 17,492 | 117 |
| Electrical equipment and appliances 335 | 138 | 16,610 | 73 |
| Computers and electronics 334 | 211 | 16,073 | 96 |
| Glass, cement and stone 327 | 577 | 15,794 | 696 |
| Beverages and tobacco 312 | 449 | 14,263 | 61 |
| Printing 323 | 652 | 12,309 | 95 |
| Medical devices and other goods 339 | 616 | 12,234 | 110 |
| Primary metals 331 | 73 | 10,094 | 79 |
| Textile products 314 | 224 | 6,464 | 21 |
| Apparel 315 | 141 | 5,514 | 17 |
| Petroleum and coal products 324 | 63 | 880 | 311 |
| Leather goods 316 | 30 | 660 | 8 |
Establishments and employees: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, mid-March employment. * Census flags this figure as having high noise. "In EPA records" counts active facilities in EPA's ECHO database, a subset that excludes plants EPA doesn't regulate.
New plants in North Carolina
| Project | Industry | Status | Announced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overture SuperfactoryBoom Supersonic, Greensboro | Aerospace and defense | Under construction | $500M1,750 jobs |
| Greensboro aircraft factory, Piedmont Triad International AirportJetZero, Greensboro | Aerospace and defense | Under construction | $4.7B14,500 jobs |
| Wilson biologics manufacturing campusJohnson & Johnson, Wilson | Pharmaceuticals | Under construction | $2.0B420 jobs |
| Research Triangle manufacturing expansionNovartis, Durham | Pharmaceuticals | Under construction | $771M700 jobs |
| Clayton fill-finish facility (second)Novo Nordisk, Clayton | Pharmaceuticals | Under construction | $4.1B1,000 jobs |
| Raeford power and distribution transformer plantPennsylvania Transformer Technology, LLC, Raeford | Electrical equipment | Under construction | $103M217 jobs |
| Durham pharmaceutical manufacturing campusAbbVie Inc., Durham | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $1.4B734 jobs |
| Charlotte generator enclosure plantAVL USA, Inc. (AVL Manufacturing), Charlotte | Electrical equipment | Announced | $56M325 jobs |
| Archdale packaging plantAxium Packaging, Archdale | Plastics and packaging | Announced | $32M118 jobs |
| Chocowinity boat manufacturing campusBoater's World Manufacturing Group, LLC, Chocowinity | Other manufacturing | Announced | $6M179 jobs |
| Hendersonville plant expansionBorgWarner Inc., Hendersonville | Auto parts | Announced | $100M378 jobs |
| Lincolnton power tool accessories plant expansionBosch, Lincolnton | Other manufacturing | Announced | $130M400 jobs |
| Sanford contrast media manufacturing plant (first U.S. plant)Bracco Imaging, Sanford | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $230M200 jobs |
| Sanford compact equipment manufacturing expansionCaterpillar Inc., Sanford | Other manufacturing | Announced | $1.0Bjobs not stated |
| Catawba County fiber-optic cable plant expansionCommScope, Hickory | Electrical equipment | Announced | $60M250 jobs |
| Mooresville manufacturing campus expansionCorvid Technologies, Mooresville | Aerospace and defense | Announced | $95M423 jobs |
| Robbinsville biodegradable paper tableware plantEco King Solutions, LLC (Zhejiang Kingsun Eco-pack), Robbinsville | Paper | Announced | $81M515 jobs |
| Concord parenteral manufacturing plantEli Lilly and Company, Concord | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $1.0B589 jobs |
| Asheboro battery production and packaging expansionEnergizer Holdings, Inc., Asheboro | Electrical equipment | Announced | $43M144 jobs |
| Asheboro prefabricated MEP assembly plant expansionEnvironmental Air Systems, LLC (Comfort Systems USA), Asheboro | Appliances and HVAC | Announced | $20M300 jobs |
| Brunswick County synthetic graphite anode plant (Mid-Atlantic Rail Industrial Park)Epsilon Advanced Materials, Inc., Leland | Batteries | Announced | $650M500 jobs |
| Gastonia precast concrete plantFit Precast, Gastonia | Building materials | Announced | $102M125 jobs |
| Holly Springs cell culture facility expansionFUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies North Carolina, Inc., Holly Springs | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $1.2B680 jobs |
| Holly Springs fill-finish manufacturing plantGenentech (Roche Group), Holly Springs | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $700M400 jobs |
| Laurinburg lumber treatment plantGreat Southern Wood-NC, Inc., Laurinburg | Building materials | Announced | $40M43 jobs |
| Salisbury data center infrastructure manufacturing plantJabil Inc., Salisbury | Electronics | Announced(reported) | $264M1,181 jobs |
| Wilson drug product manufacturing facility (second Wilson site)Johnson & Johnson, Wilson | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | —500 jobs |
| Durham County EV charger production facilityKempower Inc., Durham | Electrical equipment | Announced | $41M306 jobs |
| Sanford biologics manufacturing plant (Helix Innovation Park)Kyowa Kirin North America Manufacturing, LLC, Sanford | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $200M102 jobs |
| Garysburg air separation plantLinde Inc., Garysburg | Chemicals | Announced | $75M20 jobs |
| Lexington rebar micro millNucor Corporation, Lexington | Steel and metals | Announced | $350M180 jobs |
| Shelby aerospace coatings and sealants manufacturing centerPPG, Shelby | Chemicals | Announced | $380M110 jobs |
| Asheville turbine airfoil plant expansionPratt & Whitney (RTX Corporation), Asheville | Aerospace and defense | Announced | $285M325 jobs |
| Goldsboro second transformer plant (expansion)Prolec-GE Waukesha, Inc., Goldsboro | Electrical equipment | Announced | $140M330 jobs |
| Mocksville window manufacturing plantProVia LLC, Mocksville | Building materials | Announced | $120M400 jobs |
| Claremont fiber optic and glass plant expansionPrysmian Cables and Systems USA, LLC, Claremont | Electrical equipment | Announced | $1.0B385 jobs |
| Charlotte large power transformer factorySiemens Energy, Charlotte | Other manufacturing | Announced | $150M559 jobs |
| Fayetteville unmanned aircraft plantSkyeton, Inc. (Skyeton Holdings), Fayetteville | Aerospace and defense | Announced | $3M162 jobs |
| Sanford Chemistries Manufacturing Center of ExcellenceSTERIS plc, Sanford | Chemicals | Announced | $600M335 jobs |
| Mebane lithium-ion battery assembly plantSunlight Batteries USA Inc., Mebane | Batteries | Announced | $40M133 jobs |
| Lexington nonwoven textile plantSupreme Nonwoven Inc. (Supreme Group), Lexington | Other manufacturing | Announced | $26M50 jobs |
| Bostic automotive synthetic leather plantTMG & Haartz Solutions LLC, Bostic | Auto parts | Announced | $51M125 jobs |
| Eden voltage regulator plantTSEA Energy, Eden | Electrical equipment | Announced | $25M160 jobs |
| Hickory optical connectivity plant expansionUS Conec Ltd., Hickory | Electronics | Announced | $150M224 jobs |
| Hertford County specialty steel forging and fabrication plantUS Forged Rings, Inc., Cofield area | Steel and metals | Announced | $875M625 jobs |
| Conover manufacturing facility expansionUtili-Serve, LLC, Conover | Electrical equipment | Announced | $25M105 jobs |
| Benson rare earth magnet factoryVulcan Elements Inc., Benson | Electrical equipment | Announced | $918M1,000 jobs |
| Amgen North Carolina drug substance facilityAmgen, Holly Springs | Pharmaceuticals | Operating | $550M355 jobs |
| Mebane second manufacturing facility (expansion)Morinaga America Foods, Inc., Mebane | Food and beverage | Operating | $136M204 jobs |
| Lexington passenger rail manufacturing facilitySiemens Mobility Inc., Lexington | Other manufacturing | Operating | $220M506 jobs |
| Mebane laboratory pipette tip manufacturing facilityThermo Fisher Scientific, Mebane | Medical devices | Operating | $193M100 jobs |
| Toyota Battery Manufacturing North CarolinaToyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina, Liberty | Batteries | Operating | $14B5,100 jobs |
| John Palmour Manufacturing CenterWolfspeed, Siler City | Semiconductors | Operating | $5.0B1,800 jobs |
| VinFast North Carolina (Triangle Innovation Point)VinFast, Moncure | Vehicles | Paused(reported) | $4.0B7,500 jobs |
Factory pages in North Carolina
71 North Carolina factories have their own page so far: the facilities that report to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory and hold the most detailed federal records. See all 71, grouped by industry.
Questions
What is made in North Carolina?
North Carolina has 8,664 manufacturing establishments employing 472,162 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023), 3.8% of US manufacturing jobs and the 9th most of any state. The largest industries by employment are food, chemicals and vehicles, aircraft and parts.
How many manufacturers are in North Carolina?
8,664 manufacturing establishments (Census, 2023). EPA's ECHO database lists 4,465 active manufacturing facilities in North Carolina that it regulates, 1,423 of which report to the Toxics Release Inventory.
Are new factories being built in North Carolina?
We track 54 large plant projects in North Carolina announced since 2021: 6 under construction, 41 announced, 6 operating and 1 paused, cancelled or closed.
Can you tour a factory in North Carolina?
Yes: Ashe County Cheese Viewing Room, French Broad Chocolate Factory Tour, Grady-White Boats Factory Tour, Highland Brewing Heritage Tour & Tasting and 6 more.