Businesses in three Eastern North Carolina counties are among more than a dozen others across the state that will receive rural economic development funds to add jobs and attract private investment.
Carteret, Beaufort and Craven Counties will receive $250,000 in state grants to help local businesses create 72 jobs and attract almost $4 million in private investment.
"Communities need infrastructure such as buildings, water and sewer, and ready sites to attract business," NC Commerce Secretary Anthony Copeland said in a release. "The grants the Rural Infrastructure Authority approved today will help rural communities secure economic development projects and bring jobs to their area."
Here's a look at the counties' rural infrastructure grants:
- Craven County will receive $180,000 to support the expansion of a 72,000 square-foot building that houses Chatsworth Products, an IT infrastructure company that has offices and a manufacturing plant in New Bern. The expansion is expected to create 15 new jobs at the company and attract $747,000 in private investment.
- Carteret County is set to receive $40,000 to support the expansion of a 10,000 square-foot building in Newport for the company Geodynamics, a woman-owned business specializing in coastal and marine data collection and analysis. That project is expected to create five new jobs and attract $535,000 in private investment.
- Beaufort County will receive $30,000 for a generator to help InterMarket Technology -- a manufacturing company that recently relocated its headquarters from New Jersey to Washington, NC -- expand its business, adding 52 jobs and attracting more than $2.5 million in private investment.