City, Wilson County land $1B project, largest ever
Johnson & Johnson (J&J), a world-leading healthcare company, announced this week that it will invest more than $1 billion to build a new pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in the Wilson Corporate Park.
The plant will be located on 175 acres at the corner of International Boulevard and Corporate Parkway and will be a state-of-the-art biologics large molecule plant, Wilson Economic Development Council Director Jennifer Lantz told the Wilson City Council and Wilson County Board of Commissioners.
"This is the first biologics plant east of Interstate 95, which is the future of medicine," she said at the special joint meeting Tuesday.
The plant is projected to employ 420 people in analyst, engineer, microbiologist, scientist, specialist, manager and senior leadership jobs, according to the governor's office. The average annual salary of $108,823 is more than double the average annual salary in Wilson County. These new jobs could create a potential payroll impact of more than $45.7 million for the region each year.
It's the county's largest economic development project ever, Lantz said, similar in impact to landing the Bridgestone tire plant decades ago.
Tuesday's meeting was also attended by the Wilson EDC Board, Wilson County Properties Board and other local leaders.
“A strong, global supply chain is crucial, and we purposefully invest to ensure our transformational medicines reliably and efficiently reach patients around the world,” said Dapo Ajayi, Vice President, Innovative Medicine Supply Chain, Johnson & Johnson. “We are investing in capacity and new technologies to enhance our industry leading capabilities and ensure a resilient supply chain for the future. North Carolina is an important hub for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and talent, and we are pleased to join this thriving life sciences ecosystem and become part of the Wilson community.”
Mayor Carlton Stevens said this announcement, along with similar recently announced projects, are changing Wilson’s economic landscape, praising Lantz's EDC staff and officials.
"The past two weeks have been what I and my colleagues on the Wilson City Council have been working towards for a long time," said Mayor Stevens, noting the announcement of Reckitt and expansion of Neopac last week. "Wilson already had great employment opportunities for citizens of Wilson such as Firestone, Merck, Wilson County Public Schools, Wilson Medical Center and the many privately owned businesses located in Wilson.
"However, with the addition of Johnson & Johnson as well as the two new industries announced last week, there are a possible 700 plus jobs available for those seeking employment with an average salary between the three of approximately $90,000. That means we will have families that will no longer have to live check to check the way so many of us do, but we will be able to live the lifestyle that we want and so richly deserve. It is an honor to serve at the helm as Wilson continues to grow and prosper. All I can say is the best is yet to come. Our council is dedicated to helping enhance and enrich the lives of our citizens. We understand that a good investment today will reap a great return on our investment for our children and our childrens' children."
Near-record rainfall so far this year has stressed Wilson's stormwater system and caused a recent sewage spill. Since July 1, Wilson has received 31.72 inches of rain, less than an inch below the record set for the same period in 1999, when Hurricane Floyd hit our area. Wilson's soil is saturated and until we have an opportunity to dry out, we will continue to experience localized flooding and stress on our infrastructure.
On Monday afternoon, city staff discovered a sewage spill near Dayton Drive. The spill was caused by the severe rainfall and resulting infiltration of rain water into the sewer system in this area. City staff are closely monitoring the water quality in the area of the spill, and the water treatment plant was also alerted as an additional precaution. At this time, the city’s water supply has not been negatively affected, although the city will continue to closely monitor the conditions.
The graph below shows data from NOAA data for Wilson's precipitation. The green line on the graph represents the rain we have experienced this year; the blue line represents the record setting rain we experienced in 1999; the brown line is our normal average rainfall. We have had 14.4 inches more rain than normal in the last few months, with approximately 10 inches of rain in the last few weeks.
With this amount of rainfall, it's not surprising that some areas that don't usually have issues now may see localized flooding during heavy rain. If you had flooding on your property, please help the Stormwater Department with data collection by sending a message about flooded property through the Fix-It Wilson app (choose Property Issues, then Flooding on Property). Please include a photo if you can.
|
