On July 27, Gov. Josh Stein announced that Skyeton Inc., a global manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), plans to invest $3.1 million and create 162 jobs in Cumberland County, where it will establish its flagship manufacturing facility in the United States.
“We’re proud to welcome Skyeton to a state with such a proud military tradition and advanced manufacturing base,” said Stein in a press release. “By combining our manufacturing workforce, the skillsets of our transitioning military personnel, a central East Coast location, and a strategic transportation infrastructure, North Carolina continues to rise to the top ranks as the best place to do business, especially in the aerospace and defense sectors.”
Skyeton Inc. is a subsidiary of Skyeton Holdings, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. A global manufacturer of UAS, Skyeton, has more than 350,000 hours of “combat-proven flight hours of its long-endurance Raybird platform for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions,” according to the press release. The company will expand operations into a 28,500-square-foot facility where it will use advanced technology to design, build, test, distribute, and maintain its composite unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
“Expanding our manufacturing footprint in North Carolina is about more than opening a new facility. It’s about strengthening America’s defense industrial base, creating high-quality American jobs, and delivering combat-proven capabilities closer to the warfighters we exist to serve,” Rigoberto (Quito) Sáez, CEO of Skyeton, Inc., said in a press release. “North Carolina is the perfect place to call home, and we’re incredibly grateful for the warm reception and tremendous support we’ve received from the State of North Carolina, the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, our congressional delegation, and our mission partners from the Department of War. Together, we’re building the next generation of American unmanned systems and helping ensure our nation’s and partner nations’ warfighters, defenders, and first responders have the capabilities they need when it matters most.”
A $500,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund will assist the company with its expansion into North Carolina. The OneNC Fund offers financial support to local governments to help recruit new businesses, encourage investment, and create jobs. Companies are not awarded the money upfront and must meet job-creation and investment targets to receive payments. To receive a OneNC grant, local governments must provide matching funds, and awards are made only when that requirement is satisfied.
But critics believe corporate incentives like the one Skyeton is receiving are unnecessary and unfair to taxpayers.
“Imagine being a longtime business owner in Cumberland County, paying your full tax bill to the state and county for decades, and hearing that a subsidiary of a foreign-owned company will be eligible to receive a handout of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars,” Brian Balfour, VP of research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “It’s patently unfair for some businesses to be forced to subsidize the bottom line of other businesses. As stated even in the press release announcing this deal, North Carolina was already the most attractive location for Skyeton, so the taxpayer handout likely made no difference in their location decision. The bottom line is that if North Carolina is to tax its businesses, it should tax them all the same and end the practice of political favoritism.”
While wages will vary by position, the average salary will be $70,759, which is $21,377 above the average salary in Cumberland County of $49,382. This could create an annual payroll impact of more than $1.4 million.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce has partnered with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina in this project, as well as other key partners, including the North Carolina General Assembly, the Rural Infrastructure Authority, North Carolina Community College System, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Cumberland County, the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation, and the City of Fayetteville.
