On July 22, Gov. Josh Stein announced that Eco King Solutions LLC, a Chinese manufacturer of disposable, biodegradable tableware, will receive a state incentive package in exchange for investing $80.5 million and creating 515 jobs in Robbinsville, located in Graham County.
“North Carolina offers global companies a perfect location for expansion into North America,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a press release. “We welcome Eco King to western North Carolina, where it will find a welcoming business climate, education, and workforce programs tailored to its needs, and the full range of competitive advantages that make North Carolina the top state to do business in the country.”
According to the press release, Eco King Solutions is a subsidiary of Zhejiang Kingsun Eco-pack Co., Lt, which was founded in 2008 and employs 1,200 people across three high-capacity factories in China. The company manufactures disposable dishware, including bowls, plates, clamshell containers, and trays commonly used in supermarkets and across diverse food service sectors. The company aims to localize production, streamline its supply chain, and significantly reduce international shipping costs and production lead times by establishing a new facility in Robbinsville.
“We have been impressed by how welcoming Robbinsville, Graham County and North Carolina have been to our company and this important project,” Ping Zhang, Chairman of Eco King Solutions, said in a press release. “We worked very hard to find the right location for our business to thrive. We know we found it right here due to the excellent workforce, quality of life and friendly business climate. We are excited to be a part of the community, and we are excited for our company to prosper here.”
The project will receive partial support through a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG), which was approved on Tuesday by the NC Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee. According to the committee’s evaluation, the project could contribute more than $743.4 million to the state economy over the 12-year duration of the grant.
They use a formula that factors in tax revenue, newly created jobs, and associated capital investment, ultimately reaching a JDIG agreement allows for potential reimbursements of up to $2,894,000 in state tax money to the company, distributed over the 12 years. These state payments would only be made after the Departments of Commerce and Revenue confirm that the company has met its job creation and investment benchmarks.
While wages will vary depending on position, the average salary is $46,707 comparable with the average salary in Graham County of $46,628, generating an annual payroll impact of $14 million.
“It’s somewhat amazing that the state continues to engage in these politicized tax breaks when the track record of JDIG is examined,” Brian Balfour, VP of research for the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “An evaluation of the program by the John Locke Foundation last summer found that nearly half of JDIG projects were terminated or withdrawn without meeting hiring goals, and previous research had found that more than a third of such projects failed to create even a single job.
“Instead of trying to centrally direct North Carolina’s economy by granting selective privileges to connected businesses, the state should focus on across-the-board tax relief for all job creators, along with regulatory relief to cut down on burdensome red tape,” Balfour added.
In 2022, another Chinese-based company, Triangle Tyre, canceled a partnership with Edgecombe County and the Carolina Gateway Partnership to build a tire factory in the Kingsboro Business Park, according to the Rocky Mount Telegram. Triangle Tyre stated that the decision was driven by various business challenges, prompting company leadership in Weihai, China, to discontinue the project and refocus efforts on meeting business priorities within China.