Broyhill to Get $6 Million in Incentives to Stay in Caldwell County

Caldwell County, the city of Lenoir and the state Department of Commerce plan to give a furniture manufacturer $6 million dollars in incentives to keep it from moving to Mississippi. Under the deal, Caldwell County and Lenoir would give Broyhill Industries $4 million dollars in city and county tax collections. The North Carolina Department of Commerce has also approved a $2 million-dollar grant. Local and state official scrambled to come up with the package this summer when Broyhill officials said they were considering a move to Mississippi. Broyhill employs about 1,200 employess across North Carolina. The new plant will become a mega-upholstery plant for the company's cloth and leather furniture products. The consolidation will affect some 600 employees in Lenoir and Taylorsville. With the incentives package, Broyhill has agreed to move its upholstery manufacturing operations from existing plants in Lenoir and Taylorsville into a 650,000 square foot facility that will open in January of 2009. In all, Broyhill will consolidate 5 plants. Displaced workers will be offered jobs at the new facility. No additional jobs will result from this consolidation. The Lenoir City Council has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, October 21st to discuss their portion of the incentive package.