Governor Stein Announces Global Industrial Gas Company Selects Northampton County for Air Separation Facility

Today Governor Josh Stein announced Linde Inc., an industrial gases and engineering company, will create 20 new jobs in Northampton County. The jobs are part of an investment of more than $75 million to build an air separation facility in Garysburg.

"I am pleased to welcome Linde to Northampton County," said Governor Josh Stein. "Not only is North Carolina centrally located on the East Coast with the strong transportation infrastructure that manufacturers and distributors need, but, more importantly, it's also home to the talented North Carolinians who helped secure our ranking as the top state for workforce development."

Linde manufactures and distributes industrial gases for the health care, food and beverage, electronics, and chemical industries. Linde will produce argon, nitrogen, and oxygen for use in hospital services, semiconductor manufacturing, battery production, and food preservation. The plant will be constructed in the Northampton County Commerce Park and will send products directly to customers.

"Linde is committed to serving the needs of our customers and to grow in the U.S.," said Todd Lawson, Vice President, East Region. "We chose this location based on its proximity to customers and the support of Northampton County. This new air separation unit will strengthen Linde's presence in the state and extend our strong merchant gases supply network to increase our ability to reliably serve our customers' current and future needs."

"Linde's decision to build in Northampton County validates the community's resilience and strength," said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. "Companies like Linde grow the supply chain of our thriving life sciences ecosystem, and when they choose rural North Carolina, they affirm North Carolina's position as the best place for business in every corner of the state."

The new jobs could potentially create an annual payroll impact of more than $1.75 million for the region.

A performance-based grant of $60,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help Linde grow in North Carolina. The OneNC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All OneNC grants require matching participation from local governments, and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.

"We welcome Linde and its investments in our people and our community, and we stand ready to support the company as it executes its growth strategy," said N.C. Representative Rodney D. Pierce.

"This is outstanding news that will be a great return on investment for Northampton County and the region," said N.C. Senator Bobby Hanig. "I am proud of the diligent work of our local and state officials, and I appreciate our economic developers and regional partners for their efforts that brought to project to fruition."

In addition to the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, other key partners in this project include the North Carolina General Assembly, Commerce's Division of Workforce Solutions, the North Carolina Community College System, the Golden LEAF Foundation, Northampton County, Northampton County Economic Development Commission, and Dominion Energy.

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