Pisgah Labs Announces $55-million Plant Expansion
The project, which will receive about $1.87 million in county tax incentives, is expected to bring 57 well-paid jobs to Transylvania County.
BREVARD — Pharmaceutical company Pisgah Labs Inc. on Monday announced a $55-million expansion that will bring 57 well-paid jobs to Transylvania County and much-needed, long-range growth to its industrial tax base.
The addition of the plant, on Old Hendersonville Highway east of Brevard, was celebrated by County Commissioners as they approved $1.87 million in incentives Monday that both helped seal the deal and delayed much of the direct boost in tax revenues for up to nine years.
“I’m just thrilled to see this happening,” said Commission Vice Chair Jake Dalton, who added that the company’s growth will build on the county’s position as a hub of similar industry.
The announcement follows a deal finalized last year for the local expansion of another pharmaceutical company, Raybow USA, as well as last week’s groundbreaking for new utility lines along Rosman Highway that will “support Gaia Herbs’ headquarters expansion,” according to a county press release.
“We have this little hub happening in the county with two other businesses that complement” the Pisgah Labs’ project, Dalton said, comparing the cluster to a smaller version of Research Triangle Park near Raleigh. “It’s been referred to as the RTP of the west,” he said.
The two-phase project will add a total of 80,000 square feet to Pisgah Labs’ current plant and will “triple the workforce over the next four or five years,” said Dani Bailey, the factory’s site manager and executive director.
The jobs added by the company, which now employs 28 full-time workers, will pay an average of about $60,000, which compares to the current county average of about $39,000, according to the county’s presentation on Monday.
Pisgah Labs, which was bought in 2018 by India-based Ipca Laboratories Limited, currently makes drug components, or “active pharmaceutical ingredients,” Bailey said at a press conference following the commissioners’ unanimous vote to approve the incentive package. The expansion will allow Pisgah to broaden its product base to include “final” doses of liquid medications for injection and oral use, she said.
To receive the tax breaks, the company must provide evidence annually that it is adding the promised jobs, said County Manager Jaime Laughter.
The incentives were set based on a previously adopted county formula that calculates such awards using factors such as the number of jobs created, the salaries of the new jobs, and the amount of money invested.
The incentives apply only to the value of the new investment, Laughter said. She and other county officials have recently cited the limits of the county’s tax base, especially its heavy dependence on residential properties, as an obstacle to raising money for much-needed capital improvements such as a new courthouse.
Before it fully realizes tax benefits from the expansion, Laughter added, the additional well-paid workers will invest in the community and support local businesses.
The expansion project also received a $50,000 economic development grant from the state.
At the press conference, Bailey said the company will expand in two phases, starting with a 20,000-square foot “pilot facility” to establish the manufacturing of the new products.
It will be followed by a 60,000-square feet expansion to allow the large-scale production of the medicines.
Speakers at the press conference did not address how the plant, which is not connected to the city of Brevard’s utility system, will handle its increased sewer and water needs. Dalton wrote in an email Tuesday that current plans are for those services to be provided with on-site systems, though “we are applying for grant funds to see if we can get some funding if we need to help with a service extension.”
Bailey thanked commissioners, county staff and Burton Hodges, executive director of the Transylvania Economic Alliance, which helped secure the company’s investment.
“We feel it’s a very exciting and wonderful adventure for the company and we hope for the county and the community as well,” she said.
Email: brevardnewsbeat@gmail.com
Once again, taxpayers are subsidizing growth, possibly even more subsidy if on site water and sewer are needed. So tired of the theme, “new employees will contribute to local business success and live and spend in the community”. Seriously?