Gov. Easley Announces 35 Jobs in Lenoir County

September 13, 2007

One North Carolina Fund Grant Helps Effikal Locate In Kinston

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Effikal LLC of Orion, Mich., will relocate within Field Controls LLC’s existing facility in Lenoir County, creating 35 jobs and investing $1.1 million during the next three years. Effikal and Field Controls are sister companies. The announcement was made possible in part by a $35,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.

“The decision to move Effikal to North Carolina brings more quality jobs to Lenoir County,” Easley said. “We are dedicated to helping our businesses expand their operations to provide more opportunities for North Carolina workers and keep these companies competitive in the global economy.”

Effikal is a manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products such as vent dampers and flue dampers for water heaters and boilers. Field Controls manufactures other heating, ventilation and air conditioning products such as sidewall vent systems and draft controls. While wages will vary by job function, the average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $610 plus benefits, which is greater than the Lenoir County average weekly wage of $506 not including benefits.

“North Carolina is an outstanding location for manufacturing,” said Patrick Holleran, president of Effikal. “We look forward to growing this enterprise within Lenoir County.”

The One North Carolina Fund assists the state in industry recruitment and expansion by providing financial assistance through local governments to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. One North Carolina Fund grants require and are contingent upon a local match. Through the use of this Fund, more than 28,000 jobs and $4 billion in investment have been created since 2001.

“Having Effikal join its sister company Field Controls here is a great win for our outstanding economic-development team, the people of our growing region, and the state,” said state Sen. Charles W. Albertson (D-Duplin, Lenoir, Sampson). “We are very pleased to see this kind of investment in Lenoir County.”

“We in Lenoir County are excited that Field Controls has decided to expand in Lenoir County,” said state Representative R. Van Braxton (D-Greene, Lenoir, Wayne). “With the city, county and state all working together to enhance and expand jobs in our area, I feel we have a strong team willing to work with business and industry in any way we can to make Lenoir County a welcome place for business.”

Other partners who helped make this announcement possible include the N.C. Department of Commerce,North Carolina’s Eastern Region, Lenoir Community College, Lenoir County and the Lenoir Committee of 100.

For more information about the companies visit www.Effikal.com and www.fieldcontrols.com. For information on employment opportunities, mail inquiries to Field Controls, attention: Jane Wynne, 2630 Airport Rd., Kinston, N.C. 28504, or fax to 252-522-0844.