Siemens Energy is adding 825 jobs to Charlotte
Siemens Energy said Thursday it plans to add 825 workers to make gas turbines in a $135 million expansion that is Charlotte's largest manufacturing announcement in three decades.
The German-headquartered Siemens already employs 780 people in Charlotte making and refurbishing turbines and generators for nuclear and steam power plants. Its 450,000-square-foot expansion will make and service turbines for natural-gas powered plants.
Michael Suess, CEO of Siemens Energy's fossil power division, said he expects to reach the 825 added jobs in three to four years after initially adding 660 workers.
The 1,800 total workforce will make Siemens the largest manufacturer in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte Chamber president Bob Morgan said.
The expansion, referred to for months as Project Cardinal, is expected to be complete by late 2011.
A plant producing gas turbines in Hamilton, Ontario, will close, Siemens told workers there this morning. About 550 workers will lose their jobs, the Toronto Sun reported. Sixty will transfer to Charlotte, and 50 from Orlando, Fla.
The announcement by the company, Gov. Bev Perdue and local officials, came in front of 500 uniformed workers amid the hum of massive machinery. It marks a milestone in the effort to create energy jobs in the Charlotte region.
Before Thursday, companies had announced plans for about 1,500 Mecklenburg County energy jobs since late 2007.
Siemens broke ground last October on a $50 million expansion for 226 new engineers and manufacturing workers over five years.
"I'm excited to be known as the 'closer' for the city of Charlotte and the county of Mecklenburg," Perdue said.
More jobs could follow, depending on the global demand for the turbines, said Suess.
The 350 new manufacturing jobs will pay about $40,000 a year, while designers, engineers and other professionals will average about $65,000 a year. Mecklenburg County jobs average $48,776.
For incentives, the state awarded Siemens a development grant worth $21.75 million over 12 years and a separate $1 million grant.
Charlotte City Council pledged $44 million and Mecklenburg commissioners $13 million in development bonds authorized under the federal stimulus act.
The bonds, which are not guaranteed or paid by local government, give Siemens low-interest financing.
"What we are doing here is long-lasting," Suess said in an interview. "The process was as well long-lasting; it was more than a year of looking around and screening what would be the best site.
"And then it's not only one reason or one incentives package, it's the trust we have in the people here, plus the trust we have in the political setup and the economical strengths of this community."
Siemens' 550,000-square-foot Charlotte location is already its largest U.S. manufacturing plant. Its turbines, generators and other power plant components generate one-third of U.S. electricity.
Combining gas, nuclear and steam work at one manufacturing hub, Suess added, is "a unique setup I don't have anywhere else."
Natural gas is becoming a favored fuel as prices fall and domestic supplies expand.
Duke Energy plans to build two new gas-fired plants in the Carolinas, along with its current expansion of a coal-fired plant west of Charlotte and hopes for a nuclear plant in South Carolina.
Duke's role as a customer of Siemens and energy provider for its Charlotte plant - electricity costs are a key factor in industrial siting - played a significant role in the expansion announced Thursday, company officials said. Duke has helped lead the energy-hub concept.
"It's a great partnership," said Duke Energy Carolinas president Brett Carter.
