Orange County NC Website
7 <br /> 1 said ABB has significant operations in 32 states, and works with customers and communities to <br /> 2 write the future of industrial technology. <br /> 3 Doug Sutter said part of that investment was the acquisition of the industrial solutions <br /> 4 business from General Electric, of which the Mebane facility was a part. He said ABB has been <br /> 5 making electrical projects in the Mebane facility since 1972, which will continue. He said ABB is <br /> 6 proud to call Mebane and Orange County part of ABB's home, and ABB is excited to get to work <br /> 7 on this project and the addition of more than 400 jobs. <br /> 8 Commissioner Dorosin said if the factory did not come here then Orange County would <br /> 9 have lost 110 jobs. He asked if the total number of new jobs in NC, which are replacing jobs <br /> 10 lost in other states, could be identified. <br /> 11 Doug Sutter said all 403 of the jobs are incremental jobs for N.C. <br /> 12 Commissioner Dorosin clarified, and asked if ABB employees will be relocating from <br /> 13 Florida. <br /> 14 Doug Sutter said there will be some people that will re-locate, and some that will be <br /> 15 hired here in NC. <br /> 16 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the net number of new jobs in Mebane is known. <br /> 17 Doug Sutter said 403 jobs. <br /> 18 Commissioner Dorosin said how many of these jobs will be re-location from other states. <br /> 19 Doug Sutter said there is a percentage of growth, but more than a lion's share of the <br /> 20 jobs will be from consolidation. <br /> 21 Commissioner Dorosin said he would like to know the percentage of growth. <br /> 22 Doug Sutter said he would get that information. <br /> 23 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the products that will be made in the new Mebane <br /> 24 facility could be identified. <br /> 25 Doug Sutter said in Mebane, ABB will be making electrical distribution systems. He said <br /> 26 these systems take electrical power from the transmission line and distributes it throughout a <br /> 27 facility, be it a factory, data center, commercial building, etc. <br /> 28 Commissioner McKee said he toured the previous GE Facility years ago, and the <br /> 29 systems looking are large switching units. He said these systems are quite complex, and <br /> 30 handle enormous power. <br /> 31 Doug Sutter said a complex unit used to be a few hundred wires, and now they are <br /> 32 closer to 1000. He said the ongoing digital transformation taking place in society, leads this to <br /> 33 be a complex product that requires a high level of talent from an assembly workforce. <br /> 34 Commissioner Price said she is excited about this, and especially the partnership with <br /> 35 Durham Tech. She asked if Doug Sutter knew how many of the jobs will be open to area <br /> 36 residents, that could be trained at Durham Tech. <br /> 37 Doug Sutter said out of 403 employees, there are around 90 salaried employees, and <br /> 38 the rest would be hourly employees. He said ABBs goal in partnering with the NC community <br /> 39 college system, is to develop a certification program for electrical product technicians. He said <br /> 40 in the short term, everyone coming into the plant would go through that certification program, <br /> 41 and long term it becomes a condition for employment. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to open <br /> 44 the Public Hearing. <br /> 45 <br /> 46 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 47 <br /> 48 PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> 49 NONE <br /> 50 <br />