Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
7 <br /> <br />Doug Sutter said part of that investment was the acquisition of the industrial solutions <br />business from General Electric, of which the Mebane facility was a part. He said ABB has been <br />making electrical projects in the Mebane facility since 1972, which will continue. He said ABB is <br />proud to call Mebane and Orange County part of ABB’s home, and ABB is excited to get to work <br />on this project and the addition of more than 400 jobs. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said if the factory did not come here then Orange County would <br />have lost 110 jobs. He asked if the total number of new jobs in NC, which are replacing jobs <br />lost in other states, could be identified. <br />Doug Sutter said all 403 of the jobs are incremental jobs for N.C. <br />Commissioner Dorosin clarified, and asked if ABB employees will be relocating from <br />Florida. <br />Doug Sutter said there will be some people that will re-locate, and some that will be <br />hired here in NC. <br />Commissioner Dorosin asked if the net number of new jobs in Mebane is known. <br />Doug Sutter said 403 jobs. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said how many of these jobs will be re-location from other states. <br />Doug Sutter said there is a percentage of growth, but more than a lion’s share of the <br />jobs will be from consolidation. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said he would like to know the percentage of growth. <br />Doug Sutter said he would get that information. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the products that will be made in the new Mebane <br />facility could be identified. <br />Doug Sutter said in Mebane, ABB will be making electrical distribution systems. He said <br />these systems take electrical power from the transmission line and distributes it throughout a <br />facility, be it a factory, data center, commercial building, etc. <br />Commissioner McKee said he toured the previous GE Facility years ago, and the <br />systems looking are large switching units. He said these systems are quite complex, and <br />handle enormous power. <br />Doug Sutter said a complex unit used to be a few hundred wires, and now they are <br />closer to 1000. He said the ongoing digital transformation taking place in society, leads this to <br />be a complex product that requires a high level of talent from an assembly workforce. <br />Commissioner Price said she is excited about this, and especially the partnership with <br />Durham Tech. She asked if Doug Sutter knew how many of the jobs will be open to area <br />residents, that could be trained at Durham Tech. <br />Doug Sutter said out of 403 employees, there are around 90 salaried employees, and <br />the rest would be hourly employees. He said ABBs goal in partnering with the NC community <br />college system, is to develop a certification program for electrical product technicians. He said <br />in the short term, everyone coming into the plant would go through that certification program, <br />and long term it becomes a condition for employment. <br /> <br />A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to open <br />the Public Hearing. <br /> <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: <br />NONE <br /> <br />A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to <br />close the Public Hearing.