Concrete Pipe Plant Plans $102M Gastonia Facility With 125 High-Wage Jobs

FIT Precast will invest $102 million to construct a production plant in south Gastonia. The project brings 125 positions with salaries averaging $102,168 per year. These wages dwarf Gaston County's typical earnings of $52,180 — workers here will make almost twice as much.

Construction starts on a 154,000-square-foot building sprawled across 72 acres off U.S. 321 South. The plant will manufacture precast concrete items for stormwater systems, roads, and utility projects. Charlotte sits just 15 miles to the east.

Workers should start arriving by 2028. Investment wraps up by late 2026. Annual payroll could pump more than $12.7 million into the area's economy.

"The demand for resilient, American-made infrastructure has never been greater, and North Carolina is the ideal place to meet that challenge," said Matt Goreski, president of FIT Precast, in a release from NC Governor Josh Stein. "This flagship headquarters and production facility is the most advanced precast concrete manufacturing site in the country; investing in both leading-edge technology and the people of North Carolina with high-paying, meaningful careers."

What comes off the production line? Reinforced concrete pipe, precast storm structures, underground detention systems, precast box culverts, and bottomless culverts. This site becomes company headquarters while focusing on precision to set a new benchmark for precast goods.

South Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee, both courted the company. Gaston County won because of its access to workers, training programs at community colleges, and population surges throughout the state and Charlotte metro.

"We are extremely excited to see the potential in a site that's been waiting for the right company to bring it to life," said Alisha Summey, a director with the Gaston County Economic Development Commission, according to Business North Carolina. "It makes our county leaders proud to support investment that not only transforms a site in an underutilized area, but one that will deliver jobs paying nearly double the county's average wage."

The state's Economic Investment Committee approved an incentive package worth more than $2.3 million spread across 12 years. Job training money from the N.C. Railroad Co. — $500,000 — pushes total state support to $3.2 million. Gaston County and the city of Gastonia tossed in incentives valued above $1.8 million. Payments only happen if FIT Precast meets investment benchmarks and creates the promised positions.