Two Projects Bringing 700 Jobs, $512M In Investment To Greenville, NC

Thermo Fisher Scientific will invest $500M and create 500 jobs, while Grover Gaming will invest $12.5M and create 200 jobs in Greenville, NC.

In Eastern North Carolina, two companies have announced projects bringing 700 new jobs and more than $512 million in investment to Greenville.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is expanding its site in Greenville for sterile drug product development and commercial manufacturing of critical medicines, therapies, and vaccines. As part of the approximately $500 million investment, the global life science services company will create about 500 new jobs over next 12 to 24 months.

“We are excited by the news of Thermo Fisher’s investment in their Greenville facility which further strengthens Greenville and Pitt County’s legacy as a hub of pharmaceutical production,” said Steve Weathers, president and CEO of the Greenville – Eastern North Carolina (ENC) Alliance. “Our area has more than 2,000 people working in pharmaceutical manufacturing occupations which is a concentration 12 times higher than the United States.”Greenville, NC

The 1.5 million-square-foot Greenville site is a multi-purpose pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging campus with a current workforce of more than 1,500 employees. The expansion will include a new standalone 130,000-square-foot facility with two live virus filling lines which will be operational in 2022.

“This announcement shows the strength of Thermo Fisher in the sterile drug development sector and will augment what is already a world class facility. The company’s investments will result in a large number of new, well-paying jobs for citizens of Greenville, Pitt County, and eastern North Carolina,” said Brad Hufford, Greenville – ENC Alliance vice president of business development.

The site will also add six new lines in 2021 and 2022, including commercial scale liquid filling lines and a development line for liquid and lyophilized (freeze-dried) drug products.

“We have continued to invest strategically in capacity, technology and expertise across our global network so we can accelerate innovation and enhance productivity for our customers,” said Mike Shafer, senior vice president and president, pharma services, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “This has enabled us to respond quickly and support our customers with unprecedented scale and depth of capabilities to meet high demand for new therapies and vaccines. By simplifying the supply chain and solving complex manufacturing challenges, we shorten development timelines in order to get high-quality medicines to patients, faster.”

The Greenville – ENC Alliance is actively working with a range of local partners to help develop the future workforce to meet the needs of Thermo Fisher and other regional pharmaceutical companies. Partners include the City of Greenville, Pitt County, NC Biotechnology Center, Pitt County Public Schools, Pitt Community College, and East Carolina University.

“We are collaborating with Thermo Fisher and our workforce partners to make strategic investments and create a tailored workforce pipeline to support their expansion,” added Hufford. “Details of that collaboration will be announced at a later date.”

Meanwhile, Grover Gaming, a software development and design company founded in Greenville, has announced an expansion project that’s expected to bring 200 new jobs and $12.5 million in capital investment over the next five years.

Greenville, NC“Eastern North Carolina has always been our home, so we are excited to further invest and contribute to its future prosperity and development,” said Garrett Blackwelder, founder and CEO of Grover Gaming.

The company worked with several local partners on this project, including the Greenville – ENC Alliance, City of Greenville, Greenville Utilities Commission, and Pitt County.

“The Greenville – ENC Alliance is proud to have had the opportunity to work with the team at Grover Gaming,” said Weathers. “We successfully competed against Columbus, OH; Atlanta, GA; and Las Vegas, NV for this project. Our community continues to rise to the top of site selection projects as a premier destination due to our talent, connectivity, and livability.”

As a multi-year recipient of Inc Magazine’s prestigious Inc 5000 award, Grover Gaming recently ranked #194 for the 2020 awards. Local leaders are thrilled that the internationally recognized company is continuing its success in Greenville.

“The City of Greenville is excited to be part of Grover Gaming’s continuous growth. For many years, the City has been a supporter of Grover Gaming as it rapidly grows to meet industry demands. We are thrilled that the company decided to expand in the city where they were founded,” said City Manager Ann Wall.

Earlier this year, Grover Gaming was awarded a Job Creation Grant by the Greenville City Council as an incentive for creating 100 new jobs in the Greenville area. With its newly announced expansion, the company expects to create 200 new jobs, an increase from its initial proposal. To provide additional support for the project, the City of Greenville extended the current jobs investment grant by $200,000.

“As a City Council, we have always prioritized expanding the economic hub of Eastern North Carolina by bringing in new jobs and helping existing businesses grow,” said Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly. “Grover Gaming has certainly been one of  the area’s success stories, and the city is excited to know that this homegrown business will continue to call Greenville home while providing additional job opportunities for our community.”

Grover Gaming develops software, game content, and gaming systems. Headquartered in Greenville, the company is licensed in New Hampshire, Kentucky, North Dakota, Ontario Canada, Virginia, and South Dakota.

“Through the hard work of our amazing team, we are in a position to create hundreds of new jobs,” said Blackwelder. “Our goal is to recruit talented and passionate professionals to Greenville and the surrounding areas, as well as retain our homegrown and local talent.”

Numerous state and local partners supported this project including the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Golden LEAF Foundation, Pitt County, City of Greenville, Greenville Utilities Commission, and the Greenville – ENC Alliance.

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