US Forged Rings to build new $875 million factory in North Carolina

U.S. Forged Rings announced February 26 that it would spend $875 million on a new production site in Hertford County, North Carolina. USFR produces specialty steel products and has a strategic supply chain partnership Nucor, which operates its Hertford County steel processing facility next to where USFR’s new factory is slated to go up. According to company and state officials, USFR plans to operate the new factory in three stages, of which the first two will create a combined 625 new jobs.

USFR produces specialty steel products, including specialty products used in reactors, heat exchanges, high temperature steam handlers and other power generation systems, as well as industrial rings, shafts and cylinders.

State officials did not disclose any tax incentives or grants encouraging the site, though an official release from the North Carolina governor’s office credited the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Departments of Transportation and Environmental Quality, the North Carolina Railroad, CSX Transportation, Dominion Energy, Hertford County and its Board of Commissioners and the Hertford County Economic Development Department.

What people are saying

“This investment into the first two phases of our Hertford County, North Carolina facility will bring good paying jobs back to America, substitute imports, lower dependency on foreign suppliers, increase the resilience of the US economy, and help lower uncertainty in the costs and timing of building power plants and other critical infrastructure that the country very much needs,” said USFR’s CEO & President, Giacomo Sozzi.

“Eastern North Carolina means business, and this announcement is great news for families throughout the region,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “US Forged Rings appreciates our state’s commitment to match specialized training with the hardest working people in America to provide the skilled workers the company needs to succeed in today’s competitive business environment.”

“It’s a great day for Hertford County North Carolina," said N.C. Senator Bobby Hanig. “North Carolina’s competitive advantages are many, from our friendly business climate to our world-class transportation networks offering convenient access to markets up and down the Eastern Seaboard. US Forged Rings’ decision today is a vote of confidence in northeast North Carolina and the hard-working people who call our region home.”

“I’d like to thank the many people and organizations that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make today’s announcement possible,” said N.C. Representative Bill Ward. “We are honored that US Forged Rings selected Hertford County and North Carolina as the site for this major project, and we will continue to work hard to support the company as it establishes operations in our region.”

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