A Hamlet industry is expanding with another step taken last week.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Larry Wickert told the Starke County Commissioners last week that the Foundation owns the Norton Packaging building and the property so the Foundation members secured a bond needed to pay for the planned expansion construction. Wickert said the bond payments were successfully finalized, although they are about a month behind in the process. The payments will be a part of the lease payments paid by Norton officials.
Wickert commented that it is the hope of company officials that they take ownership of the building and property from the Foundation in the next five years.
The expansion project expects to bring a few additional jobs to the Hamlet area.
“They’ll put up about a 40,000 square foot addition,” explained Wickert. “It’s about a $2.27 million total project. Of that, $1.7 million is financed with the bond. There will be about 20 jobs added in the next three years. The average wage out there right now is $13.23 and the cash value of the wage is $19.19 with the benefits added in.”
The expansion project may begin in the next two weeks with a completion timeline in the late fall-early winter.
Norton Packaging has flourished at its Hamlet location since the mid-1990s.
