Rockingham County today announced that the Ontex Group will be locating a $96 million plant in the southern part of the county about 10 minutes from Piedmont Triad International Airport.
Ontex will be the first occupant in the South Rockingham Corporate Park owned by The Carroll Companies, which also own this publication.
Carroll Industrial Development’s South Rockingham Corporate Park is made up of 350 acres in a triangular shaped area just south of where NC 68 diverges from I-73-US 220.
Ontex CEO Charles Bouaziz said in a press release, “Following the previously-announced decision to invest in manufacturing in the eastern part of the country to complement shipments from abroad, we are proud to announce the forthcoming opening of Ontex’ first U.S. production site. With this meaningful step we accelerate the execution of our strategic priority to increase our U.S. presence.”
The facility will bring 403 jobs to the area and Ontex has plans to start construction soon.
Leigh Cockram, Rockingham County economic development director, said, “We are excited to add Ontex to our industrial base and look forward to a long-term partnership ensuring their success. This announcement is not only a great opportunity for job expansion in our area, but also solidifies that Rockingham County, including South Rockingham County Corporate Park, is positioned well for future growth.”
Ontex is a Belgian company that specializes in the manufacturing of disposable hygiene products including baby and adult diapers and feminine hygiene products. Ontex currently has manufacturing facilities in 16 countries and this will be their first in the U.S. No announcement has been made about the particular product or products they will be manufacturing at their new site.
When Carroll announced the development of the South Rockingham Corporate Park in August 2019, he said that with the airport 10 minutes away down I-73 he believed the land was prime for industrial development.
When the corporate park is completely built out, Carroll has said that he expects it to house 2.5 million square feet of industrial space.
Carroll at that time said, “There aren’t too many sites in the triad where you can put a 1 million-square-foot building and this is one of them.”
