The sleepy little town of Whitsett is not often ground zero for new economic development news; however, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, RegO – a North Carolina company that makes valves and controls for propane, liquefied natural gas and related products for customers around the world – announced that it’s implementing a multi-million-dollar expansion of its manufacturing facility in Whitsett and is adding about 50 new jobs.
As part of the expansion, RegO will upgrade several of its machining work centers with what the company describes as “state-of-the-art equipment that will enhance operational efficiency and significantly increase machine throughput across its manufacturing lines.”
The company, which didn’t state how many millions of dollars will be going into the effort, will put in four new automated machining stations that are meant to combine several steps in the manufacturing process to bring about much greater production of brass and stainless-steel components, as well as some other parts. With the new equipment, there’ll be no need for operators to manually change parts between different machines. That’s expected to roughly double the plant’s capacity and allow the company to make about 5 million parts per year when things are running smoothly.
The new machines will be installed in stages at the Whitsett manufacturing facility over the next eight months.
RegO CEO Mike Lucas stated in a press release Wednesday that the company is proud to keep the new jobs in the US rather than expand in another part of the world.
“While many other suppliers in our industry have chosen to move production offshore,” Lucas stated, “RegO has continued our commitment to maintaining a world class manufacturing capability here in the US. This latest investment, together with the skill and experience of our manufacturing teams, gives our company the ability to deliver the highest quality parts for our customers at a competitive cost.”
