Don’t tell the management of Prepac Manufacturing that there’s a pandemic going on – because the company is moving full steam ahead and plans to open a new site that’s highly likely to be in Guilford County.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing to consider an economic incentives package for Prepac in the amount of $597,286 to support construction of a new manufacturing plant that’s expected to generate about $26.5 million in capital investment and bring 201 new full-time jobs.

Guilford County provided the public notice of the incentives hearings on Friday, July 24 for the Thursday, Aug. 6 commissioners meeting that will take place virtually due to the coronavirus.

Prepac designs, manufactures and ships ready-to-assemble furniture for homes. Some of the company’s products include bedroom sets, home office furniture, living room furniture, storage cabinets and related pieces.

Prepac started in 1979 in Vancouver, Canada and has been expanding over the decades. As a continuation of that trend, the company is now considering four sites for its new facility, with two of those four in Guilford County. While that may sound like Guilford County has a 50/50 shot of landing the jobs, the truth is that, almost anytime a public hearing is set in Guilford County to hear an economic development incentives proposal, the deal has already been struck and the public hearing is just a formality.

In recent years, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners has overwhelmingly approved all incentives requests that have made it to this point in the process, and everyone should expect the board to approve this request as well at its meeting on August 6.

Those who wish to speak on the proposal or who wish to submit written comments should contact the county at awebb@guilfordcountync.gov no later than Wednesday, August 5 at 1 p.m.

 

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