Steel startup announces $875M factory, hundreds of jobs in northeastern North Carolina

U.S. Forged Rings, a startup that plans to make steel piping and components for industrial customers, said Thursday that it plans to build a manufacturing hub in Hertford County — a project that could bring more than 700 high-paying jobs and $875 million in new investment to northeastern North Carolina. 

“US Forged Rings’ investment in Hertford County is a ringing endorsement of our state’s top-notch workforce," Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement. "We are committed to delivering the talent companies need and bringing good-paying jobs to every corner of our state, including northeastern North Carolina with this project.”

The first two phases are expected to create 625 jobs, but additional phases could push the total higher, WRAL previously reported the company’s plans. All phases of the project are expected to be finished by the end of 2030. The jobs are expected to pay an average of more than $80,000 per year, which is well above the county average. 

USFR announced plans in early 2023 to build an East Coast production facility, including fabrication and forging plants to serve customers in wind energy, nuclear energy, construction, shipping, mining and other heavy industries. The company has also been gearing up to make components for oil-and-gas applications and tubular products for the defense and aerospace sectors. 

The company has spent months scouting properties in North Carolina and other states to build a piping facility, a large fabrications facility and a forging and ring-rolling facility, USFR President Giacomo Sozzi told WRAL in September. USFR had been evaluating sites with access to waterways, rail and utilities — the kinds of qualities that make it easier to move large industrial components. The company had been weighing real estate costs and the availability of skilled labor.

The USFR facility will be adjacent to a Nucor plant near the Hertford town of Cofield. Nucor, a Charlotte-based steel producer that has been snapping up land in Hertford, has a supply-chain partnership with USFR. The Nucor plant is off the Chowan River, which flows into the Albemarle Sound, part of the Intercoastal Waterway. And the North Carolina & Virginia Railroad runs through Cofield, with a leg to the existing Nucor plant. 

Being close to Nucor could help USFR achieve its goal of making products entirely in the U.S. — a strategy that seeks to help customers sidestep supply chain delays or changes in foreign trade policies. Sozzi told WRAL in September that the U.S. needs a more reliable supply of fabricated steel products, particularly as the country seeks to build up more power infrastructure to serve demand from data centers and other new technologies.

On Thursday, Sozzi said in a statement that the investment “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.”

Nucor, which has been spending billions of dollars on capital investments across the country as it seeks to meet domestic steel demand, acquired hundreds of acres in Hertford County last year, property records show. A Nucor representative didn’t immediately respond to a WRAL request for more information about its plans in the county. 

State and local officials have spent months working to attract USFR to North Carolina, people familiar with the project have told WRAL. And state and county documents suggest the project could grow substantially. 

In September, state lawmakers approved $51 million for a public dock and another $11 million for a public road that can accommodate industrial loads in Hertford County. The dock would provide access to the Chowan River, near Nucor’s plant. The legislation didn’t identify the company by name but said the dock would support a “manufacturer of steel forgings and large-diameter steel fabrications” that plans a $974 million investment that would create about 835 jobs. USFR describes itself as a “manufacturer of steel forgings and large-diameter steel fabrications” on its website.

Meanwhile, county officials have been considering an economic development agreement with the company. 

A draft of an economic development agreement between Hertford County and USFR outlined an $875 million investment in three phases. The draft plan, which doesn’t name the company, anticipates the first phase to be complete by the end of 2028, the second phase to be finished by the end of 2029 and the third phase to be finished by 2030. The company plans to create at least 725 jobs with an average annual wage of $85,000 — 77% above the county average for private-sector jobs, according to the draft, which was obtained by WRAL. 

County officials are expected to consider approving the agreement at a meeting on Monday. The company isn’t expected to receive discretionary job-grant money from the state. 

North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said the company was attracted to the state’s ability to offer specialized training and a deep talent pool. 

The company has been negotiating a community investment agreement with the county that could pour money into technical training at Roanoke Chowan Community College, housing subsidies for employees and contributions to public safety services, a draft of the agreement shows.