Health care manufacturer STERIS has been identified as the company behind Sanford’s previously confidential Project Sol, a $600 million development expected to create 335 new jobs in Lee County.
The planned STERIS Sanford campus will be built at Helix Innovation Park on Hawkins Avenue. The approximately 600,000-square-foot site will serve as the company’s Chemistries Manufacturing Center of Excellence.
Plans call for advanced manufacturing, research and development laboratories, warehousing and distribution operations. STERIS provides products and services used in patient care, with a focus on infection prevention.
Average Salary Expected to Exceed Lee County Average
Salaries will vary by position, but the new jobs are expected to pay an average of $68,704 per year. That is higher than Lee County’s reported average annual wage of $59,903.
STERIS was founded in 1985 and is based in Ohio. The company employs more than 18,000 people at approximately 250 locations in more than 35 countries.
Local Incentives Tied to Performance
Sanford and Lee County previously approved an incentive package valued at approximately $24 million while the company’s identity remained confidential. The incentives are structured largely as partial rebates on property taxes paid over seven years.
The agreements include performance requirements. Local officials may recover incentive funds if STERIS does not meet the job-creation commitments included in the deal.
Officials have described the project as the largest economic development announcement in Lee County history. The STERIS Sanford campus also adds to a growing group of life-science and pharmaceutical employers in the Sanford area.
Sources: North Carolina Department of Commerce and reporting by Gordon Anderson for The Rant.
