NC Commerce Secretary Visits Brunswick Manufacturing Facility
LELAND, N.C. — N.C. Secretary of Commerce John Skvarla visited the Victaulic manufacturing facility located in the Leland Industrial Park Friday morning to congratulate the company on its recent growth. The Secretary’s visit coincides with Victaulic’s expansion plans to accommodate a new product line at their Leland facility. Secretary Skvarla congratulated Victaulic on the addition of the new product and noted the concerted efforts of Facility Operations Manager Michael Reives in bringing the product line to the Leland facility. He complimented Brunswick County for its ongoing support of existing industries, in addition to its efforts to recruit new facilities.
“The highlight reel is the 80-yard touchdown pass, but at the end of the day, it’s the 50 and the 20 jobs day in and day out that makes us great,” said Skvarla. “Eighty-percent of North Carolina’s employers are small businesses. And we’ve lost sight of that fact, when 18 new jobs is huge. These are the kind of jobs that have a lot more stability. The Governor and I are absolutely devoted to making sure that our small- and medium-sized businesses get access, not only to the training and the resources, but to the capital they need. Everybody wants the headline and I want to look back in five years and say, ‘Wow, we’re just as solid as a rock.’ And you’re just doing it one step at a time. Everybody is reading off the same page in the handbook. It’s amazing how powerful we are when we play together. And we’ve seen massive transformation just in the last few years.”
Reives thanked Secretary Skvarla on behalf of Victaulic for visiting the facility. He also thanked Jenni Harris with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Brunswick County leaders and Brunswick Community College for their support and assistance with the expansion.
Brunswick County Director of Economic Development & Planning Mike Hargett echoed the Secretary’s congratulations and stated that he was very impressed with Reives’ innovative approach to remain competitive in a global environment.
“It’s really great that Victaulic has been here 25 years,” said Commissioner Pat Sykes. “The development of new products in Brunswick County and being shipped globally is outstanding. Our local small businesses are the backbone of our county and our state.”
“It’s exciting to see businesses in Brunswick County innovating, growing and creating jobs,” said Commissioner Frank Williams. “While it’s important to recruit new businesses, it’s also important to support existing businesses. We are thankful for Secretary Skvarla for coming to Brunswick County and seeing what is going on in our county.”
Victaulic provides innovative piping systems, technologies and services through its 14 major manufacturing facilities and 29 branches worldwide. The Leland facility was established in 1990 and currently has 120 full-time and 23 part–time employees.