December 6, 2021 | Bill Esler
Kinston, NC—MasterBrand Cabinets, the largest cabinet manufacturer in North America, will expand its operations in Kinston, NC, in a move that could add 450 jobs over five years.
Based in Jasper, IN and a unit of Fortune Brands Home & Security, MasterBrand Cabinets will invest more than $13.5 million to expand production capacity at its Kinston manufacturing center. If it meets employment targets, it could recoup nearly $4 million of that over 12 years.
MasterBrand Cabinets serves market segments that include stock cabinets, semi-custom and custom cabinetry, as well as vanities for the kitchen, bath, and other areas of the home. It’s value-priced stock cabinet category had been seeing the strongest growth recently, a factor that led MasterBrand to open an 840,000-sq.-ft. plant in Jackson, GA in November 2020 to serve that segment.
But in recent quarters customers are opting for more expensive cabinets, helping MasterBrand Cabinets third quarter sales rise nine percent to $716.5 million, and hitting $2.11 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, a 16 percent increase. But cabinetry for those segments in particular are more complex to build, which dampened profits despite hefty sales growth. As a result Fortune Brands CEO Nick Fink charged cabinetry operations with simplifying product design and leaning down manufacturing processes.
“MasterBrand is committed to investing in our people and facilities through offering competitive wages and benefits; providing a safe and clean working environment; and training, developing, and retaining our associates,” says MasterBrand Cabinets president Dave Banyard. “We are proud to expand our operations in Kinston, which allows us to better meet the demand of our customers while providing new jobs and strengthening the communities where our associates live and work.”
MasterBrand Cabinets’ project in North Carolina will be facilitated by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the state estimates the project will grow its economy by $657.8 million. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the 464 new jobs tied to this grant, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $3,878,000, spread over 12 years.
State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.
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