County considers paying $300,000 to save APV jobs
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on July 1, 2004 2:01 PM
Wayne County may give a $300,000 grant to try to keep open a Goldsboro factory that employs about 260 people.
The county commissioners have called a public hearing for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, to consider whether to offer the money to Turkington Industries as an incentive to buy the APV Baker plant.
Turkington Industries, based in Lancashire, England, manufactures machinery for the baking, food and brewing industries. It is considering acquiring the Goldsboro plant as its first entry into the U.S. market.
Turkington would keep the plant open and at full staff, the company says. The Goldsboro plant includes APV Baker and APV Products, which make equipment for bakeries.
The Wayne County Economic Development Commission asked the commissioners for the money.
In response, the county board called a special meeting Wednesday. The commissioners met behind closed doors for about 30 minutes before emerging to call the public hearing.
County officials did not discuss the reasons for the grant.
EDC President Joanna Thompson said that she could not release specific details about the project.
"I can only say that the EDC and the county commissioners continue to work our hardest for the retention of jobs, and in this case very good paying jobs, in Wayne County," she said.
Reportedly, other companies are interested in buying APV Baker and relocating it.
APV Baker is a leading manufacturer of baking equipment, ranging from mixers through product handling, according to the company's Web site.
The company traces its roots to two companies started by the Baker and Perkins families in the 1800s. The two companies merged in 1920 to form Baker-Perkins, which was still its name when it relocated operations from Saginaw, Mich., to Goldsboro in 1982. The plant specializes in equipping automated bakeries.