Nashville offers land to 2 area businesses

Town leaders will help two local businesses relocate and expand by issuing them land and funds.

Nashville Town Council members voted at their regular agenda meeting to appropriate incentive packages worth more than $74,000 to George’s Barbecue Sauces and Mebco Inc. George’s Barbecue Sauces will receive 9.59 acres from the town for operations expansion at The Nashville Business Center, an industrial park located at the off U.S. 64 and Western Avenue.

The project will create five new full-time jobs and help retain four workers. Town Manager Preston Mitchell said George’s Barbecue Sauces plan to invest more than $1.25 million in construction and equipment. Completion date for the construction was not specified.

The company operates its 3,000-square-foot production facility on Womble Road, just outside of town limits. The total value of the issued land is worth $72,365.

A final decision on the relocation of George’s Barbecue Sauces has yet to be reached, Mitchell said. He said company officials are finalizing construction bids, but the new location would provide the company with more than 18,000 square feet for operations.

Another one-time incentive of $2,227 for Mebco, Inc. also was approved by the town council.

Mebco plans to construct a new shavings saw mill in the town at U.S. 64 Alternate and Pleasant Grove Church Road, which is near Nash Correctional Institute.

The move will include a $400,000 investment in equipment and new construction, which Mitchell said the company will try to have finalized by Dec. 31. Relocation will mean retaining two current workers and creating four permanent full-time positions.

Both incentives and expansion efforts are being overseen by Carolinas Gateway Partnership. Representatives from the industrial recruitment agency said the businesses have not yet agreed to the town’s incentive offers.

Mitchell said the incentives for both companies will stand as long as they meet the contractual requirements of the incentives.

He said it was great to know local businesses still can still benefit and flourish in a time when many are suffering because of a murky economy.

“Right now, it does (our town) much good when any industry has the opportunity to expand,” Mitchell said. “The fact that they are both homegrown and local makes the deal much sweeter for their employees and job seekers.”