A tech company based in France picked the western North Carolina town of Fletcher to establish its North American headquarters, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday.
Tageos, headquartered in Montpellier, will invest $19.25 million and bring 64 jobs to Henderson County. Tageos designs and manufactures high-tech radio-frequency identification, inlays and tags used by brands and retailers for issues such as supply chains.
“With a shared vision for sustainability, we are delighted to welcome Tageos to Henderson County, North Carolina,” Cooper stated in a press release. “High tech companies like Tageos need the best business climate and brightest tech talent to help them navigate such a high-demand industry, and it was a smart decision for them to call western North Carolina home.”
The tech company’s portfolio enables its customers to identify, authenticate, track and trace, and complement their offerings in a wide range of applications. Tageos’ expansion to the United States will include a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center that will produce up to 5 billion units annually for various applications.
“We are very excited to come to Fletcher, Henderson County, and to open up our first manufacturing site in the U.S.,” Tageos CEO Matthieu Picon stated in a press release. “Our investment will be instrumental in strengthening our position as a leading RFID inlays and tags manufacturer, as it will allow us to support our steadily growing number of customers in the American market even faster and in a particularly sustainable manner.”
New positions include operators, managers, technicians, and sales personnel. Salaries will vary for each position; however, the overall expected average annual salary is $70,203. Henderson County’s average annual wage is $47,949. These new jobs have the potential to create an annual payroll of more than $4.4 million for the region.
“Tageos is joining an emerging tech cluster in Western North Carolina,” N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in a release. “Our state is a leading market for innovative companies because of our strong research and development ecosystem and a diverse workforce, which includes the second largest market for women working in tech.”
A performance-based grant of $100,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help with Tageos’ expansion to North Carolina. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One NC grants require matching participation from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.