Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly opened its new Concord, NC, facility on Friday.
The company has invested more than $2 billion into the site and will use the space to manufacture injectable medications for diabetes and weight loss.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new manufacturing facility, which is at the site of the old Phillip Morris plant.
The facility will employ 600 people. Officials said 70% of them will be from the state of North Carolina, while 60% of will be from the area directly surrounding the plant itself.
Eli Lilly began construction on the Concord site nearly two years ago. At the time, CEO David Ricks said jobs at the facility would be high-paying.
“These will be roles making products directly, manufacturing jobs which are high-tech manufacturing jobs. [They’re] really advanced manufacturing, a lot of automation in our plants. And that technical skill will yield great salaries and incomes for family-supporting jobs. We also have engineering and other leadership positions,” said Ricks.
At the time the project was announced, Eli Lilly’s Concord plant was the second largest economic development project in the city’s history, behind the Red Bull and Rauch facility that was announced in 2021. Red Bull and Rauch planned to invest $1.8 billion into their Concord location, but haven’t yet started on construction.
Just a few weeks ago, Lilly announced investments in various other locations including Indiana, Ireland, and Germany.
