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McMurray to Expand

March 28, 2003

In a time when textile plants are suffering, another Lincolnton company is hoping to make an expansion. McMurray Fabrics, 1140 North Flint Street, will ask the Lincolnton City Council and the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners for tax incentives to make a $2.56 million investment in its plant. McMurray is a dying and finishing operation, manufacturing specialty fabrics. The expansion is not yet a done deal, because the company is currently in the process of working out details with the city concerning wastewater parameter capacity, City Manager Jeff Emory said. “The city is going to work with them in any way possible,” Emory said. “They have been an excellent company in Lincolnton.” If approved, McMurray will make a $750,000 investment to its building and land, said Laura Foor, existing business coordinator for the Lincoln Economic Development Association. McMurray will invest $1.78 million in machinery and equipment and $30,000 in business and personal property, Foor said. The bulk of the investment would be in new and additional machinery and equipment, said Barry Matherly, executive director of LEDA. There would be small additions to the facility in terms of square-footage. The plant would have a higher capacity after the expansion and would up its production, Matherly said. Representatives at McMurray’s corporate office in Aberdeen could not be reached for comment. The expansion will create at least 20 new jobs, a number officials expect to grow. The jobs will pay $9.50 to $15.41 per hour, with an average wage of $11.09, Foor said. Officials will ask the Lincolnton City Council for $36,709.40 in incentives at the council’s next meeting. The incentives would be paid out over five years at $7,241.88 per year, Foor said. County commissioners will be asked at their next meeting to approve a $40,643 tax break for McMurray – a savings of $8,128 per year for five years. The grants from both the city and county would be classified as Level I grants, which equal out to a 65 percent reduction in taxes. “It’s nice to be working on a textile industry expanding instead of closing,” Matherly said. County commissioners recently approved almost $50,000 in incentives for The Timken Company to make a $3.5 million investment in its Lincolnton Bearing Plant. Seven months earlier, they approved $250,000 in incentives for a $16.3 million investment by Timken. And in October, commissioners gave RSI Home Products a tax break of $12,896 per year for five years to make a $3.5 million expansion.