Tenowo Inc., Non-Wovens Manufacturer Announces Expansion Plans and New Name
LINCOLNTON, NC-TENOWO Inc,formerly known as Hof Textiles, announces plans to expand their new and existing product lines with a 7.2 million dollar investment in their Lincolnton, NC facility. Located in the Indian Creek Industrial Park, TENOWO Inc., has been involved in a competitive global evaluation process for an expansion. The announcement came Wednesday, January 2, 2013, that TENOWO Inc. in Lincolnton was awarded the expansion bid.
TENOWO Inc. is owned by German based Hoftex Group. The Lincolnton facility was founded in 1992 and is a leading producer of decorative and functional nonwovens for the automotive, industrial and apparel industries and locally services all of North America. Dr. Lothar Hackler, President and CEO for TENOWO Inc. commented, “TENOWO Inc. is excited and eager to move forward with expansion plans for our Lincoln County facility. This expansion will allow TENOWO Inc. to double the capacity for highly engineered nonwoven products for the North American Automotive industry. The support from Lincoln County and the state of North Carolina were critical in the company’s final decision to expand the Lincoln County TENOWO plant. This has been a very successful location for our company and we look forward to an even brighter future for our employees and our company.”
This is the third local expansion by TENOWO Inc. since 2009 totaling over $11 million during this three year period. This latest announcement was made possible by the state of North Carolina’s One North Carolina Fund; awarded to the project due to its competitive nature, and on the local level by the Lincoln County Industrial Development Incentive Grant Program. In November, Lincoln County Commissioners approved TENOWO Inc.’s incentive application based upon its competitive status, as level II investment by the manufacturer of $7.2 million. The qualifying amount of $5 million for incentives under the Lincoln County policy allowed for a total payout of $113,020 over a five year period. Once this investment by TENOWO Inc. is complete, at least five jobs paying average weekly wages of $625.00 will be created. TENOWO Inc. currently has 71 employees.
“Once again in spite of a weak economy many Lincoln County Industries continue to grow. We are excited that TENOWO Inc. has chosen to expand and to continue to invest in Lincoln County. We are very proud that when an industry comes to Lincoln County they find a low tax base, a diverse workforce and an Economic Development Team ready to help them in any way. We thank the State of NC for their efforts and LEDA for all they do in making Lincoln County a great place to do business. We look forward to many years of successful partnership with TENOWO Inc. in Lincoln County,” said Alex Patton, Chair, Lincoln County Board of Commissioners.
Tom Anderson, Chair, Lincoln Economic Development Association said regarding the announcement, “We congratulate TENEWO, Inc. on their achievement in the evaluation process for this expansion and are pleased that it will be here in Lincoln County. We wish them continued success and prosperity and appreciate the opportunities this expansion represents for the citizens of Lincoln County.”