Meanwhile, another local company, Smithson Inc. of Southern Pines, has announced that it is adding 12 new full-time jobs as a result of a recent consolidation of its national operations.
Steward Schmehl and Jim Carrier, who live in Pinewild, own the new business, called Symmetry Fitness. They said they picked Aberdeen as their headquarters because they wanted to continue to live in the Pinehurst area and because of the community's willingness to help the manufacturer.
Moore County Partners in Progress, the county's economic development agency, describes Schmehl and Carrier as "industry veterans."
"We feel we have developed new innovative technology which hopefully will set a new industry standard in cardio equipment," Carrier, the president of the company.
The business will be in the old Aberdeen Textiles building on U.S. 15-501 at the intersection of N.C. 211.
Carrier declined to elaborate further on what the company will be producing. He said patents are pending. The only thing he would say is that it's cardio equipment somewhat like an elliptical machine.
Carrier said that the business will be able to afford to manufacture its product locally without going overseas for labor.
"Labor cost is a relatively low percentage of our overall cost," he said, "so we believe we can manufacture in Aberdeen and compete with products made in Asia."
Aberdeen has been able to attract several new businesses in the last several years. It has been working with the county to provide economic incentives to businesses, though Carrier said that Aberdeen didn't offer incentives to his business.
But Aberdeen did have the advantage of reasonable rent and has a good work force to draw from, Carrier said. The state is providing some incentives in the form of funds to help train employees, he said.
"Aberdeen is pleased to welcome Symmetry Fitness as another quality industry in our area," said Town Manager Bill Zell. "The town has made it a priority to assist our industries however we can since they are truly the foundation of the county's economy. We wish Symmetry much success here."
Ray Ogden, president and CEO of Partners in Progress, said that this is another occasion of the area selling itself.
"It's always great news when an industry chooses Moore County as its location," he said, "and Symmetry Fitness is no exception. This project is a good example of how Moore County's exceptional quality of life sells itself. The owners were already aware of the county's lifestyle and we were able to find a location that made sense."
The business will work with the local office of the Employment Security Commission to fill its positions. It hopes to have the employees hired by September and begin manufacturing in October.
Smithson of Southern Pines Inc. combined its Stover, Mo., facility with the Southern Pines operation in an effort to eliminate redundancies in production.
Smithson Inc. was founded in 1948 and has operated in Moore County since 1957, when company founder, Lee Smithson, moved his family from Missouri to Southern Pines. The company manufactures custom bedding, window treatments and other custom soft goods for the interior design industry.
The company has a national customer base, but also serves most of the interior decorators in the Sandhills area.
Company President Chris Smithson, grandson of Lee Smithson, said that the decision to close the Missouri facility was difficult, but interested employees from the Missouri facility were offered employment and moving assistance to Southern Pines.
"Due to market changes and the additional overhead of operating two facilities, we felt that to ensure our long-term viability, we needed to move the Missouri facility's production to Southern Pines," Smithson said. "As a result of the increased production in Southern Pines, we have been able to hire additional full-time employees and convert several part-time positions into full-time.
"These changes will help ensure that our employees here have more consistent and stable employment."
Smithson said that although the company still has to fully evaluate these recent changes, he does anticipate additional employment opportunities in the near future. Plans to expand the window treatment department later this year should also create several new positions.
For more information about Smithson, Inc. and its custom quilting and sewing services, visit www.smithsoninc.com.
Matthew Moriarty can be reached at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.
