REGIONAL: Red Bull, Rauch to invest over $740 million in Cabarrus County

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, July 13, 2021

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Red Bull and filling company Rauch will partner to build a new beverage manufacturing, filling and distribution center in Cabarrus County, creating more than 400 new jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday. The combined project will invest more than $740 million in the City of Concord by 2027.

“Global manufacturers need a world-class workforce to support their expansion plans,” said Cooper. “In North Carolina, Red Bull and Rauch have chosen the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeast and a resilient business climate with an excellent transportation infrastructure to support their long-term growth.”

Together, the companies will partner to develop a campus for beverage manufacturing, can filling and distribution. Cumulatively, this high-tech beverage production hub will span 2 million square feet of vertical integration to include office space at The Grounds at Concord.

“We are excited to see the partnership that Red Bull and Rauch are creating here in North Carolina,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Like this partnership, North Carolina’s success is supported by strong economic and workforce development partnerships, which will continue to attract growing companies that are creating good paying jobs and impactful investments statewide.”

The North Carolina Department of Commerce led the state’s efforts to support Red Bull and Rauch’s decision to locate to North Carolina. Overall, the local region will benefit from a more than $20.8 million annual payroll impact in the community. The average annual wage in Cabarrus County is $41,255.

Red Bull and Rauch’s location to North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by two Job Development Investment Grants (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier Tuesday.

Over the course of the 12-year term of the JDIG grants, the economic impacts and potential reimbursement based on new tax revenues for each company are projected as follows:

• Red Bull | Grow state economy by $279 million. Potential reimbursement of $1,008,000 spread over 12 years for 90 new jobs; and

• Rauch | Grow state economy by $1.5 billion. Potential reimbursement of $3,057,000 spread over 12 years for 323 new jobs.

Payments for all JDIGs only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

Because Red Bull and Rauch are locating to Cabarrus County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the combined JDIG agreements also call for moving as much as $1.3 million into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Cabarrus, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state. More information on the state’s economic tier designations is available here.

“What an outstanding announcement for our county and our region,” said N.C. Sen. Paul Newton. “The decision by these innovative companies to choose Cabarrus County creates game-changing employment opportunities for our citizens.”