Davidson County has three new employers that will create a total of more than 650 jobs at Lexington Industrial Park, thanks in part to infrastructure funding from Golden LEAF.
In April 2017, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $1 million in Community-Based Grants Initiative funding to Davidson County for the development of a new county-owned industrial park near Interstate 85. Golden LEAF funds were used for public wastewater infrastructure costs for the Lexington Industrial Park.
In April 2022, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $1.1 million in Economic Catalyst funding to the City of Thomasville to extend public sewer to serve Nucor, the largest producer of steel in the country.
Nucor opened a micro mill steel plant at the Lexington Industrial Park, which uses furnaces to melt scrap steel and produce finished steel products. The sewer service used for the project is located in Thomasville.
“Davidson County is excited to have Nucor as a partner and looks forward to seeing them grow and prosper in the years to come,” said Davidson County Manager Casey Smith.
To date, Nucor’s micro mill steel plant has created 134 jobs with an average annual wage of $148,405. The company has provided $341 million in privately owned property, plant, and equipment.
“Without Golden LEAF funding, it would not have been feasible for the City of Thomasville to spend $2.2 million to extend the sewer to Nucor,” said Michael Walser, grant administrator for the City of Thomasville and Davidson County. “The City knew that with this extension to Nucor, the sewer system would not be able to handle additional industrial sewer capacity.”
This project also spurred other economic development growth.
In April 2024, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $250,000 in Open Grants Program funding to the County of Davidson to support the construction of a regional sewer infrastructure that will serve Nucor Rebar Fabrication and an affiliated company at the Lexington Industrial Park. The infrastructure will also serve other property that will support additional industrial development in the area.
“Nucor Rebar Fabrication is an affiliate of Nucor Corporation and a leading fabricator of concrete reinforcing steel,” said Waler. “The new company will end up creating 25 new jobs and investing more than $20 million in Davidson County.”
Nucor Rebar Fabrication is a construction services company that fabricates, installs, and distributes rebar to a variety of infrastructure and building projects. The new rebar fabrication facility is being built in Lexington, adjacent to Nucor’s micro mill steel plant.
“This project is supporting a regional sewer system, which will provide wastewater service to a much larger area of Davidson County,” said Walser. “Through the partnership between the City of Thomasville and Davidson County, this system is designed to handle future flows from multiple developed areas.”
Walser added that Nucor’s location and growth in Davidson County attracted Siemens Mobility to the area.
“Siemens Corporation likes to see where Nucor goes when they are looking to expand,” said Walser. “After talking with Nucor, Siemens decided to locate in Davidson County, too. Siemens is building a plant now and will hire 500 employees building luxury rail cars. Siemens will be the largest employer we have when they go to full capacity.”
Siemens Mobility, the country’s largest passenger rail car manufacturer, will build a $220 million advanced manufacturing and rail services facility in Lexington.
“This sewer project is helping open up about 2,000 acres of land that’s prime for economic development,” said Walser. “With the new sewer line and the acres of land available right in this area, we are looking at what could be the next mega site for North Carolina.”