DURHAM (WTVD) -- Wearing hard hats and wielding shovels, Governor McCrory and representatives of a French life sciences company stood shoulder to shoulder for a groundbreaking in Durham Wednesday.
Biomerieux already has a plant in Durham. And now, it's expanding with a 25,000 square foot addition.
The governor said, "I want to compliment the people who currently work here. Because had you not been doing a good job, had they not been able to find the talent, I don't think they would have decided to expand right here in Durham."
McCrory says it's part of his Carolina Comeback, and a sign that companies overseas are giving North Carolina serious consideration as they search for sites to do more business in the United States.
The company says the expansion means 44 new jobs, but McCrory mentioned 70 during brief remarks before the groundbreaking.
Biomerieux manufactures products that help health experts diagnose clinical sepsis, a disease linked to severe reactions to bacteria in some patients.
Each year, sepsis kills hundreds of thousands of people in the US and millions around the world.