Fujifilm vows $1.2B investment, 680 new jobs at Holly Springs location

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fujifilm plans to expand its operations in North Carolina, committing to invest $1.2 billion and promising to create 680 new jobs in Wake County.

Gov. Roy Cooper made the jobs announcement during a speaking engagement Thursday.

Fujifilm started as a photography company, but it has expanded and diversified. The company now boasts a successful pharmaceutical manufacturing arm, which has deep ties in the Triangle.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has a campus in Research Triangle Park, but it also has a plant in Holly Springs. Thursday's new commitment focused on expanding that Holly Springs plant to something much more significant.

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Cooper said the expansion is the result of the state's commitment to become the nation's leader in life sciences, which he says statewide includes over 800 companies employing over 75,000 skilled workers.

"It's pretty clear that North Carolina has become an advanced manufacturing powerhouse," Cooper said at the announcement in downtown Raleigh, less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Holly Springs. "Our economists predict that this project will lift North Carolina's economy by more $4.7 billion over the next dozen years."

The injection of funds will be used to expand the Holly Springs plant -- including money to hire new employees with an average wage of $109,000 for the positions.

The company agreed to state job development investment grants, which offer Fujifilm tax benefits as long as it reaches specific hiring and investment targets. The current targets for the facility are 680 new jobs by 2031 and $1.2 billion in investments by 2028.

"We know that foreign direct investment is essential to putting money in the pockets of North Carolina families. (To have) Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies here and expanding is just a real boon to our state, and I think this infrastructure that we're building will last for decades," Cooper said.

The Fujifilm announcement coincides with the arrival of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is taking an official visit to North Carolina on the heels of many Japan-based companies (Fujifilm, Toyota, Dai Nippon Printing, Kyowa Kirin) choosing to put down roots in the Tar Heel State.

Japanese companies account for half of all foreign direct investment in the state over the past decade - and have added more jobs than businesses from any other international country in that time period.

The new investment in Holly Springs, which will include additional bioreactors, will meet the growing demand for biological medicines, benefitting oncology, immunology and pandemic preparedness, Petersen said. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies worked with Novavax to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.

North Carolina's community college system has been viewed as an important hub for talent - tailoring training programs for incoming jobs.

"Most of the people who will work at FUJIFILM Diosynth said they are in that production technology area. It's very high skill, clean room technology. And so we work hand in glove with FUJIFILM Diosynth to design the programs, feed through our biopharma degrees and other areas," Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.