Grifols To add 300 jobs as part of new expansion Submitted By Johnston County Economic Development
CLAYTON — Grifols Therapeutics LLC, already Johnston County’s largest industrial employer, will invest $351.6 million in an expansion that will add 300 jobs at its Clayton campus. The Spanish company will build a new plasma fractionation facility and logistics center in response to growing global demand for its medicines. “Companies like Grifols continue to choose expansion in North Carolina because our workforce can meet the needs of this important facility,” Governor Roy Cooper said in a press release. “During this public health crisis,
we have seen the value of manufacturing close to home and this expansion means new, life-saving medicines will be manufactured in Clayton.” The company transforms human plasma into essential medicines that treat chronic, rare and life-threatening diseases. As part of Grifols’ commitment to society, the company is also playing a leadership role in the response to COVID-19 by developing a plasma-based antibody treatment for the disease. In partnership with the federal government, Grifols is collecting convalescent plasma from eligible COVID-19
survivors across the country. Grifols’ 13 plasma collection centers in North Carolina are participating in this important effort. Convalescent plasma from donors will be manufactured into a hyperimmune therapy specific to COVID-19 at the company’s manufacturing campus in Clayton. “(This) is a very exciting day for Grifols,” said Doug Burns, president of Grifols Therapeutics. “We are extremely proud to expand our Johnston County manufacturing operations and would like to thank state, county and municipal leaders for their strong support. Our new state-of-the-art fractionation facility will help us meet the growing demand for plasma-derived medicines in the United States and around the world.” Jobs at Grifols’ new Clayton facilities will average $69,032 in annual wages, with new positions spanning fractionation technicians, logistics specialists, maintenance engineers and quality assurance personnel.
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The company currently employs more than 1,735 at its Clayton facility, which Grifols has operated since its 2010 acquisition of Talecris Biotherapeutics. “When a company that has operated here for the past 10 years is willing to undertake an expansion this significant, it speaks to their confidence in our community, our workforce and our leadership,” said Ted Godwin, chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners. “(It) also says great things about the future of our economy, as we go about putting our citizens back to work and embracing new opportunities ahead in the post-pandemic landscape.” Clayton town leaders also expressed support for the project. “We welcome (this) exciting news and look forward to continuing to build on the very positive relationship the town has had with Grifols since 2010,” said Mayor Jody McLeod. “Aside from being our largest private employer, the company has been a terrific
