A Florida-based frozen food company has chosen Oxford as the site for a production facility that is expected to bring 24 jobs to the area. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office made the announcement Monday and said the company will invest $5.7 million to relocate a production facility.
Meel Corp, a frozen food company based in Miami, will create 24 new jobs in Granville County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $5.7 million to relocate a production facility in neighboring Granville County.
Meel Corp supplies healthy frozen foods through its own brand and private labels. For more than 40 years, the family-owned business has sourced, developed, processed and packed organic and conventional fruits, vegetables, and frozen convenience products. Meel’s expansion to North Carolina will include a state-of-the-art packing and cold-storage facility and will continue to source some products from North Carolina.
“We are glad to welcome Meel Corp to North Carolina,” Cooper said in a press release. “Our state has the best business climate, the hardest working employees, the agricultural legacy, the central east coast location and the great quality of life that will make this company successful here.”
“We’re beyond excited about our move to North Carolina. With the supply chain plagues and labor issues that surfaced after COVID, North Carolina represents an ideal geographical location for us – bringing us closer to our national customers and their delivery points,” said Michael Iaslovits, President of Meel Corp. “Our company name – MEEL is an assembly of the first letters of our family members – we’re happy to bring our family business to North Carolina, where we will hire new employees and expand our family!”
Although wages will vary by position, the average annual salary for all new positions is $48,500 and will create a potential payroll impact of nearly $1.2 million per year. Granville County’s average annual salary is $42,326.
“North Carolina is a national leader in food and beverage processing,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Meel’s decision proves that North Carolina has a winning recipe for success – a strong supply chain, transportation infrastructure, and a diverse pipeline of talent, that we’re committed to further developing.”
A performance-based grant of $50,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Meel’s relocation to North Carolina. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One NC grants require matching participation from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.
“This is a great economic development win for our community and the entire state,” said N.C. Representative Larry Yarborough. “We appreciate Meel and every partner on the local and state level that helped recruit the company to our region.”
“Granville County continues to attract successful food processing companies,” said N.C. Senator Mike Woodard. “The people of Granville County welcome these new jobs and are eager to support the company’s continued growth here in North Carolina for many years to come.”
Joining the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina were key partners in the project that included the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, Vance-Granville Community College, Kerr-Tar Council of Governments, Granville County, Granville County Economic Development, Granville County Chamber, Granville County Public Schools, the City of Oxford, and the NCWorks Career Center Oxford.