HI-CHEW manufacturing plant begins construction, will bring 204 jobs to Orange County

North America’s second-ever HI-CHEW candy manufacturing plant will begin construction in Mebane this month, in addition to the existing plant constructed earlier this summer. Ground broke for the construction project on Oct. 3.

The new plant will bring in 204 full-time jobs to Orange County by 2030. Operations of the new plant are expected to begin in January 2027. 

Tony Copeland,  Morinaga's incentive negotiation attorney, said the new plant was announced following two years of negotiation between North Carolina and Morinaga, HI-CHEW's manufacturing company. The One North Carolina Fund will provide $100,000 to financially assist the company's expansion, according to a press release by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

During the negotiation period, Gov. Roy Cooper and Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders traveled to Japan in October 2023 to meet with senior executives of Morinaga and attend the annual Southeast United States/Japan Conference for economic development.

Factors the company considered for the new plant included cost, supply chain issues, available real estate and taxes, Copeland said.

He also said the company was deciding between expanding the plant in North Carolina or opening a new plant in other parts of Asia.

“Mebane, Alamance and Orange County's intersection is very simply located for logistics — so far as shipping their product in and out and circulating around the country, it's about an eight hour drive from 80 percent of the customers in America,” Copeland said. 

Steve Brantley, Orange County's economic development director, said the new plant may bring in more international business to the area, and that the Triangle is a favorable place for business due to its proximity to major cities and airports.

Currently, in Orange County there are Japanese, German, Swiss, English and Swedish companies that make up a major percentage of companies within the county, Brantley said.

Japan is one of the state’s largest sources of foreign direct investment, and more than 30,000 North Carolina residents work for Japanese-owned companies, according to the press release by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

“North Carolina is a highly rated state for attracting industry in general, whether it's international or from other US states, and they favor the southeast and North Carolina because of more favorable business cost and labor, environment and lifestyle,” Brantley said. 

Rep. Renée Price (D-Orange), who was on the Orange County Board of Commissioners that initially approved the plant in 2013, said that on a local level, she is excited to see the tax benefits the plant will bring to the area. 

“The bulk of our taxes in Orange County come from residences, so having this commercial base or industrial base really helps them, particularly considering that taxes are appropriated for government services and schools,” she said.

According to the Orange County BOCC, the plant is estimated to generate roughly $7 million in gross property tax revenue for the county over the next ten years.

Price also said she was looking forward to seeing the facility bring in well-paying jobs. The average wage of the new plant’s employees will be roughly $48,900 per year, or $23.11 per hour. 

Employees can receive training for working at the plant through a customized training program at the Hillsborough campus of Durham Technical Community College.

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