NCRR to invest in rail infrastructure, textile facility

Regional short-line the North Carolina Railroad Co. will put up $60 million in funding for a textile plant in Asheboro, N.C. and an adjacent rail spur between the plant and a Norfolk Southern Railway line.    North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) plans to invest $60 million by 2021 in a new manufacturing facility and adjacent rail infrastructure in Asheboro, N.C., the regional short-line railway said in a statement.
   The project is partially facilitated by the Job Development Investment Grant by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee. The facility will be built by Fibertex Personal Care, a Danish textile company, as the first plan in the U.S.
   In addition to the facility, NCRR will invest $420,000, toward the construction of a new spur track to connect Fibertex to an adjacent Norfolk Southern Railway line, said NCRR. The Norfolk Southern line joins the North Carolina Railroad in High Point, said the rail line. The funds for the rail project are allocated from the company’s economic development initiative NCRR Invests.
   “The availability of freight-rail infrastructure and service plays an important role as business and industry consider expanding or locating in North Carolina,” said NCRR President Scott Saylor. “Through NCRR Invests, we work with our economic development partners to increase North Carolina’s competitive advantage in recruiting rail-served businesses to the state. The North Carolina Railroad Company has a long history in economic development and we are proud to partner in this exciting announcement of 145 new jobs in Randolph County.”
   The new factory will cover Fibertex’s North and South America markets, Michael Staal Axelsen, the company’s group chief executive officer, said in a press release issued to Progressive Railroading.
   “We expect fine growth rates within our niche, and therefore, the factory will need to be operational by the end of 2018.” Staal Axelsen said.