PEMMCO gets OK for state grant

ASHEBORO — The Asheboro City Council agreed to be the applicant for a building reuse grant of $100,000 for PEMMCO Manufacturing.

The local producer of CNC-machined components for large industrial customers asked for the city’s support at the council’s Sept. 8 meeting, with Kevin Franklin, president of the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation, speaking on behalf of PEMMCO president Rick Powell. 

According to Franklin, “PEMMCO continues to grow sales as a result of obtaining new business from both new and existing customers. In order to accommodate this growth, the company needs to add and invest in new equipment. They are currently at full capacity on their electrical service, HVAC system and central compressed air systems.

“In order to accommodate the power requirements of the new equipment, a new service with Duke Energy to include a distribution panel must be added,” Franklin said. “The central compressed air system will be increased to support a larger system and additional load to the building to support the HVAC system is required.”

PEMMCO plans to invest $223,990 in real property improvements and anticipates $1.5 million in new machines and equipment. The expansion will create 18 new jobs, in addition to the current 110 employees, with an average annual wage of $42,000.

PEMMCO is eligible for a Building Reuse Grant of $100,000 from the NC Department of Commerce. The grant applicant is required to be a local government with no match required.

PEMMCO was founded in 1960 and is now located at 631 Veterans Loop Road, Asheboro. Its customers include aerospace, automotive, lawn and garden, heavy truck, firearms, rail, agricultural equipment and archery. The company is a Tier 1 supplier to Honda, Ruger, Remington, Goodyear and Precor, among others. It’s a Tier 2 supplier to Boeing and Airbus (through HAECO), Toyota, BMW and Ford (through GKN).

“The EDC believes that the PEMMCO project is a good economic development project for the county,” Franklin said, “increasing the value of the building and resulting in the creation of 18 new jobs in Asheboro, and facilitating additional investment of up to $1.5 million in new equipment. 

“We love seeing our existing industry grow, and the Building Reuse Grant is an opportunity for the state to once again invest in PEMMCO and the City of Asheboro.”

In other business, the council:

• Accepted a $50,000 gift from the Asheboro Kiwanis Club for playground equipment at McCrary Park. 

The new playground will be part of major improvements to McCrary Park, home of the Asheboro Zookeepers summer collegiate baseball team, the Randolph County American Legion team and the Asheboro High School team. Improvements to date include synthetic turf for both infield and outfield, new dugouts and a brick restraining wall along the right field line.

Mayor David Smith thanked the Kiwanis Club delegation presenting an oversize check for $50,000. He said the focus of the club has always been on young people, particularly youth sports. The playground will be handicap-accessible. Structures will be purchased through the Keystone Purchasing Network, which allows the city to receive large discounts.

Other  improvements are scheduled during the coming months, most significantly replacement of the grandstand. City Engineer Michael Leonard requested and the council approved a contract with Rodgers Builders for the installation of the grandstand and all appurtenant infrastructure at a cost of $3,597,305.

• Approved appropriations to three nonprofit organizations which were not included in the annual budget. Those appropriations went to the Asheboro/Randolph Chamber of Commerce, $125,000; Downtown Asheboro Inc., $120,000; and the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation, $55,000.

• Learned that environmental site assessments on the Acme-McCrary building on North Street were near completion. The city should be able to close on the purchase of the building by the end of the year.

Also, a qualifications-based selection process is being used to procure professional services related to the Trade Street streetscape project. Negotiations are under way with a firm to provide the improvements, with details expected to be presented at the Oct. 6 meeting.

•Were told by Leonard that new lighting for the runway and taxiway at the Asheboro Regional Airport was completed but are awaiting approval by the Federal Aviation Administration on Sept. 27.

The council also approved a resolution to amend the Fixed Base Operator lease with Cardinal Air for operations of the airport.

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•Approved traffic improvements, including a four-way stop at the intersection of Sherwood Avenue and Lambert Drive, and a four-hour parking limit on Sunset Avenue from the railroad right-of-way to Church Street.

•In response to concerns from citizens, Mayor Smith said he wants the council to have discussions to amend the curfew in city parks, from closure at 11 p.m. to dusk-to-dawn hours. Reports were that homeless and drug dealers are taking over Frazier Park in particular. Ogburn said city staff would study the problem and report to the council on Oct. 6.