South Carolina-based Trendco will invest $43 million in a manufacturing plant in Tuskegee to produce nitrile medical gloves.
The company has committed to creating 292 jobs over the next five years at the facility, to be located in the new Regional East Alabama Logistics (REAL) Park off Interstate 85 in Macon County.
In an announcement, Gov. Kay Ivey said the company also looked at sites in Georgia and the Carolinas for the project.
“After considering many locations in other states, Trendco decided to locate its manufacturing facility in Tuskegee, and I am confident the company made the right choice for its investment project,” Ivey said.
Trendco produces medical-grade examination gloves in Louisiana through a partnership with another company and plans up to install as many as 10 glove production lines at the Tuskegee location. Eventually, production will include masks and gowns.
Trendco will lease more than 100,000-square-feet of space in Building 100 in REAL Park, where the company will set up a distribution operation as it prepares to launch glove production.
Building 100, a 168,000-square-foot facility, is the catalyst project for the 700-acre Class A industrial park located off Exit 42 on I-85. The park will eventually offer a combined 6.2 million square feet of space when the project’s three phases are completed in five to seven years.
CEO Darryl Hunter said the company believes “the people of Tuskegee and the surrounding communities will play a vital role in our success in the medical technology sector.”
Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said the project, and the park, will “capitalize on the growth of the I-85 corridor, and I believe other companies will be putting down roots there in the near future.”
The Macon County Commission, Macon County Economic Development Authority and other local institutions are supporting the project with utility upgrades and industrial access road at the site worth $1.1 million and other in-kind services. AIDT, the state’s primary workforce development agency, is also providing services.
