Mucinex maker to bring production to United States with promised new plant in Eastern NC
Pledging to start manufacturing its popular flu and cold medication Mucinex in the United States, the British pharmaceutical company Reckitt Benckiser Group received a North Carolina economic incentive on Tuesday to open a future facility in Wilson County.
The factory promises to employ 289 workers at an average wage of at least $80,182. Under its state agreement, Reckitt promises to create these jobs from 2025 to 2029. By the end of 2028, the company committed to invest at least $146 million into the future factory.
Reckitt has one other U.S. plant, a vitamin production site in Salt Lake City, Utah. By choosing Eastern North Carolina, the company is poised to join a robust number of major biotech manufacturers, including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Novo Nordisk, Grifols, Pfizer and Catalent.
In its latest annual report, Reckitt said Mucinex is the second top-selling cold and flu brand in the United States. In a separate 2023 report, the company said it is using Mucinex’s brand to expand into the American sore throat treatment market.
Making some Mucinex supply in the U.S. will afford Reckitt “a faster and more agile response” to customer demands, the N.C. Commerce Department’s director of commerce finance, Mark Poole, said during an Economic Investment Committee meeting Tuesday.
The EIC approved a job development investment grant for Reckitt that could give the company $4.6 million in tax benefits over 12 years if it reaches its hiring and investment targets. The city of Wilson and Wilson County together awarded the project incentives worth up to $4.2 million. About 50 miles east of Raleigh, Wilson is the county seat of Wilson County.
In addition to Mucinex, Reckitt’s other brands include the disinfectant Lysol, the condom brand Durex and the air freshener Air Wick.
“With its prominence as a life science innovation hub, North Carolina is an ideal place for Reckitt to establish its U.S. regional manufacturing center,” Reckitt CEO Kris Licht said in a statement celebrating the factory announcement.
This story was originally published September 24, 2024 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Mucinex maker to bring production to United States with promised new plant in Eastern NC."
