New Celgard plant bringing hundreds of jobs

CONCORD, N.C. — Celgard broke ground for its new Concord plant during a ceremony on Thursday.

The company is hiring 200 people for the plant, which will produce separators for lithium-ion batteries used in new generation electric drive vehicles. The jobs are mostly high-tech manufacturing and engineering positions.

SLIDESHOW: Celgard Holds Groundbreaking For New Plant

The new plant, located at the International Business Park off Interstate 85 and Highway 73, will supplement expansion of Celgard's existing Charlotte manufacturing facility, which began earlier this year.

“We looked at a lot of other sites around the southeast, … some great sites, but it turned out that this had the location and it had the people that we would need to hire right within the general area,” Mitch Pulwer, Celgard vice president and general manager, said. “(It’s the) perfect location.”

Dale Carroll, the deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce, Rep. Larry Kissell and Concord Mayor Scott Padgett attended Thursday’s ceremony. Kissell worked with the company to help secure a $49.2 million grant through stimulus funding.

WSOC