Residential door manufacturer Excel Interior Door said Wednesday it will move its headquarters to Winston-Salem and build a new manufacturing plant there, spending $10.5 million.
The company is based in Hartselle, Alabama. Excel Interior said it will create at least 37 new jobs in Forsyth County.
The company makes 20,000 doors a week for single- and multifamily homes. The new location will be 148,000 square feet and help the company meet increased demand with a higher production volume and decreased transit time.
“We studied labor availability, site availability, proximity to shipping routes, and many other factors important to our expansion, and Winston-Salem consistently ranked as the ideal location,” Excel Interior CEO Mitch Sanner said in a release.
The average Excel annual wage is $64,474, compared with the Forsyth County average of $60,038. These new jobs could potentially create an annual payroll impact of more than $2.38 million for the region.
A performance-based grant of $75,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help Excel locate to North Carolina. The fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and create jobs. All grants require matching participation from local government.
“This is great news for Forsyth County and the entire state,” said N.C. Sen. Joyce Krawiec in a statement. “These additional jobs and capital investment will support the innovative economy that we’re creating in the region and we’re ready to help the company make its transition to our community.”
Connecticut-based private equity firm Drum Capital Management and Trident, a New York-based private equity firm, acquired Excel Indoor in January 2022 for an undisclosed amount. Sanner was hired as CEO in April.
The previous owners were brothers Ron and Russ Hulse, who led a consortium of local investors to acquire the Excel Door facility in Alabama after it was shuttered in 2010.
