Wilbert expands North Carolina site, plans to relocate HQ from Chicago

will relocate its headquarters from Broadview, IL to Belmont, NC, investing $5.7 million in an expansion of its existing Gaston County site, with the prospect of creating 41 jobs over the next three years. The company was helped in part by an $82,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Wilbert, which injection molds and thermoforms parts for heavy trucks, recreational vehicles, industrial equipment, and agricultural and construction equipment, currently employs 86 at its Belmont facility with a Harrisburg, NC plant staffed by 90 people.

Belmont operations include molding and painting of plastics, as well as mold machining and final product assembly. In addition to being closer to the company’s southern manufacturing operations, the new headquarters has greater proximity to Wilbert’s expanding customer base in the Southeast. The headquarters will house executive management; finance and accounting; sales and marketing; human resources; and part of the company’s engineering staff. Greg M. Botner, president and CEO of Wilbert, said in addition to the grant, the state of North Carolina also enticed his company with a package to help the company recruit, train, and retain qualified employees.

Wilbert’s thermoforming group has two sites in addition to Belmont in White Bear Lake, MN and Winthrop, IA. Its injection molding group has facilities in Bellevue, OH; Harrisburg, NC; Lebanon, KY; and St. Matthews, SC. Thermoforming technologies include vacuum, pressure, and twin-sheet forming. In injection, it offers gas-assist, structural foam, Spirex twin-shot, MuCell microcellular foam, and overmolding. —Tony Deligio