Fujifilm Diosynth to create 680 jobs, invest additional $1.2B in Holly Springs
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies plans to add 680 high-paying jobs at its Holly Springs campus, executives said Thursday — part of a $1.2 billion expansion of what is expected to be one of the biggest biomanufacturing facilities of its kind in North America.
The expansion — aided by more than $69 million in potential state and local economic incentives — would help the contract manufacturer crank out more biological medicines, such as vaccines, as the market for antibody drugs grows. And it would bring the company’s total investment in Holly Springs site to more $3.2 billion, with employment expected to reach 1,400 by 2031, officials said. The project is expected to have an economic impact of $4.76 billion if the company hits hiring goals.
The decision to grow in Holly Springs underscores the region’s strength as a biotech powerhouse teeming with technical talent, executives and officials said Thursday. It’s also one of the latest deals to highlight the state’s efforts to recruit Japanese companies — coming hours before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was scheduled to meet with Gov. Roy Cooper to discuss economic partnerships.
Fujifilm Diosynth, which is based in Denmark, is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based conglomerate Fujifilm. Cooper met with Fujifilm executives in October during a trip to Tokyo as part of a years-long effort to attract Japanese companies to the state. “Our ties with Japan are growing and we want to celebrate the economic, academic and cultural ties,” Cooper said during a news conference at the North Carolina Museum of History.
Japan is the biggest foreign source of investment in North Carolina, and Japanese companies focused on aerospace, biotechnology and clean energy have flocked to the state in recent years. In Guilford and Randolph counties, HondaJet and Toyota have invested in facilities that are expected to add billions of dollars to the state economy and employ thousands of North Carolinians.
State, local incentives
North Carolina Department of Commerce officials on Thursday approved an incentives grant worth up to $15 million for the latest Fujifilm expansion. The company earns the grant if it meets employment goals. Those dollars would be in addition to $54.3 million in incentives approved by Wake County and Holly Springs, officials said Thursday. The jobs — including engineers, scientists and manufacturing personnel — are expected to pay an average annual salary of about $110,000, which is well above the Wake County average of $74,866.
"It’s a win for us in southern Wake and a win for North Carolina in general," said Republican state Rep. Erin Paré, who represents part of Holly Springs. "This will be a huge boost to our economy."
Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, added: "Today’s announcement is further proof that our economic development philosophy of low taxes, quality educational opportunities, and pro-business regulations is key to creating well-paying jobs.”
The incentives approved Thursday are on top of a state grant worth up to $20 million that commerce officials approved in 2021, when Fujifilm Diosynth announced the $2 billion first phase of the Holly Spring project, which alone is projected to yield 725 jobs.
Fujifilm Diosynth, which has been in the Triangle under various owners since at least 1996 and has locations all over the globe, considered sites in Southern California, Denmark and Singapore for the latest expansion, commerce officials said. The company said it chose North Carolina in part because of its access to infrastructure, sustainable energy resources and skilled talent.
Lars Petersen, Fujifilm Diosynth’s chief executive, praised the region’s strength as a hub for biotech innovation, noting its distinction as one of the biggest biotech clusters in the country. “North Carolina is a great place for life sciences and for Fujifilm diosynth biotechnologies,” he said during the news conference Thursday.
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies is a contract development and manufacturing organization, meaning it makes products for other pharmaceutical companies such as Novavax. The companies partnered on a Covid-19 vaccine in 2020.
The first phase of the project in Holly Springs — which is expected to be one of the biggest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities on the continent — is expected to be complete in 2025. The facility will help the company manufacture, package and label medications and other therapies at an enormous scale — particularly cell cultures used in vaccines.
“It’s pretty clear that North Carolina has become an advanced manufacturing powerhouse,” Gov. Roy Cooper said during the news conference, where he was joined by executives, state lawmakers and officials from Wake County and the town of Holly Springs.
Biopharma device manufacturer Schott Pharma USA Inc. said this month that it plans to create 401 jobs as part of a $371 million investment in Wilson County. And Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin said in February that it would add 102 jobs in Sanford over the next four years. Both companies were aided by economic incentives packages.
Prime minister visit
Kyowa Kirin was among several Japanese companies to select North Carolina for operations after Cooper attended an economic development conference in Tokyo last year, where he sought to make inroads with business leaders there.
Those relationships are expected to be central to Kishida’s visit to North Carolina Thursday and Friday. Kishida’s visit, believed to be the only such visit by a sitting head of state to North Carolina in decades, comes on the heels of a White House dinner with Democratic President Joe Biden that Kishida and Cooper attended Wednesday. It had a similar theme of cementing economic ties with Japan, a key American ally in east Asia as Chinese influence continues to grow.
North Carolina is expected to be Kishida’s only other U.S. stop. During the Washington visit, Biden and Kishida discussed the importance of investment between Japan and the U.S., highlighting investments by Japanese companies in North Carolina.
They also discussed continued cooperation in research and development and establishing start-up environments that promote innovation, according to a summary of their discussion provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. In a joint statement Wednesday, the leaders touting Toyota’s $13.9 billion investment in North Carolina.
Japan is one of the United States' largest trading partners, and the largest source of foreign investment in North Carolina. At least 225 Japanese companies have large footprints in the state, employing nearly 30,000 people, according to the governor’s office. That number is expected to grow by thousands more jobs in the coming years, Cooper’s office said in October.
After Cooper’s most recent trip to Tokyo, in October, Toyota announced it would more than double the size of its massive electric vehicle battery factory in Randolph County. The factory, which is between Greensboro and Pittsboro, is expected to eventually employ more than 5,000 people — an investment that is expected to spur residual growth of contractors and services in the area.
Fujihatsu & Toyotsu Battery Components, a partnership between Fujihatsu Tech America and Toyota Tsusho America, said in February it would create 133 new jobs in a new electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Liberty. FTBC is investing $60 million in the project, which will support Toyota’s battery manufacturing unit.
Cooper’s administration also pushed for years to recruit a HondaJet facility to the Piedmont Triad International Airport. Greensboro is now the global headquarters for Honda Aircraft.
After Cooper and Kishida visit Toyota and HondaJet on Friday, Cooper and first lady Kristin Cooper are scheduled to host a state dinner at the Executive Mansion in Raleigh.
“Japanese investments in our state create thousands of jobs and these companies contribute so much to our communities,” the governor said in a statement. “This historic visit provides a unique opportunity to showcase the best of North Carolina and continue to build this mutually beneficial relationship.”
