German engineering company to bring 195 jobs to Mooresville

A German electrical engineering company plans to open a U.S. headquarters employing almost 200 people in Iredell County, state economic development officials said Tuesday.

Dehn Inc., which manufacturers lightning- and surge-protection systems, plans to add 195 employees at the planned facility in Mooresville between 2025 and 2029, officials said during a meeting of the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee. The jobs would pay a minimum average annual salary of $66,120, which is above the average wage in Iredell County.

The Neumarkt, Germany-based company plans to invest $38.6 million in the facility by the end of 2028, officials said. The project is expected to include a production facility, research-and-development department and training center. Officials estimated that the project would increase the state’s gross domestic product by about $523 million and net state revenue by approximately $13.9 million.

The Economic Investment Committee approved an incentive package worth almost $2 million for the project. That total includes more than $1 million for the company if it hits employment goals by 2029. Other incentive dollars in the package would go to utilities, community college training and training and training through the state’s Division of Workforce Solutions. The state incentives would come in addition to a local incentive package worth about $1.85 million, state officials said.

Dehn, which plans to make products for the U.S. market at the facility, chose Mooresville over locations in South Carolina and Alabama, officials said. It chose North Carolina due to part to the labor force, cost of living, infrastructure and access to international travel, officials said.

“North Carolina’s diverse and skilled talent continues to beat out the competition on the global stage,” North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in a statement. “We do not take for granted the importance of a strong, well-trained workforce – and expanding and strengthening our workforce to meet in-demand jobs, for today and in the future, remains our top priority.”