By Staff
Grant to support industry expansion, create new jobs
By DAN PARSONS
Staff Writer
A plastics manufacturer in Martin County is getting a leg up from state tobacco-settlement money to expand and bring jobs to the county.
Golden LEAF announced Tuesday a grant for $300,000 to the Martin County Economic Development Corporation to support the expansion of Syfan Manufacturing Inc., a plastic film manufacturer located in Everetts.
The grant will go toward the purchase of machinery that the EDC will lease to Syfan. The company will use the equipment in an expansion of its operation expected to create 30 jobs.
The grant to Martin County EDC is one of the 21 grants totaling nearly $6.6 million approved by the Golden LEAF board of directors at its March meeting. The funding is aimed at supporting projects across the state ranging from public-works improvements and job creation to teacher recruitment and tourism, according to a statement from the foundation.
Golden LEAF is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to help transform North Carolina’s economy. The foundation receives one-half of North Carolina’s funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers, which it administers to assist economically-distressed or tobacco-dependent communities across the state.