Prysmian Announces More Than $1 Billion Expansion and 385 Jobs at Claremont Plant in Catawba County
North Carolina awarded the Italian cable maker a $1 million performance-based grant for a fiber and glass project the state calls the largest manufacturing investment in Catawba County history.
$1 Million Grant, $1 Billion Plant
Prysmian, the Italian cable maker, is putting more than $1 billion into its Claremont, North Carolina plant and adding 385 jobs[1]. To get that, North Carolina is offering the company $1 million[1]. That's roughly one-tenth of one percent of the total project.
The state government calls it the largest manufacturing investment in Catawba County's history[1]. Gov. Josh Stein and the N.C. Department of Commerce announced it on August 12, 2026[1][2]. The new jobs will pay an average of $60,870 a year, compared with the county's overall average wage of $56,937 — about $3,900, or roughly 7%, above the local norm[1].
But the $1 million isn't a check the state writes today. It's a One North Carolina Fund grant, and those only pay out after a company hits agreed targets[1]. Prysmian has to actually invest at least $665 million before any of that money moves[1]. If the company falls short, taxpayers pay nothing — but the state's "$1 billion win" headline will already be out there[1].
That small number next to that large one is the real tension in this story. It's cheap enough that no one can call it a giveaway. It's also small enough to raise a fair question: did $1 million actually decide where a billion-dollar factory got built?
The Deal Behind the Deal
Three weeks before the state's announcement, on July 20, 2026, Prysmian signed a very different kind of contract. It agreed to supply Molex, a major electronics company, with optical cable for data centers — a deal worth up to €5.5 billion, or about $6.3 billion, running as long as 10 years[7]. Molex needs that cable because AI data centers consume enormous amounts of fiber-optic infrastructure[5][7].
To fill an order that size, Prysmian has to more than double its U.S. fiber-making capacity[5][6]. That's what the Claremont expansion is actually building toward: a new glass plant, more cable production lines, and a bigger research center, all set to be finished by 2030[3][4][10].
The glass part matters more than it sounds like. Optical fiber starts as a "glass preform" — a solid glass rod that gets heated and drawn out into hair-thin strands of fiber[5][6]. Making that preform domestically, instead of importing it, is called vertical integration: the company controls its own raw material instead of depending on an outside supplier[3][6]. It also means Prysmian becomes one of only three U.S. companies that make both the fiber and the finished cable[5].
There's a tariff angle too. Italian business press reported that Prysmian's own executives have said tariffs on imported cable could actually help the company, because manufacturing domestically would let it raise U.S. prices[11]. Building the plant inside the U.S. also shields Prysmian from the tariffs and shipping costs of importing finished cable in the first place.
None of this appears in the state's press release. The governor's office leads with jobs and the Claremont plant; Prysmian's own materials lead with capacity and its 2035 revenue targets, and barely mention North Carolina politics at all[5][1].
Two Press Releases, Two Different Projects
Here's where the numbers stop lining up cleanly. North Carolina's release describes a $1 billion investment at one site, Claremont[1][2]. Prysmian's own investor materials describe something larger: about $1.25 billion spread across three U.S. plants — Claremont, plus roughly $100 million for a Jackson, Tennessee facility and about $80 million for one in Lexington, South Carolina[5][6]. Tennessee's own economic development office put out a release the same day covering its piece of the deal[12].
That's not a contradiction so much as a difference in what each side is counting. North Carolina is telling a story about North Carolina. Prysmian is telling investors about a national buildout tied to one signed contract. Both figures are accurate; they're just measuring different things.
Who Wins by Telling It Which Way
For the governor's office, this is about a proven formula: no investment, no payout, so the risk to taxpayers is bounded, while the upside — a headline about landing a billion-dollar plant — is banked regardless of how it plays out[1]. State Sen. Mark Hollo framed it as validation of the county's ability to attract innovative companies[1]. A Democratic governor working alongside a Republican-led legislature also has a shared incentive here: a manufacturing win in a Republican-leaning county, in a midterm election year, is something both sides can claim credit for[1][14].
Local officials in Catawba County see something more concrete. The area lost furniture and textile jobs over two decades, and 385 positions paying above the county average — plus construction work through 2030 and a $1 million state grant to upgrade Claremont's sewer system — read as tangible progress[1][10]. The state estimates the new payroll could add more than $23.4 million a year to the local economy[3]. The costs land locally too: glass manufacturing uses a lot of energy and water, which is part of why the sewer upgrade came bundled with the announcement[10].
Conservative critics, led by the John Locke Foundation and its outlet Carolina Journal, aren't arguing this particular plant is a bad idea. Their case is about the state's incentive programs more broadly. They point to two separate statistics: North Carolina pledged nearly $1.1 billion in 2022 alone to 49 companies through JDIG — the Job Development Investment Grant, a state incentive program similar to One NC — and One NC combined[8][9]. Separately, looking at the full history of both programs since JDIG began in 2002 and One NC in 1993, the state promised roughly 204,000 jobs and had delivered about 95,000 as of 2024[8][9]. Those are two different measurements over two different timeframes, not one number about one group of companies. The critics also cite a 2015 finding from the left-leaning N.C. Justice Center that 60% of JDIG-backed projects were canceled over a 12-year span after companies missed their targets — a finding they use because it comes from a source that isn't ideologically aligned with them[8]. Their underlying argument is about fairness: a grant to one company is effectively a cost every other taxpayer and business in the state absorbs without getting anything back[9]. The John Locke Foundation itself is funded largely by the John William Pope Foundation, tied to the Pope family's retail fortune, and its long-standing goal is lower, flatter taxes rather than company-specific deals[15][9].
How the Coverage Split
Local and regional outlets mostly reprinted the state's numbers with little added scrutiny. Business North Carolina's headline said Catawba County "lands" the investment, framing it as a competition the county won, without examining whether the Molex contract had already made the expansion all but necessary[3]. WSOC-TV rounded 385 jobs up to "nearly 400" and called an expansion of an existing campus a "new plant," giving the $665 million investment floor little attention[4]. Charlotte Stories went further, calling Prysmian "one of the world's largest manufacturers" opening a "new Charlotte-area facility" — Claremont is about 45 miles from Charlotte[3].
Italian financial outlets like Teleborsa told a mirror-image version of the same story: the company is the subject, the governor doesn't appear, and the money is framed as capacity spending for shareholders rather than a jobs win for a U.S. county[6]. Carolina Journal's opinion piece, meanwhile, is the one place that raised the incentive-program critique — but by pairing the 2022 pledge total with the three-decade jobs-delivery figure without separating the timeframes, it made the shortfall sound more directly tied to this cohort of deals than the underlying data supports[8].
What's Still Unsettled
The plant is being built. That much every party agrees on. What's genuinely unresolved is how much credit the $1 million grant deserves for it, since the contract that actually forced the capacity decision — the Molex deal — was signed three weeks before North Carolina held its press conference[7][1]. A groundbreaking is scheduled for mid-September, which will be the next point where the state, the company, and the county each get to tell their version again[10].
Summary
On August 12, 2026, Gov. Josh Stein and the N.C. Department of Commerce announced that Prysmian will expand its plant in Claremont, in Catawba County[1][2]. The company says it will invest more than $1 billion there and add 385 jobs[1]. The state calls it the largest manufacturing project in Catawba County history[1]. The plant makes optical fiber and fiber-optic cable. The expansion adds a new glass factory, more cable lines, and a bigger research center, with completion expected by 2030[3][4]. A groundbreaking is set for mid-September[10].
The pay figure is the state's main selling point. The new jobs are expected to average $60,870 a year[1]. Catawba County's overall average is $56,937[1]. So these jobs pay about $3,900 more than the local average — roughly 7% above it. The state says the payroll could add more than $23.4 million a year to the region[3].
North Carolina is putting up a $1 million grant from the One North Carolina Fund. That fund is "performance-based." It does not hand over cash up front. Prysmian gets paid only after it hits set targets — here, at least $665 million invested[1]. Separately, the City of Claremont got $1 million in state money to upgrade sewer lines that serve the site[10].
The genuine dispute is not about whether the plant is being built. It is about whether the public money mattered. Supporters, including the governor and local officials, say incentives keep North Carolina in the running against other states[1][10]. Critics on the right, led by the John Locke Foundation and its outlet Carolina Journal, argue the state's incentive programs have a weak record, citing two separate statistics: North Carolina pledged nearly $1.1 billion in 2022 to 49 companies through JDIG (the Job Development Investment Grant, a state incentive program similar to One NC) and One NC; separately, and over the longer run since those programs began in 2002 and 1993, they say JDIG and One NC together promised 204,000 jobs but had delivered about 95,000 as of 2024[8][9]. There is also a question of how much of this project is genuinely new. Prysmian's own materials describe about $1.25 billion spread across three U.S. sites, driven by a supply contract with Molex signed three weeks earlier, on July 20, 2026[5][6][7].
The Event
On August 12, 2026, Gov. Josh Stein and the N.C. Department of Commerce announced an expansion by Prysmian Cables and Systems USA at the company's Claremont campus in Catawba County[1][2]. The state said the company will invest more than $1 billion and create 385 jobs, and that the state will provide a $1 million performance-based One North Carolina Fund grant contingent on at least $665 million in investment[1]. The same day, Prysmian said the U.S. program covers three plants — Claremont, N.C.; Jackson, Tenn.; and Lexington, S.C. — with about $100 million for Jackson and $80 million for Lexington[5][6]. Tennessee's economic development department issued its own release on the Jackson piece the same day[12].
Undisputed Facts
- Prysmian is an Italy-based cable maker headquartered in Milan and listed on the Italian stock exchange[5][11].
- The state announcement was made on August 12, 2026, by Gov. Josh Stein and the N.C. Department of Commerce[1][2].
- Prysmian committed to 385 new jobs at the Claremont site with an announced average annual salary of $60,870, compared with a Catawba County average annual wage of $56,937[1].
- The One North Carolina Fund grant is $1 million and is performance-based: payments require Prysmian to invest at least $665 million[1].
- The City of Claremont received $1 million in state funding for sewer infrastructure serving the expansion[10].
- The expansion adds roughly 900,000 to 975,000 square feet, including a new glass plant, and is expected to be finished by 2030[3][4][10].
- On July 20, 2026 — three weeks before the state announcement — Molex and Prysmian announced a supply agreement of up to €5.5 billion (about $6.3 billion) running up to 10 years for optical cable for data centers[7].
- Prysmian describes the U.S. program as covering three sites, with about $100 million for Jackson, Tenn., and $80 million for Lexington, S.C., beyond the Claremont investment[5][6][12].
The Pressure
Strip away the moralizing and blame. What structural realities persist regardless of which narrative wins?
- A signed contract needs a factory
- Prysmian agreed on July 20, 2026 to supply Molex with optical cable for up to 10 years, worth as much as €5.5 billion[7]. Capacity has to exist to fill it. That contract, not the $1 million grant, is the force that makes this plant necessary[5][6].
- Tariff and supply-chain hedging
- Building inside the United States shields Prysmian from tariffs on imported cable. Italian coverage reports company leadership saw tariffs as a possible advantage, since domestic production would let them raise U.S. prices[11]. Vertical integration of glass preforms cuts dependence on outside suppliers[6].
- Small incentive, large announcement
- The state grant is $1 million against a stated investment of more than $1 billion — about one-tenth of one percent of the project[1]. That ratio cuts both ways: it is cheap insurance, and it is also too small to plausibly have decided a billion-dollar siting choice on its own.
- Election-year credit-claiming
- A Democratic governor and a Republican-held legislature both want to own manufacturing news in a foothills county in a midterm year[1][14]. Announcement timing and podium lineups follow that incentive regardless of who did the recruiting.
Material realityA working fiber and cable campus in Claremont will get roughly 900,000 to 975,000 more square feet, including a glass plant, with work running to 2030[3][4][10]. Glass making is energy- and water-hungry, which is why $1 million in state sewer money came with the announcement[10]. Whether 385 people are hired depends on AI data-center demand holding up for years — the same demand that produced the Molex contract. The state's $1 million is contingent on $665 million in actual spending, so North Carolina's downside is bounded even if the buildout shrinks[1]. Independent of any of the rhetoric: the U.S. currently has only about three producers of both optical fiber and fiber-optic cable, and this project would deepen that domestic base[5].
Narrative as a weaponThree parties are shaping how you read this. The governor's office wants the number $1 billion and the number 385 attached to the state's name, and it front-loads the wage comparison to make the jobs sound better than the local average — which they are, by about $3,900. Prysmian wants investors to see disciplined capacity spending against a signed contract, not a favor extracted from a state; its own release barely mentions North Carolina politics. Conservative incentive critics want the story to be about the program's record rather than this plant, because on this plant their strongest point is subtle: the company likely would have built somewhere in the U.S. anyway. Local outlets mostly reprinted the state release, which is why the $665 million performance floor — the detail that decides whether taxpayers ever pay — is the least-reported fact in the coverage.
How Each Side Sees It
Each major actor’s view — how it frames things, its underlying incentive, and how it’s materially affected. Tap a side to read it.
Frames it asThe state's case is that manufacturing does not land by accident. Other states bid for these plants. A modest, performance-based grant is the cost of staying at the table[1]. The grant is structured so taxpayers pay nothing if the company does not deliver — no investment, no check[1]. And the jobs clear the local wage bar: $60,870 against a county average of $56,937[1]. Officials also point to the site itself. Prysmian already runs the Claremont campus and has expanded there before, including a $54 million project announced earlier[13]. That track record, they argue, is what a $1 million bet is buying — a deeper commitment from a company already rooted in the county[1][10].
WhyA Democratic governor working with a Republican-led legislature needs wins that are hard to argue with. A billion-dollar plant in a Republican-leaning county in the state's foothills is exactly that. The 2026 midterms are also in play[1][14].
Impact on themThe administration gets a headline economic-development result and a September groundbreaking to attend[10]. If Prysmian misses the $665 million floor, the state does not pay — but the political claim of a $1 billion win would still have been banked[1].
Frames it asPrysmian's own framing is about supply, not jobs. AI data centers need enormous amounts of optical fiber, and the company signed a deal with Molex on July 20, 2026 worth up to €5.5 billion over as long as 10 years[7]. To fill that order it must more than double U.S. fiber capacity, including the "glass preform" stage — the solid glass rod that fiber is drawn from, the hardest and most capital-heavy part of the chain[5][6]. Making preforms in the U.S., rather than importing them, is what "vertical integration" means here: the company controls its own raw input instead of depending on someone else's[3][6]. Executives also note this makes Prysmian one of only three U.S. producers of both fiber and fiber-optic cable[5]. Italian coverage adds a frank commercial point: company leadership has said U.S. tariffs on imported cable could help them, since domestic production would let them raise U.S. prices[11].
WhyLock in capacity for a signed, decade-long contract, and reduce exposure to tariffs and shipping by building inside the customer's market. Prysmian has told investors the data-center segment could be worth about $11 billion in extra revenue by 2035 against a 2025 baseline[5].
Impact on themAbout $1.25 billion in capital spending across three states, and roughly 600 U.S. manufacturing jobs across the program[5][6]. Milan-listed shares are judged on whether that spending converts into the promised 2035 revenue[5].
Frames it asThe conservative critique is not that the plant is bad. It is that the state is taking credit for something the market already decided. Prysmian signed the Molex contract before the grant was announced, and it has to build the capacity somewhere[7]. Locke's broader argument is about the program's record, drawing on two separate figures: North Carolina pledged nearly $1.1 billion in 2022 to 49 companies through JDIG (the Job Development Investment Grant, created in 2002) and One NC (created in 1993); and, looking at the full history of both programs, they promised 204,000 jobs but had delivered about 95,000 as of 2024[8]. They also cite a 2015 N.C. Justice Center finding — from a left-leaning group, which strengthens rather than weakens the point in their telling — that 60% of JDIG projects over 12 years were canceled after companies missed targets[8]. The principle underneath is fairness: a grant to one firm is a tax the state's other employers pay without a check in return[9].
WhyThe John Locke Foundation is a conservative think tank funded largely by the John William Pope Foundation, tied to the Pope family's retail fortune; Carolina Journal is its news and opinion outlet[15]. Its long-standing goal is lower, flatter, broader taxes instead of company-by-company deals[9].
Impact on themNo direct financial stake. Its influence is on state budget debates, where it has pushed against expanding incentive funds[8][9].
Frames it asLocal officials describe this in terms of a county that lost furniture and textile jobs and has spent two decades trying to replace them. State Sen. Mark Hollo called the expansion a testament to the county's ability to support innovative companies[1]. The local case is concrete: 385 jobs paying above the county average, plus construction work through 2030, plus a $1 million sewer upgrade the city keeps regardless of what Prysmian does next[1][10]. Local leaders also treat the incentive as small relative to the tax base a $1 billion plant adds.
WhyGrow the property tax base and give young workers a reason not to leave. Claremont has roughly a few thousand residents; a plant of this size reshapes the local economy[10].
Impact on themMore than $23.4 million a year in new payroll for the region if the hiring targets are met[3]. The costs are local too: water, sewer, road capacity, and housing pressure in a small city. Glass manufacturing is energy- and water-intensive, which is why the sewer grant came alongside the announcement[10].
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The Bias Ledger average rating 3.8
The same story, as framed by outlets across the spectrum, ordered least to most biased. The bias score (1 = straight, 10 = heavily spun) is an AI assessment of that framing — click an outlet to see its track record. The tell is the word choice or omission that reveals the angle.
| Outlet | Vantage | Bias | How they frame it | The tell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teleborsa | Italian financial press | 2 | "Prysmian: over $1 billion to boost fiber-optic cable production capacity in the USA" | The company is the subject and the governor is absent. Frames the money as capacity for shareholders, not jobs for a county — the mirror image of the North Carolina release. |
| Lightwave | U.S. trade press, fiber-optics industry | 2 | "Molex and Prysmian enter fiber AI data center supply pact" | Treats the July supply contract, not the August government announcement, as the real event. Useful corrective, but written for and largely from industry sources, so demand forecasts are relayed with little challenge. |
| Business North Carolina | U.S. center, state business press | 3 | "Catawba County lands $1 billion economic investment" — the county is the subject, and the verb is "lands." | "Lands" frames the deal as a competition the county won. The piece carries the state's investment and job numbers and the incentive amount, but does not test whether the Molex contract had already made the expansion necessary. |
| WSOC-TV | U.S. center, local broadcast | 4 | "New plant to bring nearly 400 jobs to Catawba County" | Rounds 385 up to "nearly 400" and calls an expansion of an existing campus a "new plant." Job count leads; the $1 million grant and the $665 million investment floor get little or no play. |
| Charlotte Stories | U.S. local, promotional regional site | 6 | "One of the World's Largest Manufacturers Investing $1 Billion in New Charlotte-Area Facility" | Superlatives doing the work: "one of the world's largest" and "Charlotte-area" for a site about 45 miles from Charlotte. Boosterish framing with no incentive scrutiny. |
| Carolina Journal (Opinion) | U.S. right; published by the John Locke Foundation, funded largely by the John William Pope Foundation | 6 | "Corporate subsidies and taxpayer risk" — a standing critique of North Carolina incentive deals rather than coverage of this announcement. | Pairs a 2022 single-year pledge total ($1.1B to 49 companies) with a since-1993/2002 cumulative jobs-delivered figure without flagging that they cover very different timeframes and cohorts, which makes program-wide shortfalls read as more specific to recent deals than they are; also does not credit that One NC grants are paid only after targets are met — the same structural feature the state emphasizes. |
References
- Governor Stein Announces $1 Billion Expansion for Prysmian's Claremont Facility, Adding 385 New Jobs — N.C. Department of Commerce · U.S. state government agency under a Democratic governor; promotional by design
- Governor Stein Announces $1 Billion Expansion for Prysmian's Claremont Facility, Adding 385 New Jobs — Office of the Governor of North Carolina · Official statement from a Democratic governor's office
- Catawba County lands $1 billion economic investment — Business North Carolina · State business magazine; pro-growth editorial orientation
- New plant to bring nearly 400 jobs to Catawba County — WSOC-TV · Cox Media Group local broadcast affiliate, Charlotte
- Prysmian Commits $1.25B to U.S. Fiber Expansion — Converge Digest · U.S. telecom trade publication, industry-facing
- Prysmian, oltre 1 miliardo di dollari per potenziare la capacità produttiva di cavi in fibra ottica negli USA — Teleborsa · Italian financial news wire, investor-focused
- Molex Announces Long-Term Supply Agreement with Prysmian to Accelerate Support for Data Center Growth and AI-Driven Demand — Molex · Corporate press release; Molex is a Koch Inc. subsidiary
- Corporate subsidies and taxpayer risk — Carolina Journal · Opinion column; published by the conservative John Locke Foundation
- Economic Development Incentives: Are They Worth It? — John Locke Foundation · Conservative/free-market think tank, funded largely by the John William Pope Foundation
- Prysmian to invest more than $1 billion in nearby Claremont facility — Iredell Free News · Independent local news site, Iredell County, N.C.
- Prysmian quasi felice per i dazi di Trump ma la Borsa la punisce, tutti i dettagli — Startmag · Italian business and policy magazine, market-oriented
- Prysmian to Expand with $100 Million Investment in Jackson — Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development · U.S. state government agency under a Republican governor; promotional by design
- Prysmian Group Announces Start of $54M Expansion in Claremont, North Carolina — Prysmian · Corporate press release from the company itself
- Heading into midterms, NCGOP faces mounting backlash from its conservative base — NC Newsline · Progressive-leaning nonprofit newsroom, part of States Newsroom
- John Locke Foundation — Wikipedia · Crowd-edited encyclopedia; used here for funding background only