COVID demand spurs wipe-maker to further expand huge Mooresville operation

A maker of wet wipes that has seen a surge in demand because of COVID-19 announced Wednesday morning that it plans an additional expansion of its longstanding Mooresville operations that will add 60 jobs.

Orangeburg, New York-based Nice-Pak, whose wipes are sold to consumers and also are used in the health care and foodservice markets, had said last year that it planned to add 90 jobs in the coming years. In Wednesday’s announcement, it said it now intends to reach 150 new, full-time hires by the end of 2024.

It also said the 760,000-square-foot production and distribution facility it said last year that it would build would swell in size to 1.2 million square foot, a project that will cost $165 million.

The new facility will be at the intersection of Merriman Road and Bethel Road, five miles from Nice-Pak’s existing 147,000-square-foot facility, which will continue to operate. Construction at the new site is scheduled to begin in March 2021, with completion scheduled for May 2022.

Nice-Pak and its sister company, PDI, employ about 2,850 workers in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, including more than 500 at its Mooresville operation. The company has operated in Mooresville for 46 years.

“Our new investment in Mooresville is an important milestone in our mission of helping the world stay healthy and well,” Nice-Pak CEO Robert Julius said in a statement.

The company—whose brands include Wet-Nap, Nice n Clean Wipes and Grime Boss—already has hired 15 of the 150 workers it plans to add.

Last year, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. had offered Nice-Pak up to $900,000 in tax credits, based on its job-creation plans at the time. In Wednesday’s press release, the IEDC said it now is offering up to $1.4 million in tax credits, as well as $200,000 in training grants.