BY DAVID RANII
dranii@newsobserver.com
A company’s decision to shift its corporate headquarters from Georgia to Garner is expected to create 89 new jobs locally over the next three years, state officials announced Friday.
Overland Contracting, which is currently based in Conyers, Ga., also plans to invest $8.4 million in its new corporate home in Garner.
Overland provides engineering, procurement and construction services for the power and telecommunications industries and water utilities. Overland is a subsidiary of privately held Black & Veatch, which generated $3.6 billion in revenue last year and employs more than 10,000 workers.
Garner gives Overland “greater access to clients” across the southeast and builds upon the company’s existing presence in North Carolina, said Black & Veatch spokesman Carl Petz.
Black & Veatch, which is best-known for its engineering services, already has more than 200 workers in North Carolina: 185 in Cary and 25 in Charlotte. Those existing workers — which are Black & Veatch employees, not Overland employees — will remain at their current locations.
Black & Veatch and Overland operate separately but sometimes work for the same clients.
For example, the two companies worked on a project in Texas “where the engineering was done by Black & Veatch and the construction was managed” by Overland, Petz said.
Overland hasn’t yet determined how many employees will move from Georgia to Garner. Overland also considered remaining in Georgia before deciding that relocating to Garner was the right move.
Overland is leasing a 62,000-square-foot building and a 12.5-acre supply yard at the Greenfield North Business Park on North Greenfield Parkway in Garner.
Rodney Dickerson, Garner’s assistant town manager, told the Garner-Cleveland Record: “From our standpoint, hopefully it is a sign that we are coming out of the economic downturn and that companies are confident enough they can make these types of investments in Garner and the things we have to offer.”
Overland is eligible to receive up to $70,000 from the state’s One North Carolina Fund if it meets its job and investment targets. Garner anticipates matching that amount; local matches are mandatory for such grants.
The average annual payroll for the 89 new jobs is $7.4 million – which averages out to $83,146 per employee. Individual salaries will vary.