High Point-based Environmental Air Systems plans to invest $20 million to create an HVAC products plant in Asheboro that expects to employ 300 people in the next two years.
Environmental Air Systems, or EAS, is a subsidiary of Houston-based Comfort Systems USA, a fast-growing public company. It says the Randolph County site will help meet growing demand for specialized prefabricated equipment for mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
The new jobs will pay an average wage of $55,133, slightly higher than the current average wage of $49,335 in Randolph County.
The state will incentivize EAS about $5 million total, including almost $3.3 million in a Job Development Investment Grant, $1.2 million in workforce training and a $500,000 building re-use grant. EAS will locate in a 300,000-square-foot manufacturing space to serve regional and national markets. There are three total buildings on the site, totaling about 450,000 square feet and EAS is expected to use all three, says Kevin Franklin, president of Randolph County Economic Development.
The building has been used for warehousing for the past several years. Klaussner Home Furnishings last used the building for manufacturing in 2023. Klaussner shut down in 2023, eliminating more than 800 jobs across several sites in Asheboro.
“We’re very excited to see it get back into productive use,” says Franklin.
EAS has operated in the Triad region since 1953, and was acquired by Comfort Systems in 2016. Comfort Systems became a public company in 1997 with 12 operating companies. It now has 45 companies and 18,000 employees in more than 170 U.S. locations/
EAS has 831 employees in North Carolina across seven locations. Asheboro beat out sites in Danville, Virginia, and Rock Hill, South Carolina. Franklin says it helped that Asheboro is only 25 miles south of EAS headquarters in High Point, as well as an available labor pool. Having an available site was also a major factor, he adds.
Comfort Systems shares were trading for around $948 on Tuesday, up more than 122% since Jan. 1.
