Barrier Fencing Supply, which sells aluminum and vinyl fences to residential and commercial markets across the country, plans to invest $15 million and create 151 jobs by establishing a headquarters and manufacturing center in Columbus County.

Barrier Fencing Supply Company began in the Brunswick County town of Supply as a fencing installation company and then transitioned into supplying its products to customers. The company’s timing, considering tariffs proposed by the Trump Administration, should work in its favor, says Columbus County Economic Development Director Gary Lanier.

“They manufacture their fencing products offshore and they want to bring that manufacturing back to the United States,” says Lanier.

Barrier Fencing now employs about 35 people, says CEO Tony Bowling, who started the company in January 2023, after working for other fencing companies about 20 years. Barrier will keep a distribution facility in Supply, he says. The company now sources its products from South and Central America, Canada and Asia.

The average salary for the new jobs will be $44,114. The current average wage in Columbus County is $44,081, according to the Department of Commerce.  Those jobs will help in Columbus County, Lanier says.

“The impact economically on the community and the county is tremendous,” says Lanier. Barrier Fencing expects to be located in Chadbourn, about 50 miles east of Supply, and near where the Future Interstate 74 is planned, Lanier says.

“Our aim is to generate employment, assist those in need, and to make a meaningful difference in the community,” says Bowling in a release.

A performance-based grant of $275,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Barrier Fencing’s project in Columbus County. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. OneNC grants require a matching grant from local governments.