German-based Groninger will invest $15.1 million to expand its Charlotte operations and create 60 new jobs in the Steele Creek area. Groninger manufactures filling and closing machines for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and cosmetics industries, and will increase its workforce 112 to 172 full-time workers over the next five years.

The new positions will pay an average of $76,037. The average private sector annual wage in Mecklenburg County is $86,830, and $67,474 in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.

“Charlotte has been an outstanding home for our North American headquarters, and as our company grows, so does our need for additional space and talented employees,” said Groninger USA CEO Philipp Hauser.

Hauser says Charlotte’s location and proximity to Charlotte Douglas International Airport offers Groninger “seamless connections to our customers and our parent company in Germany.”

Family-owned Groninger is based in Crailsheim, Germany, and was founded by Horst Groninger, whose invention of the rotary piston pump allowed manufacturers to process cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations more precisely and more hygienically. Groninger established U.S. operations in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, in 1997 and relocated them to Charlotte in 2007.

The company opened its existing 27,500-square-foot facility in 2012, about 14 miles from the Charlotte airport. The Charlotte location handles sales, service and parts manufacturing for Groninger customers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 

Groninger has partnered with UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College to establish an engineering apprenticeship program focused on workforce development.