EMC to expand presence in N.C.
Cheaper electricity, financial incentives are big draws
Enticed by electrical rates cheaper than in Massachusetts and government financial incentives, EMC Corp. of Hopkinton is expanding its footprint in North Carolina.
EMC, a leading maker of data storage and management gear, will hire another 397 workers in the Tar Heel State over the next five years. The workers will join an expanded research and development operation and will staff a new data processing center, to be located in Durham County. In all, EMC will invest an additional $280 million in North Carolina over the next five years.
The new workers will complement the 900 or so employees already in North Carolina. EMC makes its Clariion data storage devices in Apex, N.C., and also has facilities in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh. “It’s already a strong place for us, from a manufacturing perspective as well as an R&D perspective,’’ said EMC spokesman Patrick Cooley.
EMC was attracted to North Carolina partly because electricity costs are significantly lower than in Massachusetts, Cooley said. Data centers consume large amounts of electric power for computers and storage devices and the air conditioning systems needed to cool them. Cooley also said that EMC builds its data centers in multiple locations, so that if one malfunctions, the others can take up the slack.
In addition, North Carolina will provide EMC with grants of up to $7.4 million over nine years in exchange for the creation of new jobs. The deal is also supposed to include incentives from the Durham city and county governments, although those have not yet been approved. Wages for the new workers are expected to average about $73,000 per year.
Aaron Rakers, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in St. Louis, said EMC could become an acquisition target as a result of consolidation in the technology industry.
EMC’s chief executive, Joe Tucci, said this week it’s “absolutely crazy’’ for someone to say that EMC can’t remain independent. Even so, if a company came along and “felt they could get more value’’ from EMC and were willing to pay for that, EMC would at least consider the offer, he said.
“That’s what the world’s all about and you’ve got to do what’s in the best interests of the shareholders,’’ he said.
Material from Globe wire services was included in this report. Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com. 
