Japanese tobacco company moving U.S. HQ to Raleigh
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JTI's new headquarters will be at One North Hills Tower. Photo: Kane Realty
JT International U.S.A. plans to relocate its U.S. headquarters from New Jersey to Raleigh, bringing more than 100 new jobs to the city.
Why it matters: JTI, a fast-growing tobacco firm, is the latest in a growing list of Japanese companies to put down roots in North Carolina.
- This spring, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the state to highlight the increasing business ties between Japan and North Carolina.
Zoom in: JTI's local offices will open later this year at Kane Realty's One North Hills Tower at North Hills in Midtown, according to a JTI statement.
- The company is hiring for roles in a range of fields, including sales, customer service, administration, marketing, finance and human resources.
- JTI U.S.A.'s general manager and president Corrado Mautone called Raleigh a "vibrant and growing city with a top-of-its-class talent pool for recruitment of new employees."
Between the lines: JTI already has a relationship with North Carolina: It contracts with tobacco farms here, and it has a large buying station in Wilson, per the company.
- The company did not receive any incentives for its relocation to North Carolina, spokesperson Emil Weiss told Axios. JTI also declined to disclose the salaries of the new Raleigh jobs.
- "We are confident that we are highly competitive in terms of salary and benefits that we offer employees," Weiss said.
Zoom out: Other recent announcements from Japanese firms expanding into North Carolina include Ricoh, a printing company that's opening a new center on N.C. State University's Centennial Campus.
- And Fujifilm Diosynth said recently it'll invest $1.2 billion and create an additional 680 jobs at its under-construction biomanufacturing facility in Holly Springs by 2031.
What they're saying: "It's great to see another international company choose North Carolina for its top-flight workforce, number one business environment and extraordinary quality of life," Gov. Cooper said of JTI in the company's statement.