Maker of nontoxic pest control products bringing 380 jobs to Mooresville

MOORESVILLE Earth-Kind Inc., a maker of all-natural, nontoxic pest control products, plans to lease 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space and eventually employ 380 full-time workers, the company announced Monday.

Earth-Kind, based in Bismarck, N.D., develops and manufactures indoor products to control rodents, pests and odors.

The company will invest $5.8 million in new machinery and equipment and initially employ 14 full-time workers. The company plans to grow to 380 full-time workers over four years.

The site at 346 E. Plaza Drive (N.C. 150 East) is the former Draymore curtain plant. The Pit Indoor Kart Racing facility has operated a 70,000-square-foot road course-style track in part of the complex since 2007 and will continue to do so once Earth-Kind moves into the complex, a track employee said Monday.

Earth-Kind was named a 2014 Top 30 Most Innovative USA Bio-Based Company by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies.

Customers include John Deere, Tractor Supply Co., ACE Hardware and Menards.

Earth-Kind selected Mooresville because of its high quality of life and schools and its location geographically to serve its growing customer base, CEO Kari Warberg Block said.

One particular item that made Earth-Kind Inc. an important project for Mooresville is their company policy of supporting individuals with disabilities, Robert Carney, executive director of the Mooresville South Iredell Economic Development Corp., said in the announcement. Many of the jobs offered are made available to the disabled.

Earth-Kind Inc. invests in and retrofits their machinery and equipment to ensure that individuals with disabilities working in their facility have a safe working environment, Carney said. These are the type of leaders and companies we want located here.

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Maker of nontoxic pest control products bringing 380 jobs to Mooresville