Crystal Window & Door Systems has hit pause on its much-hyped plan to build an $83.7 million factory in Selma, Johnston County, a project that was expected to bring roughly 500 jobs to the area. The Queens-based manufacturer has also asked state leaders to pull the plug on a package of state incentives tied to the project, citing a mix of economic and geopolitical pressures.
In a May 5 letter to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, company chairman Thomas Chen wrote that “due to a combination of unforeseen business, geopolitical and economic factors, Crystal has made the decision not to proceed with the project at this time,” according to WRAL. The outlet reports that Chen asked the state to cancel the Job Development Investment Grant and other performance-based incentives promised for the project. Company representatives did not respond to requests for additional comment, according to the report.
The expansion was first rolled out in May 2024, when Gov. Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Commerce announced that Crystal would invest roughly $83.6 million and create 501 jobs. The state said at the time that the incentives package was worth about $5.5 million overall, including a $4.1 million jobs grant spread over 12 years.
State and local officials had envisioned the new Eastfield Crossing plant as a major producer of vinyl and aluminum windows and doors. But the company told commerce officials that changes in trade policy, including shifts to tariffs on aluminum and glass, along with rising commodity costs, had made the project’s economics unworkable. WRAL also noted a report saying aluminum prices have surged since the start of the U.S. war in Iran.
When the project was announced, state officials said the plant would pay an average annual salary near $56,000 and could generate roughly $1.09 billion in economic activity for North Carolina. Those projections were included in the Commerce Department’s project materials and helped sell the deal to local leaders, who cited them when backing the project.
Where It Would Have Gone
The proposed site for Crystal’s facility was Eastfield Crossing, a commercial-industrial park east of the intersection of Interstate 95 and U.S. 70 in Selma, according to Johnston County Economic Development. The county has been marketing Eastfield Crossing to manufacturers as it looks to reel in more jobs and build its tax base along the I-95 corridor.
What’s Next for Selma
With Crystal stepping back, state and local officials are effectively back at square one on filling the Eastfield site and delivering the jobs and revenue they had touted. North Carolina’s Job Development Investment Grant is performance-based, so the state does not pay out JDIG funds unless a company meets hiring and investment targets. By asking to terminate the agreement, Crystal has effectively ended the state’s obligation on this project for now, a reality highlighted in coverage by Business North Carolina.
Economic development officials say they will keep marketing the Eastfield Crossing site while watching the commodity and trade-policy shifts that factored into Crystal’s decision. The company has left the door open to revisiting a North Carolina investment if market conditions change.
