Cook Medical buys ex-cigarette plant in N.C.

Cook Medical said today that it inked a deal to buy a former cigarette manufacturing plant in North Carolina.

The company plans to begin converting a portion of the R.J. Reynolds building in Winston-Salem’s Whitaker Park into a medical device manufacturing plant this year.

More than 650 employees will work in the 850,000-square-foot facility, according to Cook Medical. The company expects to add 50 new jobs over the next decade.

“Cook has a history of turning unused properties into valuable assets in our communities,” Barry Slowey, president of Cook Medical’s Winston-Salem unit, said in prepared remarks. “We see Whitaker Park as an impact project in that we are converting a facility that manufactured cigarettes into a modern facility producing life-saving medical devices. We’ve been in Winston-Salem since 1983, and acquiring the Whitaker Park facility signifies a renewed commitment to this community.”

“This space will offer us additional flexibility with production capabilities and represents our continued investment in the local community,” he added. “Whitaker Park presents tremendous opportunities for us to continue developing and manufacturing medical devices for patients around the world.”

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