By Kevin Ellis for BusinessNC

Cherokee Tobacco will invest more than $14 million to build a manufacturing and distribution operation in Caswell County that is expected to create 39 jobs, according to a release from the state.

The family-owned business has manufactured and sold its own brand of cigarettes, cigars, and pipe products for more than two decades. Cherokee is a sister company of JEB International, a tobacco processing company that serves the industry throughout the global market. The new build-to-suit facility will provide manufacturing space to add new, next-generation product lines. The company will consolidate its existing operations, along with JEB International, into one 65,000-square-foot location in Pelham.

“This is a big deal for Caswell County and I think it’s going to be a shot in the arm for us,” says Tony Smith, who resigned as director of Caswell County Economic Development with his election to the Board of Commissioners in November 2024.

Cherokee Tobacco is based about 40 miles northeast in South Boston, Virginia. The expansion will take place in the Pelham Business Park, where Piedmont Community College recently announced it would create a secondary campus. Pelham is about 35 miles north of Burlington, near the Virginia state line.

“We are very excited to be coming to North Carolina and to be working closely with Caswell County and PCC (Piedmont Community College),” said Jay Barker, the owner & CEO of Cherokee Tobacco Company and JEB International, in a release. “We believe this new facility will improve efficiency for both groups and create the optimal environment to carry our companies and our brands into the future.”

Cherokee Tobacco hopes to begin operations in Caswell County during fourth quarter next year or the first quarter of 2026, says Barker.

Barker says Cherokee Tobacco has about $100 million in revenue, which has grown about 4% per year over the last four years. The company has about 60 employees in South Boston and Danville, Virginia, but will consolidate the company in Caswell County. “We want to build a new modern facility,” he says. He says the company looked at expanding in either South Boston or Danville first, but says Caswell County was more open to growth from the company.

Cherokee Tobacco sells its products across the U.S. and in 32 countries, Barker says.

Although salaries will vary by position, the average annual wage will be $65,154, which exceeds the Caswell County average of $43,046. These new jobs could potentially create an annual payroll impact of more than $2.5 million for the region. The average annual wage for North Carolina is $65,409.

A performance-based grant of $125,000 from the One North Carolina Fund awarded to Cherokee Tobacco will help the company locate to Caswell County if it meets investment and job creation targets. Caswell County will offer Cherokee Tobacco about $275,000 in tax rebates over five years, says Smith.

Cherokee Tobacco also sells hemp products that do not contain nicotine. The company is not affiliated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Barker started JEB International Tobacco in 1991, and his late father, Bill Barker, started Cherokee Tobacco in 2000, he says.

The preceding article originally appeared on December 16, 2024 at BusinessNC’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law.