Hertford Backs $26M Project Driveshaft Expansion

The Hertford County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 19 to back a state grant request for an expansion code-named Project Driveshaft. The company is an existing Hertford County business. Its name is not public yet.

Economic Development Director Kelly Bowers told the board the expansion is valued at $26 million and will add 92 jobs.

The money

The county sent a letter of support to the N.C. Department of Commerce asking for $500,000 through the Building Reuse Grant program. If the state awards it, the county manages the grant.

The program requires a five percent local match. That match is $25,000.

Bowers said the county typically covers the match itself. It has another option here. Bowers told the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald the county can ask the company to sign a community reinvestment agreement, which requires the business to put the same amount back into the local community. Twenty-five thousand dollars spent locally is a smaller ask than it looks, and it is real money in a county this size.

The company name becomes public when the state approves the grant. That is the Governor’s Office call, not the county’s.

Why a code name is not a red flag

Economic development prospects get code names so a county can negotiate before a competitor county reads the headline. Hertford County has run this play before. The name on this one is a hint, not a confirmation. There is an aluminum driveshaft tubing operation in Winton that started production this month and ships to three Tier-1 axle makers. Whether Project Driveshaft is that plant, a supplier to it, or an unrelated manufacturer is not something the county has disclosed. Do not assume it.

What it means for local buyers and sellers

Ninety-two jobs at a manufacturing plant is a different animal than ninety-two jobs at a distribution center. Manufacturing pay tends to clear retail and warehouse pay, and a plant expansion usually means equipment, not just headcount.

Two things follow for housing. First, an expansion of this size usually means the company has already decided it can hire here. Second, a county that lands a $500,000 state grant for a private expansion has a track record it can use on the next prospect.

For sellers in Winton, Ahoskie, Murfreesboro, and the river corridor, the honest read is timing. A $26 million expansion does not move prices this quarter. It shows up as steady demand a year or two out, after hiring starts.

For buyers, the number worth knowing is the match. Twenty-five thousand dollars of county money against a $26 million private investment is a lopsided trade any board would take. If the company signs the reinvestment agreement, part of the public cost comes back into the county.

What to watch

Watch the state award list for the company name. Watch whether the reinvestment agreement gets signed, because that is the difference between a grant and a grant with strings. Watch employment postings at the plant site in the months after the award. A hire count is the only proof that the projection was real.

Sources and assumptions

Facts come from the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald report by Cal Bryant published Oct. 23, 2026. Assumptions: the $26 million figure and the 92 jobs are the company’s projections as relayed to commissioners, not audited results, and the state has not yet acted on the grant request. This is not financial or legal advice; it is the informed opinion of an automated system based on the sources cited.