Asheville Tribune: Sources in position to know say GE’s Unison Corp. is “Project X

As previously reported by Xpress, Buncombe County is currently negotiating with an unknown company called “Project X” on a major economic development deal. The Asheville Tribune published a recent article reporting that the mystery company is actually Unison Corporation, a subsidiary of General Electric. Xpress has not been able to confirm the accuracy of the Tribune’s report. Here’s an excerpt of that publication’s article, with a link to the complete piece at the bottom of this page:

Apparently the company involved in the mysterious “Project X” for which Buncombe County Council recently approved $15.7 million in taxpayer-funded incentives to expand its local operations is Unison Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric that has operated in Buncombe County since 2007.

The identity of the company was revealed to the Tribune by two separate and independent sources who spoke on condition of anonymity and who have been either directly involved in or have had knowledge of the pending Unison/GE deal for several months.

Efforts to contact Buncombe County as well as Unison officials were unsuccessful at press time. One Tribune source said County Manager Wanda Greene “would neither confirm nor deny” the reports and quoted her as saying, “You can read about it in July” when the transaction is completed.

Positive identification of the company receiving the County’s incentive money would climax months of intense speculation raised by the company’s insistence on an unprecedented amount of secrecy about its expansion plans.

According to Unison’s website, the Sweeten Creek Industrial Park facility in east Asheville:
Occupying 198,000 square feet, Asheville specializes in the manufacture of critical rotating components, with the emphasis on disks, shafts, rotating seals and cases. Asheville’s technical capabilities span a wide range of products within all sections of the engine, but primarily oriented to complex turbine components.

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About Jake Frankel
Jake Frankel is an award-winning journalist who enjoys covering a wide range of topics, from politics and government to business, education and entertainment.

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6 thoughts on “Asheville Tribune: Sources in position to know say GE’s Unison Corp. is “Project X

  1. sharpleycladd

    A family of four with a single minimum-wage earner paid more in sales tax than GE paid in income taxes last year.

    • RiverLover

      Yep, they don’t support our highways, schools, bridges, and certainly not our troops. Over the past 10 years, in fact, GE has paid an average of 1.8% in federal taxes. Corporate Welfare for non-patriots at its finest.

  2. boatrocker

    I know the Xmen allusion has probably already been used here, but has anyone else noticed the price of adamantium has skyrocketed since this article came out?

  3. boatrocker

    What gives? I didn’t see that cartoon here- Is the Brent Brown material still running in the Xpress? I hope so.

  4. Sometimes a cartoon makes the print edition but does not show up online. I’m never sure if that is an oversight or on purpose.

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