CLEANROOM AND STAINLESS TANKING MANUFACTURERS LAUNCH $7.5 MILLION EXPANSION
AdvanceTEC, now part of France’s Equans, along with sister company Pierre Guerin will double their Clayton workforce
Johnston County, N.C. – July 10, 2026. AdvanceTEC LLC, a market leader in cleanroom design, prefabrication and modularization that arrived in Clayton in 2021, is joining its new French parent to invest another $7.5 million in Johnston County. The expansion will add 160 jobs to the company’s existing 168-person workforce. Average annual salaries of the new jobs will be about $90,000.
About 50 state, regional, county, and municipal officials joined executives from AdvanceTEC and Pierre Guerin on Tuesday to break ground on the project. Headquartered in Niort, France, Pierre Guerin is an international engineering and manufacturing firm specializing in the custom design and manufacture of high-tech, ultra-clean stainless steel process vessels and fully automated production lines. Pierre Guerin engineers stainless-steel tanks and other specialty equipment for leading global names in the life sciences, cosmetics, and food and beverage industries. Both companies are part of Equans, a France-based family of energy and services businesses operating in 20 countries.
“This is a very special moment for our company,” said Philippe Pierre, CEO of Pierre Guérin. “This ceremony marks the return of our company to the United States and a new chapter within the Equans family,” Pierre said.
AdvanceTEC, a company founded in Richmond, Virginia in 2000, became part of Equans US in September 2025 in an acquisition that is enabling AdvanceTEC to expand its capabilities, accelerate innovation and enhance solution delivery. The move is also strengthening Equans’ portfolio of engineering, modular construction, and integrated solutions. AdvanceTEC announced plans for a presence in Johnston County in late 2021. It currently operates a 98,000-sq.-ft. facility on 12 acres off US Highway 70 Business between Clayton and Smithfield. The expansion will add just over 32,000 sq.-ft. to the site.
Working with Goldsboro-based Jackson Builders, the company expects to complete its expansion by next summer, in time to begin filling a $26 million order Pierre Guerin recently received. “We have much to do to build our organization,” Pierre said. “We are starting from scratch, but I’m confident with the help of everyone, we will succeed.”
Since its acquisition by Equans last year, AdvanceTEC has already grown its Johnston County workforce from just over 80 employees to 168, according to John Burton, Founder and CEO of AdvanceTEC. “We’ve been extremely fortunate since being here, landing several large projects, and we’ve seen significant growth. We have a backlog like we’ve never seen,” Burton said. U.S. pharmaceutical companies are especially eager to work with AdvanceTEC, which now has the advantage of additional scale, innovative new technologies, and supply-chain efficiencies. “I’m so proud that we can bring Pierre Guerin into this team,” he said.
The companies will partner with Johnston Community College for customized skills training using funds provided by the State of North Carolina. Representatives from JCC and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) attended the groundbreaking, as well as county educational partners from North Carolina State University.
“In Johnston County, we’ve known for many years this is a great place to be,” said Johnston County Commission Chairman Patrick E. Harris. “But when companies from around the world also think it’s a great place to be, we welcome you and are thankful you’re here. “It’s a great day for your company but it’s a great day for the citizens here in the county,” Harris said.
The expansion of AdvanceTEC and the arrival of its French partner and parent adds another source of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Johnston County’s economy. Equans joins Novo Nordisk, a Danish biomanufacturer, and Spain’s Grifols, a maker of plasma therapeutics, as members of Clayton’s global industrial directory. “It’s exciting to see continued investment dollars flow in from Europe,” says Chris Johnson, Director of the Johnston County Economic Development Office. He notes the symbolism of French business interests landing in the County only days after 250th anniversary celebrations of U.S. independence, an historical turning point cemented militarily through French support. “It’s great to see Johnston County being able to build visible and valuable new business relationships based on this rich history,” Johnson says.
The expansion also further catalyzes efforts to bring vertical development to Johnston County’s life sciences industry. Existing bio-manufacturers are nearby, with more potentially on the way as new life sciences space becomes available. “There’s plenty here and there’s even more companies needing cleanroom space when you consider the wider biotechnology industry we have in the Research Triangle Region,” explains Ed Alridge, Chairman of the Johnston County Economic Development Advisory Board, which guides recruitment, business retention and job creation strategy. “In today’s world, things are really integrated and so much opportunity relies on scale,” Adridge added. “Both those trends support what AdvanceTEC and Pierre Guerin are doing here, and that is very exciting for all of us.”
The Johnston County Economic Development Office (JCEDO) facilitates value-added interaction between government, education, and the private sector in encouraging and promoting job creation and economic investment in Johnston County. A unit of county government, JCEDO collaborates with local, regional, and statewide partners and allies in providing confidential location assistance to businesses and technical support to the county’s 11 municipalities. Its menu of services includes customized digital mapping, labor and wage analysis, site readiness assistance and incentive packaging.