BENSON - While much of the manufacturing sector has laid off workers in the recession, Polymer Group Inc. is planning to add workers as it celebrates the 40th anniversary of its Johnston County plant.

"It's a significant expansion resulting in 50 new jobs," plant manager Craig Steves said, noting that the plant's workforce will hit 300 by the end of the year.

The new jobs stem from the addition of two new lines to the plant. One will make fusable fiber, a material used in diapers, while the other line will be an improvement of existing technology, Steves said. The company is consolidating an Arkansas plant with the Benson facility, which has a particularly productive staff, he said.

"Benson has demonstrated outstanding performance in the last year or two," Steves said. "The relationship with the county and town are significant factors."

Most employees of the plant are Johnston County natives, he said. Workers put in 12-hour shifts working "very technical, big machines" at a plant that's in operation 24 hours a day, Steves said.

To work at PGI, one must have a high school education and get a career-readiness certificate that measures math and reading comprehension skills. The N.C. Employment Security Commission processes applications, and Steves said the plant pays higher salaries than the county's average, though he declined to give specifics.

Many employees have been with the plant for decades, and several were honored last week for having worked there since it opened as a Johnson & Johnson plant in 1969.

"We have very high levels of seniority," Steves said. "We like to think it's a good working environment."

Daniel Guerrero, vice president of manufacturing, credits employees for the plant's success. "The company grows because of the people," he said. "They create communities."

The plant makes non-woven fabrics, which include the base material for Clorox wipes and hospital gowns. It has expanded several times over the course of its 40 years. PGI has owned it since 1995.

PGI is Progress Energy's biggest customer in the area, and it buys millions of gallons of water a year from the town. According to tax records, the plant pays $278,600 in county property taxes and $184,900 in Benson property taxes each year.

"It's been a great tax base for our community," Mayor William Massengill said. "In this time of economic uncertainty, it's good to know y'all are here."