Marks Clearing & Grading readies the site for Prolec's $140 million Goldsboro expansion
The transformer maker broke ground March 17 on a plant expansion the state says will add 330 jobs paying an average of $71,912 a year.
A transformer plant in Goldsboro is expanding to build 420 medium power transformers a year, up from 220, its owner says. A Wendell sitework company, Marks Clearing & Grading, is getting the site ready.
Marks Clearing & Grading said on March 31, 2026, that it is the site contractor on Prolec GE Waukesha's $140 million expansion of the plant, and that the work is under way. Prolec broke ground on March 17.
The manufacturer, which does business as Prolec Energy, builds power transformers for utilities, cooperatives, data centers and industrial sites. GE Vernova is its joint-venture partner. The plant opened in 1967 and already employs more than 350 people.
Gov. Josh Stein announced the expansion in May 2025. The N.C. Department of Commerce said it will create 330 jobs at an average salary of $71,912, against a Wayne County average of $46,211.
The state approved a Job Development Investment Grant of up to $4,696,000 over 12 years. The grant is paid only if the jobs and the investment show up.
Marks Clearing & Grading did not say what its contract is worth. Construction is expected to take about two and a half years.
The company says it is working alongside BW Design Group and Prolec on the groundwork that gets the site ready to build.
Correction, Sept. 22, 2026: An earlier version described the project as a new facility. It is an expansion of the plant Prolec already runs in Goldsboro.
About this story
By Sotwire Desk. Based on Marks Clearing & Grading's own announcement, with public records where cited. Erin O'Brien of Marks Clearing & Grading confirmed this account to Sotwire.
Key facts
- Marks Clearing & Grading
- Goldsboro, NC
- Projects
- Client confirmed
- Erin O'Brien
- $140 million expansion of Prolec GE Waukesha's Goldsboro transformer plant
- U.S. Highway 117 South, Goldsboro (Wayne County), NC
- Prolec GE Waukesha, doing business as Prolec Energy; joint-venture partner GE Vernova
- Power transformers for utilities, cooperatives, data centers and industrial sites
- From 220 to 420 medium power transformers a year (Prolec)
- 330, at an average salary of $71,912 (N.C. Department of Commerce)
- $46,211 (N.C. Department of Commerce)
- Job Development Investment Grant of up to $4,696,000 over 12 years, paid only if the jobs and the investment show up
- More than 350 people
- 1967
- About two and a half years (expected)
- Marks Clearing & Grading, Wendell
- BW Design Group and Prolec
- Not disclosed; scope not spelled out line by line
Key events
- Gov. Josh Stein announced the Prolec expansion
- Prolec broke ground on the expansion
- Marks Clearing & Grading said it is the site contractor
- Story corrected to describe the project as an expansion, not a new facility