Johnston lands maker of rare-earth magnets

Johnston County is supporting Vulcan Elements' effort to build a U.S. supply chain
for magnets crucial to American defense.

 

Johnston County will help Vulcan Elements forge a U.S. supply chain for rare-earth magnets, the kind found in U.S. military missiles and drones.

Currently, about 94-98% of global rare-earth magnet production is based in China, giving the country a strong strategic position in that market.

Vulcan and its CEO, John Maslin, a former U.S. Navy supply officer, want to build a supply chain that’s not dependent on the Chinese.

That mission caught the attention of U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, who has championed the company in Washington, D.C. Budd was among the speakers when Vulcan announced on Nov. 18 that it would invest nearly $1 billion and employ 1,000 people at a plant in Benson.

“Almost every weapon in our supply chain uses magnets, including jets, submarines and the missiles that they fire,” the senator said.

Vulcan, a manufacturing company based in Research Triangle Park, has received backing from the U.S. government, including a $620 million loan from the Department of War and $50 million from the Commerce Department.

“I am proud to have worked in the Senate to help forge the partnership between Vulcan and the Departments of Defense and Commerce, and to break down barriers that, for too long, have held back domestic magnet production,” Budd said.

“The U.S. should have done this decades ago,” the senator added. “But now we are, and we’re moving the critical supply chain for rare earths and so many other things away from China.”

Already, Vulcan has a small production and research facility in RTP. With a plant in Benson, it aims to increase production to 10,000 metric tonnes a year. That’s roughly 22 million pounds of magnets.

The company makes sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which are among the strongest permanent magnets. It has partnered with ReElement Technologies and Energy Fuels, which both supply raw material for Vulcan’s process.

Maslin, the CEO, said Benson was ideally situated. It stands at the crossroads of Interstates 40 and 95, and it’s close to universities, community colleges and military bases.

“We need to draw on world-class talent, innovation and infrastructure as we secure one of the 21st century’s most important supply chains,” Maslin said. “As home to our current commercial facility, North Carolina has proven that it has all three.

“As we create 1,000 new American jobs, we’ll tap into the region’s deep bench of experience across industries — from engineers and technicians who understand hardware and manufacturing to veterans who have spent their careers managing complex supply chains, operating heavy equipment and serving their country.”

Butch Lawter, chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, welcomed the role Johnston will play in Vulcan’s mission. “This company, this facility and our county will be a key asset in U.S. national security and the competitive economic position,” he said. “We look forward to supporting Vulcan Elements as it creates its home here and goes about its historic work.”

Vulcan answers safety questions

You had questions, so we asked them.

After Vulcan Elements announced that it would make rare-earth magnets at a plant in Benson, many Johnstonians wondered aloud about the plant’s impact on the community. They worried especially about risks to the environment, employee health and safety, and Benson’s electrical grid.

Their concerns are real. The powder that Vulcan Elements will use to make magnets can ignite and is harmful if inhaled, and the furnaces used to turn compressed powder into magnets generate a lot of heat and emissions. Also, finished magnets require cleaning and coating, and those processes can produce wastewater containing heavy metals and acids. Similarly, cutting and grinding the magnets can produce metal scraps, dust and slurry. Also, metallic fumes and particulates can escape during grinding, cutting and furnace operations.

What follows are the questions we asked Vulcan about its processes and the company’s answers to those questions.

How will your production process guard against explosions and the inhalation of the powder? Will you, for example, use sealed rooms, inert atmosphere and similar safeguards such as airlocks between powder rooms and the rest of the plant? Assuming the use of electric furnaces, how will the process protect against emissions, and how might you try to minimize impact on the electric grid? For example, would the plant employ a heat-recovery system to perhaps heat the building in winter? How would the process ensure that any water entering the sewer system would be free of metals? How would the plant handle rare-earth scraps? How would you ensure that the plant’s 1,000 employees are not exposed to metallic fumes and particulates?

Page last updated on:  December 15, 2025