At first it was a possibility that Gov. Pat McCrory would attend the announcement of a new industry Friday in Mount Airy, but this has been reduced to a definite no.

However, Sharon Decker, North Carolina’s new secretary of commerce, is scheduled to be here, making her second appearance in Surry County in as many weeks. Last Friday, Decker attended the annual meeting of the Surry County Economic Development Partnership in Dobson.

“I think it was scheduling,” Todd Tucker, that organization’s president, said Tuesday afternoon regarding McCrory not being able to come.

“He just had too much going on,” Tucker added.

But the governor’s absence is not expected to dampen the main reason for Friday’s event at the Andy Griffith Playhouse: the official word on the arrival of a new company offering 140 jobs.

The unnamed industry will set up shop in the former Bassett Furniture plant on Sheep Farm Road just outside Mount Airy.

Unlike the former occupant, the incoming company — now referred to only by the code name “Project TAP” — is a California-based manufacturer of household cleaning products that are supplied to retailers.

The nationally known entity is expected to hire 140 people locally over the next five years while also investing more than $21 million in the operation. It is expected to buy a large amount of water from the city of Mount Airy.

In November, the Surry County Board of Commissioners approved a $543,448 incentive package for Project TAP.

Friday’s event begins at 10 a.m.

Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@civitasmedia.com.