MYRTLE BEACH — A company that will bring new manufacturing jobs to the Myrtle Beach area expects to have 35 employees by this time next year, according to company officials.

BauschLinnemann North America, a producer of surfaces and edge bandings for furniture makers, will bring 55 manufacturing jobs over a five-year period to a new facility the company will build in the area. The company has 24 positions filled with existing employees from its Myrtle Beach and Conway facilities, including three people who were recently hired. BauschLinnemann plans to start hiring for the remaining 31 manufacturing jobs at the beginning of next summer once its new facility is finished.

The last few years have been rough due to construction downturns, but the company has survived and grown, said Mike Phillips, president and chief executive officer of BauschLinnemann North America, during a ceremony Tuesday for the company at Horry-Georgetown Technical College Grand Strand campus.

BauschLinnemann, which also has a facility in Greensboro, N.C., was initially looking to move all its operations to Greensboro, but decided to locate here.

“The workforce here is so dedicated, we felt we owed them an opportunity,” said Phillips, who said its workforce in Greensboro is dedicated too, but smaller. “We were interested in economic incentives here. The attitude of the local government and business is different than it was in Greensboro. As we got into it, it made more sense to move. It was a business decision.”

The company will consolidate its operations in Myrtle Beach, Conway and Greensboro, into a new 75,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility on Harrelson Boulevard near the Myrtle Beach International Airport, according to officials with the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. The facility is expected to be complete by July, at which time BauschLinnemann will begin hiring. The site has room to expand to 200,000 square feet.

Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc. will build the facility.

BauschLinnemann is an important addition to the business community in Horry County, Jim Apple, B&C’s president and chief executive officer, said during Tuesday’s ceremony. To have the company locate near the Myrtle Beach airport is an important image for Myrtle Beach as a German flag will signal the presence of an international business here, Apple said.

Phillips said it would also give the company visibility and is a convenient location to be near the airport.

Officials say having BauschLinnemann in Horry County helps diversify the area’s tourism-based economy.

“A healthy economy depends on diversity,” said Phil Render, a Myrtle Beach City Councilman and Horry-Georgetown Technical College’s dean of academic affairs.

Horry County Council Chairman Tom Rice said the area has to work at keeping its college graduates here by having diversity in jobs.

“We’re doing great things, but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Contact JANELLE FROST at 443-2404.