Sock manufacturer PEDS Legwear has launched operations at its new $16 million manufacturing facility in Hildebran, North Carolina. The Quebec, Canada-based sock maker’s recent investment in the facility and new machinery “re-shores production, allowing the company to hire previously laid-off North Carolina manufacturing workers,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig, who participated in the ceremony marking the event.

In addition to the new facility, which employs 200 people, PEDS plans to invest another $8 million in its U.S. operations, bringing the company’s total U.S. investment to $24 million—made possible, in part, due to a multi-year purchase-order contract as part of Wal-Mart’s commitment to buy domestically produced goods.

A manufacturer and distributor of hosiery products, the company owns several internationally known brands including Peds, Medi-Peds and Growing Socks, and participates in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA program—a government-wide program, overseen by the International Trade Administration (ITA), which promotes and facilitates business investment into the U.S.

The start-up of the new PEDS factory “highlights the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the U.S. economy, the significance of FDI in manufacturing and textiles, and the competitiveness of this country’s economy,” said Selig. Creating jobs, he said, “benefits the local community, the state of North Carolina, and our nation. SelectUSA and our U.S. Commercial Service Canada teams were proud to provide their services to help facilitate this investment.”

“The opening of this modern new facility is testimony to the benefits of the SelectUSA program, the competitiveness of state support initiatives, and the commitment of Wal-Mart to buying American,” explained PEDS Legwear President, Michael D. Penner. “Because the U.S. offers a transparent, fair and stable business climate, many global companies, like PEDS, are beginning to establish or expand operations in America.”

According to the ITA, the U.S. attracted $231 billion in foreign direct investment in 2013, while affiliates of foreign firms employed 5.8 million people in the country in the previous year. Those companies spent $48 billion on research and development and exported nearly $344 billion worth of goods manufactured in the U.S.