The White House confirmed the visit Thursday morning. The president will tour Cree’s manufacturing facilities and deliver remarks to employees. He also will meet with the Council on Jobs Creation and Competitiveness.

The council was established in January and is headed GE (NYSE: GE) Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt. It replaced the Economic Recovery Advisory Board headed former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

This will be the second manufacturing-related visit the president in one week. On Wednesday, Obama visited Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Va., to discuss the importance of training and preparing the nation’s work force to compete for manufacturing jobs.

Cree (NASDAQ: CREE), the Durham-based maker of energy-efficient lights, has been a political darling in recent years as the company has continued to expand and ramp up hiring. The company hosted Vice President Joe Biden last year during his visit to the Triangle, when he toured Cree and promoted clean energy tax credits, ate at Bullock’s Bar-B-Que in Durham and spoke with local leaders.

Original story published at Bizjournals.com