I received this update a few days ago, from the desk of Kevin Franklin, President of Randolph Economic Development Corporation. It was originally received by Mayor Vicki Caudle, who forwarded it to the town clerk’s office for further distribution. Mr. Franklin’s message begins below.
It’s the first day of September and time for another RCEDC Investor Insights email with news and information we hope you’ll find informative. Your feedback on content is always welcome and appreciated.
EDC Info
Our work with existing industry is going strong. Brantley has called on twenty-three of our established industrial businesses in the past two months and four of those have expressed some level of planning around potential future growth. He’s also getting some great experience offering support in response to a variety of inquiries from our local industry.
Crystal is doing an outstanding job managing RFIs and activity for new business attraction. We have a full pipeline of active projects; since the July 1 start of our fiscal year, we have received 24 project inquiries and have responded to 15 of those with site and/or building submissions. Those 15 active projects represent potential investment of approximately $1.3 billion and roughly 5,500 jobs. We may see only a fraction of that land here, but we definitely see opportunities ahead.
News & Insights
NC Commerce recently posted a brief article titled “Why Every North Carolinian Should Care about the State’s Manufacturing Industry.” It’s a worthwhile quick read and underscores why we do what we do here in Randolph County.
The closure of Klaussner Home Furnishings this month was a significant blow with 800+ employees, many of them long-term, losing their jobs. The efforts of the community to support these displaced workers (your EDC was right in the mix) showed the best of who Randolph County is. While Klaussner was closing, Ramseur’s Amor Furniture was stepping up to grow its business, reopening the former Benchmark Upholstery facility in Staley to fill in some of the production gap left with the closures of Klaussner and UFI.
The Greensboro Chamber recently recognized the original Greensboro-Randolph Megasite ownership group – Randolph County, the North Carolina Railroad, and the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation (all RCEDC investors) with its Stanley Frank Economic and Workforce Development Award. We appreciate the foresight of these leaders in what ultimately brought Toyota to our community.
Several of our investors have recently been recognized by the Triad Business Journal. Millikan Tractor is a 2023 Family Business Award winner. Engineered Steel Products, Fourth Elm Construction, Graham Personnel Services, Millikan Tractor, and Samet Corporation were on the TBJ’s 2023 Fast 50 list of the fastest growing companies in the Triad. Congrats to these award winners!
North Carolina continues to be cited as a top state for doing business. In early August, Business Facilities ranked NC second on its Best Business Climate list and in the top ten states in a variety of other measures published on their website.
Did You Know?
The EDC website contains a wealth of demographic information about Randolph County, and you can even compare our community with others across the country. Visit the Sites & Buildings page, click on the Explore Communities tab, and start digging around. Looking for labor force info, occupation data, or wage info? It’s all there. If you’d prefer our office to save you the time of exploring, just connect with Lisa and let her know what you’re looking for; there’s a good chance she will be able to generate a report for you.
The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Integrated Mobility Division (NCDOT IMD) is seeking public input to develop its draft plan to improve transportation access for seniors and individuals with disabilities in small urban and rural areas.