Wilkes Economic Development Corporation

Wilkes EDC Jenkins Millwork Press Release

Wilkes Journal Patriot article:
http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_f0eaf2f2-9a02-11e1-89fb-0019bb30f31a.html

Please click on the following link to view the Wilkes EDC Winter 2012 Newsletter

For sale:

• 106,500-square-foot manufacturing/distribution building on 12.9 acres located within the 500-acre Wilkes Industrial Park
• Expandable on graded pad up to 50,000 square feet
• 22′ at eaves; 24′ at center
• 6,500 sf of office space
• Built in 1997, tilt-up concrete
• Easy access to I-77, US-421 and I-40

Link to PDF Flyer Jeld-Wen Building

Visit our Sites and Buildings page to view detailed information:

http://www.wilkesedc.com/sites-buildings/sites-buildings/

For a PDF version of our Fall Newsletter please select the link.  Wilkes EDC Fall Newsletter

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue visited the Applied Technology Center at Wilkes Community College on Oct. 27. The ATC is a state-of-the-art training center for advanced materials manufacturing.

Article:

http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_4f66e30e-03e5-11e1-876a-0019bb30f31a.html

President Barack Obama visited Wilkes County October 17 to speak on the American Jobs Act at West Wilkes High School.

Article:

http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_7ce68cae-fa7f-11e0-8f39-0019bb30f31a.html

Video:

http://www.journalpatriot.com/multimedia/videos/youtube_d3ee49b2-f9a1-11e0-a3cc-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=multimedia

Manufacturer to Create 29 Jobs in Wilkes County

State Grant Helps CertainTeed Expand in Wilkes County

NORTH WILKESBORO -  Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that CertainTeed Corporation., a manufacturer of building materials, will expand its operation near Roaring River in Wilkes County. The project is expected to create 29 jobs, and the company expects to invest $2.7 million in the plant by the end of 2012. The project was made possible in part by a $98,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. The company chose Wilkes County over a similar location in the Pacific Northwest

“Creating jobs is my top priority, and North Carolina’s workforce has the knowledge and skills that companies like CertainTeed demand,” Gov. Perdue said. “Our history of investments in education and job training is essential to bringing well-paying jobs to communities like North Wilkesboro.”

The company will incorporate a paint line in the plant that has traditionally been done by third party vendors. The initiative is expected to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Salaries will vary by job function, but the average annual wage for the new jobs will be $42,741 not including benefits. The Wilkes County average annual wage is $29,172.

”The expansion of the North Wilkesboro plant further demonstrates CertainTeed’s commitment to the State of North Carolina,” says John Crowe, President and CEO of CertainTeed.  “With the world’s largest roofing plant in Oxford, siding plants in North Wilkesboro and Claremont and a wallboard facility under construction in Roxboro, the State of North Carolina has and continues to be an excellent partner.  Our thanks to Governor Perdue, as well as State and local economic development officials for their support in helping make this important project a reality.”

The $98,000 One North Carolina Fund grant will be matched locally by Wilkes County and the Wilkes EDC LEAP Fund. The LEAP Fund is a five-year private funding effort in Wilkes County to provide additional incentive support for high-impact economic development projects. In addition, the company is eligible for additional State tax credits and Community College training dollars.

“This was an important announcement for our community at this time.” says Wilkes EDC president Jeff Garstka. “These are skilled jobs and a significant investment from a company with international roots. We appreciate CertainTeed choosing Wilkes County for this exciting project. This was a very competitive project that would not have been made possible without the Governor, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Wilkes County and the EDC’s LEAP Fund.”

In addition to fiber cement siding, CertainTeed Corporation offers a diverse portfolio of  interior and exterior building materials throughout North America, including roofing, vinyl siding, housewrap, pvc trim, fence, railing, decking, foundations, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and pipe products. Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, CertainTeed has approximately 6,000 employees and 65 facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

CertainTeed is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, headquartered in France and one of the top 100 industrial companies in the world. Saint-Gobain employs approximately 22,000 people in North America and more than 109,000 people in 64 countries world-wide.

The One North Carolina Fund provides financial assistance, through local governments, to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. Companies receive no money up front and must meet job creation and investment performance standards to qualify for grant funds. These grants also require and are contingent upon local matches.

The Wilkes Economic Development Corporation is a private non-profit whose mission is to facilitate the creation of new jobs and capital investment in Wilkes County, North Carolina through the recruitment of new businesses and the retention and expansion of existing businesses.

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http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_9b1d367e-ad7b-11e0-9703-0019bb30f31a.html

(Edit.: This is a great example of public-private relationships that are critical to our collective success moving forward. The Town acquires a key piece of property and has the flexibility to develop it to its highest and best use. The EDC would like to thank Tyson and the Town of Wilkesboro for pulling this off – Jeff Garstka)

Tyson Foods Inc. has donated what Wilkesboro Mayor Mike Inscore called a “strategically located” 21.3-acre parcel to the Town of Wilkesboro, company and town officials announced this morning.

The land, along the north side of the Yadkin River, borders Tucker Hole Creek, is directly south of the U.S. 421-U.S. 421 Bypass interchange but doesn’t actually adjoin U.S. 421. An access road to the property intersects with the road off U.S. 421 to Kohl’s and Ruby Tuesday’s.

Inscore said Tyson Foods’ donation of the 21.3 acres, known as the “shaving bin” or “bottoms” property, marked another milestone in a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between the town and the company.

“We are very grateful for their generosity. This donation allows Wilkesboro multiple options on how to best utilize this asset as we plan for our future growth,” said Inscore.

“Tyson is, and always has been, a vital business partner to Wilkesboro,” he added. “Our citizens and our entire county have benefited from having their strong presence and we look forward to continue building on our solid relationship of cooperation.”

Doug Ramsey, Tyson vice president of operations, spoke about the strong partnership between Wilkesboro and the company this morning. “We really appreciate the city council for working with us to come to this point,” Ramsey said.

Town Manager Ken Noland said the property, recently appraised for $580,000, could become a business or industrial park. “We first want to determine the highest and best use for the property,” said Noland.

He noted that because of the property’s proximity to the raw water intake for the town’s public water supply on the south side of the Yadkin River, the donated property is designated by the state as being in a “critical” watershed area.

Because of this, said Noland, only 24 percent of it can be built upon or paved and as such have an impervious surface. This designation, under the N.C. Water Supply Watershed Protection Act, is supposed to prevent “non-point” water pollution from stormwater runoff.

The southwestern corner of the property along the Yadkin is a little over 1,000 feet upstream from the town’s water intake. The intake is a few feet upstream from where Moravian Creek enters the Yadkin.

Noland said town officials discussed asking officials in the Water Quality Section of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) about getting the critical area designation removed from the property since Wilkesboro, North Wilkesboro and county officials are seeking funds for establishing a water intake for both towns on W. Kerr Scott Reservoir.

He said DENR officials didn’t indicate support for this six or seven years ago when the town brought it up, but that DENR officials might respond more favorably now considering recent “changes in the mood in the Raleigh with changes in the state legislature.” Noland was referring to a more pro-business attitude.

He said another possibility is moving Tucker Hole Creek so that it empties into the Yadkin River downstream from Wilkesboro’s current water intake. The town has applied for a $500,000 grant to fund this undertaking.

Ramsey, said, “We’re extremely pleased to give back to the community. Wilkesboro is a wonderful location for our processing operations. We’re successful here due to the help of great city leaders like Mayor Inscore and our outstanding staff of 2,600 team members (in Wilkesboro) who keep our operations running.”

The property, most recently used for the company’s live production services, has been vacant since 2008.

A Tyson Foods press release said the company decided earlier this year to donate the property for public use after it was determined through conversations between Tyson and town leaders that it would be of greater benefit to Wilkesboro.

Tyson Foods acquired the property and other assets in Wilkesboro in 1989 when it purchased Holly Farms.

Bob Johnson, complex manager for Tyson Foods’ Wilkesboro operations, began his career in the industry on that very property when he started working for Holly Farms in 1972.

Johnson said Tyson moved its live production headquarters from the property to a building on N.C. 268 West in 2008. He said an office building and two or three garage facilities are still there.

“I’m humbled and happy that I’ve been able to watch this property go full circle and I hope it will be an economic benefit to this city and its citizens,” Johnson said.

Tyson’s Wilkesboro operations consist of chicken processing and further processing plants, hatcheries, lab services, engineering, and route and transportation sales.

Tyson’s combined Wilkesboro area payroll for 2010 was over $76 million. Tyson’s total wages, paid taxes, farmer and supplier pay within North Carolina was approximately $200 million in 2010.

Tyson Foods, founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Ark., is one of the world’s largest processors and marketers of chicken, beef and pork, the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500.

The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products and is the recognized market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves.

http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_11e9571a-abe7-11e0-becd-0019bb30f31a.html

The $14,865,000 construction project at Wilkes Regional Medical Center is beginning this week. The emergency department (ED), and two of the operating suites are being expanded, and a 2,200-square-foot heart center is being constructed adjacent to the emergency department.

The 9,500-square-foot ED expansion, which will more than double the size of the existing ED (to 17,140 square feet), will increase the number of exam rooms from 19 to 29.

The size of the operating suites will be increased by 30 percent. Also, other work in the surgical department will significantly improve patient flow to provide for continued growth in surgery cases, according to hospital officials.

The project will include the installation of two new 750-kilowatt emergency generators at a total cost of $1.8 million. The two 500-kilowatt generators now on site are not large enough to provide power for the entire hospital. The older generators will be rewired to provide emergency power for the chiller and cooling towers so that the air conditioning and air handling systems will remain in operation in power outages.

The construction will extend the building 88 feet into the current ED parking area. A 2,200-square-foot space in the new area will be used for the new heart center. Dr. Julian Thomas and Dr. William Scarpa, cardiologists, are already on staff at Wilkes Regional.

The expansion of the emergency department into the parking area will take 10 spaces. Because of that loss, plus the need for additional parking, hospital officials plan to construct a new parking area for 35-40 vehicles. Though a final decision has not yet been made, the lot will probably be located on the west side of the hillside in front of the hospital (adjacent to the main hospital entrance).

ED parking area to close

This week, crews are removing the guardrail in the ED parking lot and starting construction of a temporary patient/family entrance to the ED. Crews will take out a portion of the south wall of the ED (facing West D Street, between the ambulance entrance and the parking area) and build a 150-foot covered walkway from the entrance into the parking area (to protect people entering the building from the elements).

Beginning today, parking is prohibited in the lot as crews construct a fence around the construction area and move in the contractor’s trailer and a part of the construction equipment. Next week, the demolition of the existing ED entrance will begin; trees in the area will be cut and removed; asphalt will be removed, and the foundation for the new construction will be laid.

Family members bringing patients to the emergency room, after this week, may drive into the parking lot to a drop-off zone at the entrance of the walkway. They will then be directed to park in the lower parking lot on the west side of the hospital entrance drive (adjacent to Boone Trail). The hospital will provide shuttle service (a van driven by a WRMC security guard) back of the ED drop-off zone.

“This change will not affect ambulance traffic at the hospital,” explained Gene Faile, the hospital’s chief executive officer. “The emergency drive and entrance will still be open during all of the construction.

Faile added that the construction project will result in the creation of more jobs in Wilkes.

“We have already added four security guards to our staff,” he said. “Also, I’m sure that the general contractors (Shelco Construction) will be hiring day laborers to help with part of the work, especially during the demolition portion of the project.

“Dixie Grading of Wilkesboro will be doing the site preparation work, and Duncan Electric of North Wilkesboro will be doing all of the electrical work.”

http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_69148182-938b-11e0-8d99-001a4bcf6878.html

N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco emphasized the importance of unity among a community’s elected bodies in efforts for economic development when he spoke Wednesday at the Stone Family Center for Performing Arts in North Wilkesboro.

Crisco also emphasized the increasing competitiveness of economic development, particularly in incentives offered to companies.

He said that with the Wilkes Economic Development Corp.’s new revolving loan program and other initiatives funded with private donations, Wilkes is starting to become a model for what should happen to secure economic growth.

“But more importantly, it is working together as a community,” including members of different local elected boards cooperating with each other for the good of all, said Crisco.

“The superstars in economic development, and this is the real secret, are the ones that combine all the disciplines. You’ve got a great economic developer (Jeff Garstka) and many other counties have great economic developers.”

He said the mistake some communities made is hiring an economic developer and sending that person out without enough support from elected officials. “What works very well is that you hire a quality person and then a county commissioner or group of county commissioners end up being his or her team.”

He said this included having elected officials personally accompany the economic developer. For example, said Crisco, four North Carolina counties planned to have non-professionals on their teams going to an air show in Paris, France, to pursue aviation-related companies.

When a county’s economic developer can say, “this is my commissioner,” something magic happens, he said.

Companies come to North Carolina because of its educational system, its incentives, the ability of related communities to work together, quality of life and good workforce, Crisco added.

In particular, he said, North Carolina’s community colleges and their customized workforce training program give the state a competitive advantage. “We do that the best of anyone in the nation.”

He said traditional industries like textile manufacturing in North Carolina are being transformed to produce more high tech products.

He cited Ray Hinson, who is producing a highly durable yet soft textile material for surgical rooms and other hospital uses in the Maine Brand manufacturing plant in Wilkesboro, as an example. Hinson attended the meeting Wednesday.

He said there is optimism about future growth of the furniture manufacturing industry in North Carolina, partly due to rising transportation costs with goods produced overseas. Crisco said the best potential was with furniture manufacturing requiring skilled labor.

As for economic development sites, Crisco said having land graded and ready for construction rather than constructing a spec building allowed for greater flexibility with potential employers.

Crisco said he was painfully aware of it being a tough time to be North Carolina secretary of commerce, but he noted that the state’s unemployment rate was 11.2 percent when Gov. Perdue appointed him in 2009 and was 9.7 percent now. “We are making progress,” he said.

Crisco said North Carolina still ranked well in the nation as a place to do business and that the state’s population increased during the recession.

“Last week we were ranked number two in the nation for “business climate” in CO Magazine, with Texas being number one, he said. “We are bringing good companies I think and good companies are growing in North Carolina.”

He said over 65,000 jobs and about $15 billion in investments have been announced in North Carolina in the last 2½ years, “but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Crisco, a Stanly County native, was president and chairman of textile supplier Asheboro Elastics Corp. when he was named secretary of commerce. Crisco spoke here after being invited by Garstka. It was his first visit in Wilkes since becoming secretary of commerce.