Triad Business Notes

[KJHburg]

More buzz in the local tv media about something happening at the Megasite.   

Could Toyota come to North Carolina? | wfmynews2.com

[cityboi]

On 11/21/2021 at 3:34 PM, KJHburg said:

More buzz in the local tv media about something happening at the Megasite.   

Could Toyota come to North Carolina? | wfmynews2.com

Even more evidence 

 

https://greensboro.com/business/local/after-toyota-reports-surface-corps-of-engineers-files-public-notice-of-grading-the-greensboro-randolph/article_ebafba82-4bd9-11ec-be1c-c7d19f7b4aac.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

[KJHburg]

The State's Economic Investment committee is meeting today about some project. 

Auto plant for NC? Site recruiter says state is ready to be a player | WRAL TechWire

[cityboi]

One thing to note. The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite is being referred to as a "campus" for Toyota. There is already talk of additional investment by Toyota for the site.... meaning the site could eventually include an electric automobile assembly plant. It makes a lot of sense because battery plants for other car manufacturers are a part of the same complex that assembles the vehicles as well. In addition, the Greensboro area location will be close to a source of Lithium mining in Gaston County. The mined Lithium will be used for electric car batteries. Piedmont Lithium in Gaston County is already touting Lithium from their mines being used for the Toyota  EV Batteries being made in the Greensboro area.

https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/does-new-toyota-battery-factory-mean-new-us-ev-plant

Edited November 24, 2021 by cityboi

[KJHburg]

Something big is brewing on the megasite and maybe something Japanese.   The Biz Journal is reporting this:

""he Randolph Board of County Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, Dec. 6, to discuss economic incentives.  The megasite is jointly owned by Randolph County and the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation.  As of now, no known incentives considerations are on the agendas of the Greensboro City Council or Guilford Board of County Commissioners. Greensboro City Council is holding a special meeting Monday, Nov. 29, at 9 a.m. and will immediately go into closed session to discuss a non-disclosed matter.  Offering incentives across jurisdictional lines is not unprecedented here.""

Randolph County sets public hearing on Greensboro-Randolph Megasite economic incentives - Triad Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

I know there has been dashed hopes before but I do believe this could be IT this time. 

""Greensboro is providing water and sewer service to the megasite. Any rate discount as an incentive would require public action.""

Edited November 24, 2021 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

I do believe this company Honda Jet based in Greensboro will be very helpful in luring Toyota and Panasonic to the Greensboro Megasite.   Their great experience in the Triad will be helpful and informative for this joint venture if it comes to the Megasite

About Us | Hondajet

and so will this plant in Alamance County

and of course all the Japanese plants and offices in NC and I forgot about Konica is in Triad too

https://japan.ncsu.edu/whatwedo/japanese-businesses-in-north-carolina/

Honda is one of the largest manufacturers in Japan so their success in the area is very important.

I think December will be very exciting for the Triad as  your time has come!

[DCMetroRaleigh]

I’m ready for this announcement, and the accompanying I-695!

[cityboi]

19 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Something big is brewing on the megasite and maybe something Japanese.   The Biz Journal is reporting this:

""he Randolph Board of County Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, Dec. 6, to discuss economic incentives.  The megasite is jointly owned by Randolph County and the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation.  As of now, no known incentives considerations are on the agendas of the Greensboro City Council or Guilford Board of County Commissioners. Greensboro City Council is holding a special meeting Monday, Nov. 29, at 9 a.m. and will immediately go into closed session to discuss a non-disclosed matter.  Offering incentives across jurisdictional lines is not unprecedented here.""

Randolph County sets public hearing on Greensboro-Randolph Megasite economic incentives - Triad Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

I know there has been dashed hopes before but I do believe this could be IT this time. 

""Greensboro is providing water and sewer service to the megasite. Any rate discount as an incentive would require public action.""

I agree. Typically when there have been rumors for the site, other states were still considered frontrunners. In this case Greensboro is the frontrunner and there are reports the Greensboro area has already been selected, just not publicly.

16 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I do believe this company Honda Jet based in Greensboro will be very helpful in luring Toyota and Panasonic to the Greensboro Megasite.   Their great experience in the Triad will be helpful and informative for this joint venture if it comes to the Megasite

About Us | Hondajet

and so will this plant in Alamance County

and of course all the Japanese plants and offices in NC and I forgot about Konica is in Triad too

https://japan.ncsu.edu/whatwedo/japanese-businesses-in-north-carolina/

Honda is one of the largest manufacturers in Japan so their success in the area is very important.

I think December will be very exciting for the Triad as  your time has come!

Industry forms in clusters, so I'm sure this will not be the last Japanese company bringing Industry to the Triad and state. I have a feeling the Greensboro-Randolph megasite will eventually get an automobile assembly plant as well based on how the site description is being worded. It is being called a Toyota "campus" which means something else other than the battery plant is going on that site and there is enough acres for the two. If I were Greensboro and Guilford County leaders I would be working on assembling land for other future opportunities for other companies looking for large production sites.

Edited November 25, 2021 by cityboi

[GSOstrong]

Industry forms in clusters, so I'm sure this will not be the last Japanese company bringing Industry to the Triad and state. I have a feeling the Greensboro-Randolph megasite will eventually get an automobile assembly plant as well based on how the site description is being worded. It is being called a Toyota "campus" which means something else other than the battery plant is going on that site and there is enough acres for the two. If I were Greensboro and Guilford County leaders I would be working on assembling land for other future opportunities for other companies looking for large production sites.

Tell me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t Thomas Built Buses contribute to Toyota maybe coming to the area as well as Honda would? TBB controls a little over 40% of the bus population in the states and is located in the triad area and the government in investing a lot of money to go towards electric school buses


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[KJHburg]

3 hours ago, GSOstrong said:

Tell me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t Thomas Built Buses contribute to Toyota maybe coming to the area as well as Honda would? TBB controls a little over 40% of the bus population in the states and is located in the triad area and the government in investing a lot of money to go towards electric school buses


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Yes all the major assembly plants in the area and Thomas Built Buses would be one of them.   Freightliner makes heavy duty trucks in Rowan and Gaston Counties.  Plus Arrival a British maker of small electric delivery trucks in starting up production in 2 plants in the Charlotte area and their North American HQ is in Charlotte too.  

[cityboi]

3 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Yes all the major assembly plants in the area and Thomas Built Buses would be one of them.   Freightliner makes heavy duty trucks in Rowan and Gaston Counties.  Plus Arrival a British maker of small electric delivery trucks in starting up production in 2 plants in the Charlotte area and their North American HQ is in Charlotte too.  

Not to mention Volvo Trucks of North America and Mack Trucks world headquarters are based in Greensboro.

[GSOstrong]

Yes all the major assembly plants in the area and Thomas Built Buses would be one of them.   Freightliner makes heavy duty trucks in Rowan and Gaston Counties.  Plus Arrival a British maker of small electric delivery trucks in starting up production in 2 plants in the Charlotte area and their North American HQ is in Charlotte too.  

Yes, Freightliner and TBB are both own by the same company, parent company is Daimler located in Germany


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[KJHburg]

I am sure Toyota/Pansonic battery JV will sell to other manufacturers too like these truck companies.  I think we should hear in the next 2 weeks on their decision given these Randolph County meeting coming up and the Greensboro city council meeting  this coming week. 

[KJHburg]

In other business news sounds like HondaJet could be expanding.   From Business NC morning email:

""Big aircraft project headed to Greensboro?
(Associated Press)
State lawmakers in Raleigh approved changes to the new state budget that includes $107 million for Piedmont Triad International Airport improvements should an unnamed airplane manufacturer expand at the Guilford County site. The so-called “Project Thunderbird” cites incentives including $15M for site work, $35M for roadwork and $57M for airplane hangars. The money hinges on new jobs that would pay $60,000 annually. ""

[GSOstrong]

In other business news sounds like HondaJet could be expanding.   From Business NC morning email:
""Big aircraft project headed to Greensboro?
(Associated Press)
State lawmakers in Raleigh approved changes to the new state budget that includes $107 million for Piedmont Triad International Airport improvements should an unnamed airplane manufacturer expand at the Guilford County site. The so-called “Project Thunderbird” cites incentives including $15M for site work, $35M for roadwork and $57M for airplane hangars. The money hinges on new jobs that would pay $60,000 annually. ""

I was wondering what was going on, they have cleared a lot of land by the airport and seem to be doing a lot of prep for whatever’s coming to that area. I was assuming it would be some sort of airport expansion but looks like it’s Honda which is still great news


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[rancenc]

Follow up to the mysterious project proposed at PTI!

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/project-thunderbird-potential-airplane-manufacturer-could-bring-1000-plus-jobs-to-piedmont-triad-international-airport/

[cityboi]

1 hour ago, rancenc said:

Follow up to the mysterious project proposed at PTI!

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/project-thunderbird-potential-airplane-manufacturer-could-bring-1000-plus-jobs-to-piedmont-triad-international-airport/

1,750 job! This would be a pretty big operation and would be the second airplane manufacturer at PTI. The first being Honda Aircraft Company (HondaJet) and on the heels of the Toyota news!

https://greensboro.com/business/local/game-changer-could-bring-at-least-1-750-jobs-to-piedmont-triad-international-airport/article_3518db68-8332-55a0-bf64-be34a44fbeed.html#tracking-source=home-breaking

Edited November 30, 2021 by cityboi

[GSOstrong]

1,750 job! This would be a pretty big operation and would be the second airplane manufacturer at PTI. The first being Honda Aircraft Company (HondaJet) and on the heels of the Toyota news!
https://greensboro.com/business/local/game-changer-could-bring-at-least-1-750-jobs-to-piedmont-triad-international-airport/article_3518db68-8332-55a0-bf64-be34a44fbeed.html#tracking-source=home-breaking

1,750 jobs is only for the Toyota plant, for the airport expansion it doesn’t specify exactly how many jobs will be created. Only said “over a thousand”


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[HRVT]

1 hour ago, GSOstrong said:

1,750 jobs is only for the Toyota plant, for the airport expansion it doesn’t specify exactly how many jobs will be created. Only said “over a thousand”


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No, this is also 1750 jobs per the story (and headline) cited.

That's 3500 good jobs between two employees coming soon. Yuge!

[GSOstrong]

No, this is also 1750 jobs per the story (and headline) cited.
That's 3500 good jobs between two employees coming soon. Yuge!

Understood, the article I seen before didn’t state that but either way it’s a win for the triad community. New jobs, new developments!


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[cityboi]

 

Could there be a possibility that this could be a Boeing aircraft manufacturing facility? State leaders are using big terms for this project.  I did some digging and there was some recent news articles about demand increasing dramatically for Boeing aircraft. Nevertheless, this is great news coming on the heels of the Toyota EV battery plant which btw could lead to an electric car assembly plant there as well. The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite has been referred to as a "campus" site. While I have been a cheerleader for more white collar jobs in Greensboro, if we are going manufacturing, this is the kind of manufacturing we need in this area and it's thousands of high paying jobs between Toyota and what could be coming to PTI. This is big time. We may not get there the way Charlotte and Raleigh has but we're gonna get there.

The two projects will have a multiplying effect attracting suppliers to the area.

Here is what state legislators are saying about Project Thunderbird at PTI 

"the dynamics of this is evolving very fast and there should be a major announcement this week or certainly soon"

"the project will be "a game changer for this area and PTI. I am proud to be part of supporting this project in our region"

"it will be transformative for this region"

"its all hands on deck for this project"

The hype from state leaders would lead you to think that this could be a Boeing aircraft manufacturing facility or a company on that level.  There is definitely a cluster at PTI with Honda Aircraft Company and HAECO Americas which both manufacture aircraft and have their headquarters at PTI. According to the Triad Business Journal, the identity of the company could be revealed as early as next Tuesday. State leaders allude to the fact that there is no competition for the development which like Toyota, this company may have already made its decision.

You can see the taxiway bridge going over I-73 to the site.

Edited November 30, 2021 by cityboi

[KJHburg]

I have long said Greensboro Winston Salem and the entire Triad is one of premier manufacturing areas in the country and now hopefully you will snag 2 huge manufacturers.  (Toyota Panasonic battery plant and this large aviation oriented manufacturer)  One would be significant but snagging both will ignite a boom across the area from your downtowns to your suburbs.   Truly exciting for the Triad and the state as a whole.  

and we all know Greensboro has the highway infrastructure to support all this growth with your Interstates 85.40, 73, 74, 985, 840 did I miss any oh yeah the new one on US 421.  

a plus I think is that area is affordable for most people and variety of housing options.  Loft mill conversion apartments for young workers, large suburban areas like Summerfield, country clubs, new performing arts center in the Tanger, lots of universities and graduates in the area.  Plus all the benefits of NC in general.  

Edited December 1, 2021 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

From the Triad Biz Journal 

""Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth County, co-chairs the conferees for the bill. “I believe there will be an announcement soon,” he told Triad Business Journal on Tuesday.

“Soon” could come as early as next Tuesday, following the next scheduled meeting of the Economic Investment Committee of the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The EIC approves all JDIG appropriations.""

Airbus has a plant in Mobile Alabama wonder if this is another US plant for them?   But could be Boeing to do something for to help their Charleston plant which is large but somewhat  hemmed in with surrounding development, their airport and Air Force base. 

[cityboi]

12 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

From the Triad Biz Journal 

""Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth County, co-chairs the conferees for the bill. “I believe there will be an announcement soon,” he told Triad Business Journal on Tuesday.

“Soon” could come as early as next Tuesday, following the next scheduled meeting of the Economic Investment Committee of the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The EIC approves all JDIG appropriations.""

Airbus has a plant in Mobile Alabama wonder if this is another US plant for them?   But could be Boeing to do something for to help their Charleston plant which is large but somewhat  hemmed in with surrounding development, their airport and Air Force base. 

Whatever it is, its going to be big based on how state legislators are reacting to this. We didn't see this kind of reaction when HondaJet selected Greensboro for its headquarters and manufacturing facilities. There are a number of big potential fish. Boeing, Lockheed Martin (military jets), Airbus to name a few. Having any one of them would be a game changer for the region.

Edited December 1, 2021 by cityboi

[KJHburg]

Santa Claus may come 3 times to Greensboro and the area this year once at the Megasite once at PTI and once on the 25th.