Triad Business Notes

[cityboi]

Seattle company moving headquarters to High Point 

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/09/22/pioneer-square-high-point-move.html

[cityboi]

EV Charger maker preparing to start production in Greensboro.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/09/25/autel-energy-preparing-greensboro-production.html

[KJHburg]

Greensboro named the 2nd best housing market in the country!  Look at your average price vs the other leaders like Charlotte or Raleigh much more affordable.  I have predicted the Triad housing market will start to catch up to the larger metros in the state and property values will rise with all the planned and projected job growth happening. 

Insurify Housing Market Report 2023

[rancenc]

Looks like Guilford County and the Town of Whitsett is gaining a new headquarters!

https://www.furnituretoday.com/john-richard-moves-headquarters-to-north-carolina-will-open-new-distribution-facility/

[rancenc]

High Point based operations completes expansion!

https://www.streetinsider.com/PRNewswire/Cambrex+Completes+%2438+Million+Capacity+Expansion+in+High+Point%2C+North+Carolina/22222070.html

[KJHburg]

Major WS company is adding 200 jobs and space.

Purple Crow picks Winston-Salem for 200 jobs, $50M investment - Triangle Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

""A distributor of Hispanic food products is making a big investment in North Carolina.

Purple Crow announced Wednesday that it will acquire property in a repurposed industrial development in its home city of Winston-Salem to establish a new headquarters for its food distribution operations. The company distributes over 3,000 “deeply authentic” Hispanic products to stores and restaurants along the East Coast.

Earlier this month, Winston-Salem approved a $694,281 incentive package for Purple Crow to expand its operations. The package is contingent upon Purple Crow making a $50 million investment and adding 199 jobs at an average salary of $72,000 by 2028.""

[KJHburg]

Congratulations to both Greensboro High Point metro area and the Winston Salem metro area for being both in the top 20 most affordable metro areas in the country.  Greensboro came in at #17 and Winston Salem even better at #9.  From the American City Business Journals.

America's most affordable large metro areas - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

McAllen Texas on the Mexican border is the most affordable in case you are wondering and San Francisco is the least affordable.  

[cityboi]

Little bit of "retro" business news 

Came across this old News and Record article when Greensboro got its first Walmart some 33 years ago. At that time Kmart was king in Greensboro.

https://greensboro.com/wal-mart-to-open-its-first-guilford-store/article_22204199-3afe-52ed-adde-7f5d80a2a79e.html

Edited October 14, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Article hints that Toyota will make a major announcement next week "bigger and better " than previous announcements for the Greensboro-Liberty site. It appears to me that the announcement will likely be about Toyota building an electric automobile assembly plant adjacent to the battery plant. Toyota spokesmen have hinted that in the past when they made the announcement about the battery plant but the news could become official next week! Hundreds of people have already moved to the Greensboro area from other states to work at the Toyota plant and more could be on the way. Liberty will be seeing a development boom for new housing as well.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/features/toyota-battery-plant-north-carolina-job-near-me-greensboro/83-120847ed-f4c8-49b5-a07b-db5b50e4df52

Edited October 27, 2023 by cityboi

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Looks like it will be an assembly plant. They need to hurry up on making US 421 into I-685.

[cityboi]

Job growth in the area is leading to more housing in Greensboro. The site will be annexed into Greensboro.

The final approved plan called for 314 single-family homes and 193 townhouses.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/11/08/dr-horton-brookhaven-mill-southeast-greensboro.html

Edited November 8, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro based Arch Mortgage Insurance aquires fortune 500 company RMIC Companies.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/11/14/arch-mortgage-insurance-old-republic-international.html

Edited November 15, 2023 by cityboi

[rancenc]

New development coming to High Point.

https://news.yahoo.com/development-planned-interchange-074600303.html

[HRVT]

2 hours ago, rancenc said:

New development coming to High Point.

https://news.yahoo.com/development-planned-interchange-074600303.html

Umm... goodie?

Its a storage facility. This site should be able do better than a storage facility. I guess a car wash was off the table since there's one across the street.

Terrible land use IMO. Especially after turning down Publix up by Johnson St.... after that happened, a brief conversation with Victor Jones seemed to hint something was brewing for the site in question. A storage facility is a waste... but the deal is probably as good as done. It is what it is.

Edited November 15, 2023 by HRVT

[cityboi]

Thanks to Toyota, two separate companies investing in EV jobs in the Triad (Davidson County and Burlington) If this keeps up North Carolina and the Triad in particular could become a major U.S. hub in EV associated production. We knew that Toyota would attract suppliers to the area.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/11/27/matthews-industries-pittsburgh-burlington-nc-ev.html

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/11/28/japanese-manufacturer-ev-factory-lithium-battery.html

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by cityboi

[KJHburg]

General story on the Triad economic development here of late.

Focus: Triad region, at the center – North Carolina Economic Development (ncedg.com)

[KJHburg]

From the Triad Biz Journal on industrial and economic development announcements this year for the entire Triad.  Hint you are in the plus side mainly due to Toyota's massive expansion before they even open)  Look for the plus and minuses   Biggest job adds highlighted and big job loss highlighted too the furniture company closing.  

January
+28 • Atlanta-based company ImpactData confirmed a plan for a $130 million, 115,000-square-foot high-capacity data center to be built at the Gateway Research Park South Campus in Greensboro. The 10-megawatt co-location data center will be a higher education innovation center and workforce development and co-working flex space to support the neighboring community.

-280 • Hanesbrands Inc., the fourth largest manufacturer and 25th largest employer in the Triad, announced it was laying off some of its local staff in an attempt to "navigate a challenging environment." Local employment dropped from 2,280 in October 2022 to 2000 in May of this year.

+ up to 2,400 • Boom Supersonic, the Denver-based aerospace company, upped its employment projection as it broke ground on a 62-acre tract at Piedmont Triad International Airport for its previously announced superfactory to make the Overture passenger airliner a year after committing to build the $500 million plant there. The facility, with 150,000-square-foot assembly and 24,000-square-feet of office space, is expected to be fully in operation by 2032. Incentives are tied to creating 1,760 jobs paying an average of $69,000, but the company said at the groundbreaking it expects to eventually employ up to 2,400 locally.

February
-195 • Collins Aerospace, the Triad's largest aerospace company, announced the closing of two Winston-Salem facilities by June 30. Layoffs began in March.

+35 • The Surry County Economic Development Partnership confirmed that Mount Airy sock maker Renfro Brands would expand its operations with a nearly $2 million investment in equipment and infrastructure.

+52 • Avgol, the non-woven textiles maker which is part of Thailand's Indorama Ventures Ltd., announced a $97 million expansion of its Mocksville facility. The first phase of expansion was expected to be complete by year's end, adding 16 jobs, with the second phase completed a year from now adding an additional 36 jobs.

+129 • Axium Packaging of Ohio confirms plans to expand into Randolph County with an investment of $36 million into a facility in Archdale to make blow molding plastic packaging for a range of markets. It expects to start operations in the first quarter of 2024.

+TBD • Labcorp, the Burlington-based bio-tech company, plans a $71 million new base for its fleet of aircraft at Alamance Regional Airport.

March
+500 • After winning approval of an incentives package, German industrial company Siemens Mobility committed to building its $220 million eastern-U.S. rail car manufacturing center in Lexington. The company plans to start production by the end of next year.

-123 • Peleton, the parent company for Seattle-based fitness equipment manufacturer Precor Manufacturing, filed a notice with the N.C. Department of Commerce that it would close its facility on Millstream Road in Whitsett and eliminate all jobs there by Oct. 31. Precor invested $26 million into the 230,000-square-foot plant.

-11 • Following a February announcement of a planned closure of two of its facilities and eliminating nearly 200 jobs, Winston-Salem aerospace company Collins Aerospace let go 11 more employees at two other facilities. The company blamed the move on continued weakness in demand in the aircraft industry for affecting its four facilities.

+30 • Greensboro's Latitude Aero, an aerospace company that refurbishes airliner interiors, announced it needed additional employees by July to meet demand.

April
+85 • TAT Piedmont Aviation Component Services — the specialist of military and civilian aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul — will invest in a $13.8 million expansion.

+178 • Battery maker Energizer, which has a facility in Randolph County, won approval for incentives to help with a $43 million expansion.

+240 • Marshall USA, a subsidiary of Marshall Aerospace, won approval of incentives for a proposed $50 million operation at Piedmont Triad International Airport. The company specializes in maintaining and retrofitting Lockheed C-130 aircraft.

+120 • Cross Technology - the Winston-Salem machining company and maker of wiring harnesses, plastic injection and heat-shrink products used in defense and other industries — expanded to a 140,000-square-foot building. The investment was $3.4 million.

+51 • Vecoplan, the German industrial shredding equipment maker that has operated in Randolph County for 23 years, confirmed plans for an $10.9 million expansion on Gallimore Dairy Road in High Point.

May

-42 • Jet It, the Greensboro-based fractional jet ownership company that just five years after launching grew into one of the nation’s largest private jet operators, announced it was closing its doors.

+51 • Phase Change Solutions, a maker of proprietary temperature regulating products, reveals it is moving about 30 jobs from Asheboro to Greensboro and expects to create 51 more jobs over five years.

June
+330 • Following several weeks of incentives approved by Guilford County, Greensboro and the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee, Winston-Salem clinical-stage biotech company ProKidney plans to build a $458 million facility in Greensboro.

+200 • Mechanical contractor and HVAC custom manufacturer and builder Environmental Air Systems of Greensboro added jobs as part of a 500,000-square-foot expansion at the Reedy Fork Logistics Center along U.S. 29 in northeast Greensboro.

+13 • After grants awarded from city of High Point and the N.C. Department of Commerce, Winston-Salem solar-powered lighting and power company SELS USA plans to relocate to a $921,241 facility in High Point adding additional jobs.

July
+280 • Following incentive approvals from the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee, city of Greensboro, and finally Guilford County, Greensboro light jet manufacturer Honda Aircraft Co. moves forward with plans for a facility expansion to build its next-generation larger model that seats up to 11 occupants and has a range for transcontinental flights.

+25 • Ethnicraft, the Belgium-based designer furniture maker, began construction of its North American $18 million headquarters on Gallimore Dairy Road in High Point

August
+87 • John Deere Electric Powertrain LLC, the heavy equipment company that is a joint venture between John Deere and Austrian battery module maker Kreisel Electric — which Deere acquired nearly two years ago — chooses Forsyth County for a $69 million headquarters and factory for batteries and chargers.

-884 • Klaussner Furniture of Asheboro shut down operations at seven locations in Asheboro and Candor. Founded in 1963, Klaussner was acquired in 2017 by New York-based investment firm Monomoy Capital Partners. In 2020, the company sold three of its Triad facilities. Canadian bedding-materials company VPC Group said in September it would buy and reopen Klaussner's Prestige Fabricators division, but did not disclose in court filings how many people might be hired back. When Klaussner notified state officials of the layoff it listed about 191 affected workers at the Prestige sites.

+200 • Steel company Nucor broke ground on a $350 million, 300-acre recycled-steel mini-mill and aims to start production by the end of 2024.

September

+199 • Winston-Salem Hispanic foods distributor Purple Crow won economic-development incentives from Winston-Salem to spend about $50 million over five years to expand operations in the city. The company is moving into Whitaker Park.

+50 • Following the announcement over the summer of a planned new 330-job facility in Greensboro, biotech company ProKidney won incentive approval from Forsyth County and confirmed a plan for a $21 million expansion of its Winston-Salem headquarters.

-TBD • Charlotte-based bank Truist, with a substantial footprint in its former Triad headquarters market, laid out a plan to reduce $750 million in costs over the next few quarters that include layoffs. It is not known how many jobs were affected in the Triad.

+16 • Superior Trailers Solutions Inc. plans a $740,000 expansion.

+60 • Tex Tech, a Kernersville technical textiles and composites maker, broke ground on a $42 million first-phase expansion in Winston-Salem. The new site is expected to be in operation by early 2025.

+30 • Pioneer Square Brands, a Seattle-based company that deals in connectivity accessories and cases for mobile devices, confirmed plans to establish its new $1.3 million headquarters in the High Point location of the company it bought earlier this year.

+125 • Fortune 500 company Cintas Corp. opened a $2 million, 400,000-square-foot cleanroom facility in Graham and expected to continue to hire over the next 12 months.

+25 • German-based Egger Group's wood-products factory near Lexington completes a $22 million expansion for a decorative paper saturation line adding more jobs to the massive facility it opened in 2020.

October
+3,000 • Toyota announced it would increase its investment in Randolph County by $8 billion and create more jobs, bringing the company's planned investment to $14 billion and 5,100 jobs in total for the battery plant being built on the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.

+400 • After purchasing a former industrial building in Greensboro, New York-based Autel Energy announced plans to turn the building into a 200,000-square-foot facility to produce electric vehicle fast chargers. Within the next five years, the company expects to employ a total of 400.

+240 • UPS, the Atlanta-based mega shipping company, opens its new $300 million half-million-square-foot distribution facility in Mebane. The distribution center will continue hiring to meet a goal of 450 total workers in the next 12 years.

-217 • New Jersey-based National Distribution Centers LLC notified workers and government officials it will not renew a contract under which it runs a Hanesbrands distribution center in High Point. Hanesbrands told the Triad Business Journal it is not closing the facility it leases.

November
+350 • Japanese conglomerate Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd., also known as DNP, will invest $233 million in a facility near Lexington that will make lithium-ion battery pouches for electric vehicles. It hopes to start hiring in October of 2025.

December
+105 • MD Mattress, a Texas wholesale mattress manufacturer looking to expand to the East Coast, purchased a former United Furniture complex in Archdale. About 15 work there now with more jobs to come.

+41 • The town of Liberty in Randolph County was awarded a grant from the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority toward rehabbing an unused warehouse for Toyota Tsusho America. The corporate cousin to Toyota Group will provide logistical support to Toyota's nearby massive battery plant.

-20 • Denver-based apparel giant VF Corp. confirmed that the company has cut about 500 jobs worldwide, including about 20 jobs in Greensboro. That leaves about 400 in the city where VF had been based from 1998 until moving to Denver in 2018.

-TBD • Wells Fargo & Co. CEO Charlie Scharf said the bank has slashed tens of thousands from its payroll in recent years — but more employees will have to go. The bank is the fifth largest employer in North Carolina and employs more than 2,000 in the Triad. It is not known how many Triad jobs will be affected.

-TBD • Amid C-suite changes and large acquisition deals, Novant Health made its third round of layoffs of 2023 when the Winston-Salem health system said it was outsourcing some of its IT operations to Wipro (NYSE: WIT), a technology company based in India. In March, it had eliminated 50 jobs, including high-level executives, and, in October, it cut 160 jobs, including mid- and upper-level management. Two C-suite executives – CFO Fred Hargett and COO Jeff Lindsay – have also recently left the health system. In all, Novant cut more than 200 jobs in 2023 – the largest workforce reduction for the health system in nearly a decade. Novant did not say how many of the layoffs are in the Triad.

[KJHburg]

with the number of  jobs coming to the area this is not a surprise but Greensboro and Winston Salem have been named one of the top 10 emerging apartment development markets.

Top 10 Emerging Multifamily Markets in 2024 2024 - Multi-Housing News (multihousingnews.com)

Developers finished 2900 or so apartments in the market with 4500 plus under construction now.  

[rancenc]

Purina's new expansion will add about 300 new staff to the payroll!

https://bnnbreaking.com/finance-nav/business/purina-unveils-450m-pet-food-factory-in-eden-nc-boosts-jobs-local-economy

[KJHburg]

This cybersecurity company is taking 90,000 sq ft of office space in the vacant Labcorp building off I-85 in eastern Guilford.  It was started by a NC A&T graduate. 

From the Biz Journal today:

""A high-profile office building along I-40-85 in eastern Guilford County vacated last year by one of the Triad’s largest companies has a new anchor tenant: A cybersecurity company that outgrew its Greensboro location.

SSCI Inc., or Shield Security and Compliance, provides a range of cybersecurity services aimed at small businesses and organizations including schools, hospitals, non-profits and churches. The company provides security monitoring, incident detection, and incident response, and has a training and certification component as well.  

SSCI is occupying two floors of 5450 Millstream Road that Burlington-based Labcorp vacated more than a year ago as the health services company transitioned to remote or hybrid work for many of its employees.

The nearly 177,000-square-foot building was acquired in 2021 by Raleigh’s APG Capital. It opened in 2004 and operated as a call center for 2004 through 2014, when Labcorp moved in.  

APG principal James Anthony Jr. told Triad Business Journal the lease is for about 90,000 square feet, with SSCI occupying the first and third floors. Anthony said his company is in talks with other potential tenants, including two tech companies.

The owner of record is CN Investors, an LLC of APG, an investment and development company that works in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, Anthony said.

The lease with SSCI is designed to allow the company to grow, Anthony added. He described Fant as a friend and himself as an adviser.""

SSCI, growing cybersecurity firm, moves into former Labcorp site east of Greensboro - Triad Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

[cityboi]

The Prime Minister of Japan is making a historic trip to North Carolina Friday putting the state in the global economic spotlight. He will be touring the Toyota battery plant outside Greensboro and HondaJet in Greensboro. He will then have a luncheon with the governor in Raleigh along with a few stops there. President Biden announced the visit to North Carolina today during a press conference.  Cooper said there will be another economic announcement in the state during the visit.

https://www.wral.com/story/cooper-s-visit-with-japan-s-kishida-could-coincide-with-major-jobs-announcement/21371275/

 

More on the jobs announcement which will coincide with the Prime Minister's visit. A special meeting will be held Thursday for incentives for the unnamed company and no word where in the state it would expand. Its most likely a Japanese company.

https://www.wral.com/amp/21371275/

Edited April 10 by cityboi

[HRVT]

1 hour ago, cityboi said:

The Prime Minister of Japan is making a historic trip to North Carolina Friday putting the state in the global economic spotlight. He will be touring the Toyota battery plant outside Greensboro and HondaJet in Greensboro. He will then have a luncheon with the governor in Raleigh along with a few stops there. President Biden announced the visit to North Carolina today during a press conference.  Cooper said there will be another economic announcement in the state during the visit.

https://www.wral.com/story/cooper-s-visit-with-japan-s-kishida-could-coincide-with-major-jobs-announcement/21371275/

 

More on the jobs announcement which will coincide with the Prime Minister's visit. A special meeting will be held Thursday for incentives for the unnamed company and no word where in the state it would expand. Its most likely a Japanese company.

https://www.wral.com/amp/21371275/

Definitely a Japanese company and almost certain that the jobs announcement is in the Triangle... hence the stops there.

 

[KJHburg]

1 hour ago, HRVT said:

Definitely a Japanese company and almost certain that the jobs announcement is in the Triangle... hence the stops there.

 

not necessarily as that is where the Governor lives so it could be anywhere in the state.   

[DCMetroRaleigh]

15 hours ago, HRVT said:

Definitely a Japanese company and almost certain that the jobs announcement is in the Triangle... hence the stops there.

 

He’s speaking to Congress now. Has he made the 600 job Fujifilm announcement in North Carolina yet?

[cityboi]

4 hours ago, DCMetroRaleigh said:

He’s speaking to Congress now. Has he made the 600 job Fujifilm announcement in North Carolina yet?

It is indeed Fujifilm. Over the past few years the Triad and Triangle have been seeing a lot of jobs announcements.

Edited April 11 by cityboi