Presentation slides for Carolinas Gateway Partnership, presented by Krista Ikirt, during Rocky Mount Area Jaycees Local Economic Outlook Luncheon, March 10, 2015.

1. March 10, 2015
Jaycees Presentation

2. Overview of Economic Development
 State of NC
 Twin County Region
 The City of Rocky Mount
 Carolinas Gateway Partnership

3. State of North Carolina
New Secretary of Commerce John Skrvala
The public/private partnership of Economic
Development is in place, CEO Chris Chung began
January 5, 2015
6 EDPNC (Economic Development Partnership of
North Carolina) statewide developers
VP serves on NCEDA Advisory Council for EDPNC

4. Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
Business Recruitment Team
Source: EDPNC

5. State of North Carolina
Metrics announced by Dept. of Commerce
January 2014 to December 2014
Projects assigned: 96
Jobs announced: 15,350
Investment announced: $2.3 Billion
January 2013 to December 2013
Projects assigned: 346
Jobs announced: 16,766
Investment Announced: $2.6 Billion
Source: NC Dept. of Commerce

6. Twin County Region
Nash County
 Nutkao USA locates in Whitaker Business & Industry Center in
last county owned shell building.
 Carolina Innovative Food Ingredients chooses Nash County,
Universal Leaf site for new sweet potato processing facility.
 Hospira continues expansion at Rocky Mount plant, additional
$160 million investment. Largest employer in MSA- 3,000
employees and total new investment so far over $400 million.
 Cummins Inc invests $24 million in Whitakers plant.
 New kidney dialysis center to break ground on Hwy 301 South.
 Capital Broadcasting launches Rocky Mount Brewmill.
 PenCell Plastics sold to Hubble Inc.
 West Corporation sold to Alorica Inc.

7.  Acme United Corporation locates in the former RoomStore
building in Rocky Mount. Creates 90 jobs and invests $2.8
million.
 Kehin (KCST) expanded in the Town Tarboro creating 40 new
jobs and investing $12 million.
 The Daily Southerner in Tarboro closes newspaper down.
 Edgecombe Community College receives grant to build a new
Bio-Medics learning lab at the Rocky Mount Campus.
 Sara Lee (Hillshire Brands) was bought by Tyson Foods and
now operates the Tarboro campus.
 Kingsboro Megasite gains international attention as a Premier
Site in the Southeast.
 Announcement of 164 new jobs by 3/31/15 in the Tarboro area.
Edgecombe County
Twin County Region

8. The City of Rocky Mount
 Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of all
Edgecombe and Nash Counties – current unemployment rate is
7.7%
 Total labor force 63,372
 I-95, Future 495 and Us Hwy 64 make Rocky Mount a very
desirable location.
 Future I-495 to the east and the newly proposed Sunset Ave Exit
off of I-95 to the west, open up more development opportunities.
 Close proximity to sea ports, including Norfolk Va , a post
Panama Canal expansion deep water port.
 CSX and Carolina Coastal Railway allows for rail service in Twin
County Region
 Available sites and buildings in the Region are a plus.
 We do have a shortage of good industrial buildings available in
the Region.

9. Carolinas Gateway Partnership
Five year funding campaign kickoff 2015
Job Creation and new investment
Product Development/Marketing & Readiness
Industry Retention and Expansion
Workforce Development and Focus on Education
Communications to Investors
Benchmarking and Evaluating

10. Carolinas Gateway Partnership
Overhaul and re-design of our website working
towards new launch very soon.
Marketing strategies to target existing industry supply
chain are the main market focus.
Members of the Research Triangle Regional
Partnership= Internationally recognized BRAND
NAME.

11. Carolinas Gateway Partnership
Continue to build our inventory of available sites and
buildings.
Continue to improve our communications to partners
and investors.
Continue to improve our competitive edge with
existing industry, site selectors and domestic and
international companies.

12. A Competitive Edge
The top 10 Site Location Factors
Source: Area Development Magazine Q1 2014 Corporate Survey
2014 Ranking Factor 2013 Ranking
#1 Skilled Labor #3
#2 Highway Access #2
#3 Labor Costs #1
#4 Occupancy/Construction #5
#5 Information & Communication
Technology
#4
#6 Available Buildings #15
#7 Corporate Tax Rate #7
#8 Incentives #13
#9 Low Union Profile #10
#10 Energy Costs #6

13. Must have inventory of sites
 60-70% of all new and expanding companies are
looking for an existing building
 Remainder prefer
shovel-ready sites
 Preference is business
park setting
Source: Crystal Morphis, Creative Economic Development Consultants

14. Kingsboro CSX Megasite

15. Whitaker Business & Industry
Center

16. Thank you for the opportunity to share with you today.
Carolinas Gateway Partnership
www.econdev.org
252-442-0114
Krista J Ikirt, VP Nash County
kikirt@econdev.org
Oppie N Jordan, VP Edgecombe County
ojordan@econdev.org