Anson Economic Development Corporation

I just returned from Wallace, North Carolina, where I attended a two-day joint NCSE/EDPNC meeting. NCSE and EDPNC are the regional and statewide organizations, respectively, that AnsonEDP works with to try to bring jobs and investment to the county. As examples, the Columbus McKinnon expansion we announced last week was in cooperation with the EDPNC, while the King Charles Industries announcement last year was a project we worked on with NCSE. This was the second of these joint meetings I have attended. The first, about this same time last year, came after I had been on the ground here for just a few months, and the conversations I had with the regional and state economic development leaders back then were very different than the ones I had the past two days. A year ago, there was a general lack of familiarity with Anson County; our available sites and buildings, our workforce or our key selling points. And in some cases, what they did know -- or thought they knew -- tended toward

Anson Economic Development Partnership is pleased to announce that Columbus McKinnon Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCO), a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, technologies and services, will expand operations in Wadesboro, creating 19 jobs. The company plans to invest $5.4 million in its Anson County facilities, enabling the introduction of its STAHL line of crane products into the North American market. The average wage of the new positions will be $49,897, which is above the Anson County average wage of $32,584. Columbus McKinnon, with headquarters in Getzville, New York, enjoys a rich 140-year tradition of excellence providing products and services such as hoists, actuators, cranes, and lifting and rigging tools. Last year, the company completed its acquisition of STAHL CraneSystems, a well-known brand of hoists and crane components based in Germany. The Anson County expansion will position the company to manufacturer STAHL products in North Carolin