Anson Economic Development Corporation

I spent some time this morning filling out a questionnaire from the University of North Carolina School of Government on local food systems. The school is trying to develop an understanding of how "local food" is integrated into economic development efforts across the state. As a suburban homesteader who teaches gardening classes and sells at local farmers' markets, it was an interesting exercise for me, and some of the questions got me thinking about the role of local food in Anson County and how we might be able to better leverage our strong agricultural heritage to provide additional opportunities for our residents.  When we discuss agriculture in terms of economic development, we typically think in terms of agricultural exports and value-added agriculture, Big Ag, but generally tend to gloss over local food systems and their impact on our economy. Local food systems are defined as the process by which locally-produced agricultural products are distributed, markete...

If you want to catch up with AnsonEDP executive director John Marek these days, you'd better be wearing running shoes, because the county's chief business recruiter and champion has been a blur of activity for the past couple of months. We finally managed to track him down at Allen's Restaurant in Peachland and joined him for a cup of coffee and a brief Q&A session. There has been a flurry of activity from AnsonEDP over the past few weeks, five announcements in six weeks. What is the story behind that? Ideally we would like to spread things out a little more, but they happen when they happen. We've been working on the winery project for two years, and yesterday's Loba-Wakol announcement for eight months, it's just a coincidence that everything came to a head around the same time. So we shouldn't expect this pace to  continue throughout the rest of the year?  As much as I would love to do 50 announcements this year (laughs), no, there's noth...

Loba-Wakol, LLC, a supplier of adhesives and finishes to the wood and resilient flooring industry, announced today it would be relocating and expanding its North American   headquarters  from Charlotte, N.C.  to Wadesboro, N.C., creating 24 new jobs and investing $6.6 million.  Loba-Wakol, LLC is the North American subsidiary of German market leaders Loba and Wakol who have partners and subsidiaries in over 40 countries around the world. The company will be relocating to an existing 160,000 square foot building in the Anson County town of Wadesboro, 50 miles southeast of Charlotte. Initially, the new facility will house administrative, technical, sales and warehousing functions,  with plans to add manufacturing capability within 3-5 years. Loba-Wakol looked at more than 65 buildings in the Carolinas before choosing Wadesboro, according to company COO Ashley Carter. Primary selection criteria were a skilled and ready workforce,...

When Barry and Jennifer Hutchens made the decision to swap their Norwood address for one in Anson County, it created a series of complications, not the least of which was the name of their well-established business, Lake Tillery Equestrian Center . "We discussed changing the name, but we had invested so much in our brand and gaining name recognition that we just didn't want to start over, and the new location is only eight miles from the lake, so we just went with it." Ironically, it was that name recognition and the success of their business that prompted the move in the first place, as the Hutchens had outgrown their former Stanly County location. The new site, just two miles outside Ansonville on Ansonville-Polkton Road, is almost 30 acres and provides ample room for the Hutchens, their three dogs, nine horses and half-dozen goats. The "business" end of the operation offers services such as riding lessons and camps, horse training, birthday parties, mount...

AnsonEDP is pleased to announce that Borgstena Textile North America LLC will be locating its offices and tech center at the newly opened REV Uptown Incubator and Coworking Space in Wadesboro, N.C. The company is leasing approximately 1,500 square feet of incubator space which will house a staff of up to 10 administrative and technical employees. The facility will allow the company to better serve its existing North American customer base and position it for future expansion in the critical U.S. and Mexico markets. Borgstena Textile North America LLC is the North American subsidiary of Sweden’s Borgstena Textile, a leading supplier to the automotive industry worldwide. Borgstena’s strong multi-cultural textile design team is recognized in the industry for its creativity and boldness in satisfying the constant changes the market desires. The Wadesboro facility will allow the company to provide faster, more specialized response to its customers in the southeast United States and Me...