Anson Economic Development Corporation

About a year ago, we announced without any fanfare that Project Kure had chosen Peachland as the location for its new sales, assembly and service facility. These “quiet” announcements are typically made at the company’s request because of timing issues regarding the marketing of their products and services or because they do not want competitors to know in advance what they are doing. For an economic developer, it always feels a little anticlimactic to simply say in a closed meeting that a project was won and just leave it at that, but we understand that the confidentiality of a project and the trust of the company is of paramount importance.  I had an opportunity today to visit Project Kure, which I can now reveal is VEIT North America, the U.S. subsidiary of poultry transportation equipment manufacturer VEIT, based in the Czech Republic. The facility is located about a half-mile east of downtown Peachland on U.S. Highway 74. You may have seen the distinctive white and red de...

Last week, I was asked to provide some economic projections based on the impacts of recently completed and proposed road construction in Anson County over the next 10 years. The three road projects specifically referenced are the Monroe Expressway, US74 Median and Wadesboro Bypass. Basically, I expect the population of Anson County to increase by 1% to 1.5% by 2025 based primarily on new residential and commercial development on the west side of the county. This increase will be almost entirely the result of the Monroe Expressway. We are also anticipating a similar level of growth in employment with the largest gains expected in Skilled and Semi-Skilled Construction Trades, Advanced Manufacturing Technology (especially as it relates to metal fabrication) and Logistics/Warehousing. The US74 Median project will likely have minimal impact on either population or employment, although the slight improvement in eastbound travel times from the eastern side of the county to the Port of Wi...

On June 6th, Wadesboro hosted the last of three sessions with Diane Young, a consultant representing Downtown Strong, an offshoot of Governor Cooper's Hometown Strong initiative. The sessions,  which were attended by members of the Anson County Chamber of Commerce, Anson County TDA, AnsonEDP and Uptown Wadesboro, focused on creating actionable plans for the revitalization of our uptown area. Notably, the meeting was held in the boardroom of the new REV Uptown development, a tangible example of just the sort of revitalization the initiative is trying to promote. In fact, Diane noted that Wadesboro is ahead of the curve in terms of redevelopment compared to some of the other communities she is working with. Still, there is much to be done. Diane's recommendations to the group centered on two main points, better cooperation between the property owners, community leaders and businesses; and better promotion and a more proactive approach to bringing new businesses to Uptown. T...

It is probably an exaggeration to suggest that AnsonEDP, the Anson County Chamber of Commerce,  Uptown Wadesboro and the Anson County Tourism Development Authority brought coffee to Uptown Wadesboro--after all, a cup of joe has been readily available at several convenience stores and fast food restaurants along the US 74 corridor on the fringes of uptown--but those organizations are absolutely responsible for bringing the coffee "experience" to the community. "An Uptown coffee shop has been a priority of the Chamber since I started working here, " said Shelby Emrich, president and CEO of the Anson County Chamber of Commerce, and we are so excited to finally see it happen. This is going to be a game-changer for Wadesboro." The "this" she speaks of is Speckled Paw Coffee, which opened this morning to a packed house in the new REV Uptown facility on West Wade Street. The REV project is an innovative concept in rural development which combines the c...

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,...