FedEx Hub May Spur Growth

Hanesbrands to reopen distribution center with 60 jobs

By RICHARD CRAVER
Published: March 08, 2011

Increasing consumer demand for Hanesbrands Inc.'s apparel has led the company to reopen a Winston-Salem distribution center for at least three years.

The distribution center is in West Point Business Park near Stratford Road. The center was closed last summer because of reduced product volume. About 240 employees were affected by the shutdown.

However, an 11 percent increase in sales in 2010 has led to a need for more inventory space, spokesman Matt Hall said Tuesday. The company also has a major distribution center at 521 Northridge Park Drive in Rural Hall.

"We will have approximately 60 total employees at the facility – half permanent employees who will move from the Almondridge center in Rural Hall and half temporary employees," Hall said.

The company expects to hire the temporary employees through employment agencies, Hall said. He did not say whether previous Hanesbrands employees at the center will receive consideration in the hiring process.

Hall said the company will begin shipping men's underwear and fleece products out of the center in early May. It began moving inventory into the center last week.

Michael Lord, an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University, said it makes logistical sense to handle a temporary distribution expansion close to its headquarters.

"The closer distribution is to home, often the easier and more flexible it is to control," Lord said. "This is especially true for sudden or unexpected bumps in sales or other quick changes in operations.

"There are people with relevant experience nearby that may be interested and able to do the work, even if it might be only temporary."

The reopening of the center represents a rare local work-force and production expansion since Hanesbrands spun out of Sara Lee Corp. with great fanfare as the city's third Fortune 500 company in September 2006.

At that time, Hanesbrands had 4,900 employees in Forsyth – nearly 10 percent of its overall work force – and 8,600 in the state.

It now has 2,515 employees in Forsyth County and 3,785 in North Carolina.

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Source: http://www2.journalnow.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield to invest $16 million in Piedmont Triad Research Park

By Richard Craver
Published: February 21, 2011

Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. said today it will make a $16 million investment in one of the largest, if not the largest, economic-development projects in downtown history.

The investment, made over three years, will be spent on Building 91, a former manufacturing facility near the corner of Fifth Street and Patterson Avenue that was donated to Piedmont Triad Research Park by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

The building has been renamed Wake Forest BioTech Place. It will offer 242,000 square feet of space for laboratories, offices and other uses, primarily for operations that Wake Forest University Health Sciences is transferring from its Hawthorne campus.

The Blue Cross investment will come through the N.C. Mill Rehabilitation Tax Credits program. It is the insurer’s first major investment involving the program, spokeswoman Stephanie Skordas said. She said that the investment could vary depending on the cost of bringing the building back into use.

It's a cash investment only. Skordas said that Blue Cross has no plans to move operations into the building. It has more than 600 employees in a customer-service and claims-administration operation at Madison Park in northwest Winston-Salem.

Last June, park officials reached an agreement with Wexford Science and Technology LLC of Baltimore on an $87 million project for the North District – the biggest announcement regarding the park since plans for it surfaced in 1994.

Renovations have been taking place for months in the building units. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

Officials at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, which is landlocked on its main campus, have longed for years for expansion space for its research departments.

About 350 employees will work there – a 38 percent increase in the park's work force, to 1,275. Wake Forest Baptist plans to occupy 85 percent of the space.

“Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has a 77-year tradition of investing in the health of North Carolinians,” Brad Wilson, the insurer’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

“We are pleased to continue that tradition with this investment, which creates new medical research labs from historic tobacco warehouses. You could say we’re preserving the past while creating a new future for this part of the Triad.”

Doug Edgeton, the president of the park, said that the tax credit “is a very effective tool for sustainable redevelopment and provides tremendous benefits to the local economy.”

“This investment by Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. will enable us to preserve a former manufacturing area in the heart of downtown Winston Salem,” Edgeton said.

Source: http://www2.journalnow.com

UNCSA NAMED TO KIPLINGER’S “BEST VALUES IN PUBLIC COLLEGES”

WINSTON-SALEM – For the second year in a row, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) has been ranked among Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges. In addition, UNCSA again took top honors in the “lowest student-faculty ratio” category.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine announced the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges today, ranking four-year institutions “that deliver a stellar education at an affordable price.”  The annual rankings appear in Kiplinger’s February 2011 issue, on newsstands today, and online at www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.

UNCSA ranked 48th this year, breaking into the nation’s top 50 and up from 61st last year.

For the second year in a row, Kiplinger’s reported that: “The University of North Carolina School of the Arts earns top honors in the student-faculty category, with a ratio of 8-1.” 

Other UNC system schools making the Kiplinger’s list of best values were UNC-Chapel Hill, 1st; N.C. State, 15th; UNC-Wilmington, 27th; Appalachian State University, 35th; and UNC-Asheville, 58th.

Kiplinger’s reports that it bases its rankings “on a combination of academics and affordability. We start with data from more than 500 public four-year schools, provided by Peterson's/Nelnet, then add our own reporting. We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality -- including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class that entered in 2003. We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).”

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established as the North Carolina School of the Arts by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from high school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. UNCSA is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. UNCSA is located at 1533 S. Main St., Winston-Salem. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.

Source: www.uncsa.edu

Olympus US Open Series event relocated from New Haven, CT.

Tournament to be played at Wake Forest University.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., December 13, 2010 – The USTA and ATP World Tour today announced the sale of the ATP World Tour event previously located in New Haven, Conn. to Winston-Salem Professional Tennis. Beginning in August 2011, the 48-draw tournament will take place in a to-be-constructed tennis facility on the campus of Wake Forest University.

The newly-designed state-of-the-art tennis facility will be constructed to host both professional and collegiate tennis events. The facility will be located between the current indoor tennis training center and BB&T Field, home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacon football team. Plans call for the construction of 10-12 Deco-Turf II courts, and will include center court seating with a minimum of 3,500 and two additional show courts which will hold at least 1,500 each.

“We are thrilled this prestigious event is coming to Winston-Salem, a community that has embraced tennis events over the past several years,” said Don Flow President of The Flow Companies and head of Winston-Salem Professional Tennis. “The entire community will embrace this event and the process has already begun with our corporate community stepping up, and with Wake Forest University being a major supporter of the event.”

“We are thrilled about the ATP’s new home at Wake Forest University, and thank Don Flow and Winston-Salem Professional Tennis for bringing men’s professional tennis back to North Carolina,” said ATP Executive Chairman and President Adam Helfant. “Globally, the game is enjoying one of the most exciting periods in its history, and it’s terrific that the tour will visit Winston-Salem as part of its U.S. summer swing.”

“We have worked with Don Flow for many years and know first hand his passion and commitment to the sport of tennis,” said Lucy S. Garvin, USTA Chairman of the Board and President. “The tournament will take place with tremendous local support, both within the Winston-Salem community and the USTA Southern Section, and with a national television and marketing platform courtesy of the Olympus US Open Series.”

“It is an honor for Wake Forest to serve as the host of the Winston-Salem Open,” said Wake Forest President Nathan O. Hatch. “The international attention garnered by the tournament will allow us to showcase Wake Forest's unique character.”

“We are very excited to host the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University, both for the opportunity it gives for our fans and the entire Winston-Salem community to experience an ATP tournament in their backyard, and for the improvements it will bring to our athletic facilities.” said Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman. “The world-class tennis complex that will be constructed will give our men’s and women’s tennis teams one of the best facilities in the Atlantic Coast Conference. It will perfectly compliment the recent renovations to BB&T Field and Wake Forest Baseball Park as part of our commitment to providing our fans with one of the best game day experiences in the country.”

“Winston-Salem is thrilled at the opportunity to host this tournament. The community has a rich tennis history and we have a long tradition of supporting tennis. It is great to see Wake Forest and the corporate community partnering in such an innovative way. The tournament will have a significant economic impact and it will help ensure that this is a great place to live in the future,” said Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines.

According to Flow, the entire Winston-Salem community has embraced the event. Local corporate partners who have signed as initial presenting sponsors of the tournament include BB&T Bank, Hanes Brands and the Flow Companies.

The event, with a total purse of $625,000, will take place from August 21-27, with qualifying set for August 19 and August 20. The tournament remains the final men’s event of the Olympus US Open Series, and will receive national television exposure via Tennis Channel and ESPN2. The 2011 singles final is expected to be carried by CBS Sports on Saturday, August 27. Launched in 2004, the Olympus US Open Series created a regular season for the sport of tennis in the U.S., and with a consistent television package, has doubled television viewership of the Series tournaments since its inception.

Source: Wake Forest University

Pepsi to expand W-S contact center as part of consolidation

Pepsi Beverages Co., will be expanding its Winston-Salem call center, adding a total of about 200 agent positions to the existing employee pool. North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue visited today at the Winston-Salem offices of Pepsi to make the jobs announcement, which aides say will have a significant impact on the economic development of North Carolina's Forsyth County.

Click here to read more of this article.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2010

Caterpillar Inc. has chosen Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem, NC – Gov. Beverly Perdue announced at a press conference today at Forsyth Technical Community College that Caterpillar Inc. has chosen Winston-Salem for a significant manufacturing operation. The announcement represents 392 full-time jobs with an average salary of more than $36,000 per year plus benefits. The capital investment in a new building and equipment is expected to reach $426 million. An additional 100-plus jobs are expected to be created by an on?site contractor inside the new facility.

Caterpillar plans to construct an 850,000 square foot facility on 100 acres at the corner of Union Cross Road and Temple School Road. The plant will primarily involve the production of Lower Power Train units for Caterpillar’s Large Mining Trucks.

“We are very excited that Caterpillar has chosen Winston?Salem and Forsyth County for this operation,” said Winston-Salem Business Inc. president Bob Leak, Jr. “We have been working with the company and their consultants for the past six months and applaud the efforts of everyone involved to make it a success today. This is undoubtedly one of the largest economic development announcements in the history of our community.” Other local officials made the following statements regarding the announcement.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines:
“Winston-Salem is honored to be selected by Caterpillar as the site of this new manufacturing facility. Caterpillar is a well respected, international company that will add much to the economic fabric of our community. The economic impact of over 500 jobs and $426 million of investment is very significant in the rebuilding of our economy, however equally important is the fact that this decision validates Winston-Salem as a strong and attractive location for future economic development projects.”

Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Chair David Plyler:
“Caterpillar’s decision to invest and create jobs in our community affirms my long?time belief that Forsyth County is business friendly in every way. This is truly a ‘wow’ announcement.”

Forsyth Technical Community College president Dr. Gary Green:
"As a partner with the entire Winston-Salem community, Forsyth Tech is committed to ensuring that Caterpillar will have the highly skilled workforce it needs for success from day one. The College's certified programs in industrial technologies have been a key community asset since the Caterpillar's first visit to Winston-Salem."

The Spartanburg, S.C. development company Johnson Development Associates, Inc. made available the site of the future plant. Caterpillar was represented by CB Richard Ellis Consulting in Atlanta.

The announcement was made possible by a number of entities including Winston-Salem Business Inc., the City of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, Forsyth Technical Community College, the Winston?Salem Alliance, North Carolina Department of Commerce, the North Carolina Community College System and Duke Energy.

For information about Winston-Salem Business Inc. visit www.wsbusinessinc.com

For information about Caterpillar Inc. visit www.cat.com

Winston-Salem Business Inc. is a private, non-profit economic development corporation dedicated to the recruitment of new business to Winston?Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. Since its inception in 1987, WSBI has assisted in the creation of more than 13,000 new jobs and more than $1.4 billion in capital investment in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.

Download the press release pdf here.

WXII Winston-Salem's ISP Sports Acquired By IMG Worldwide
Headquarters Will Remain In Winston-Salem

Click here to read more of this article from WXII12.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- ISP Sports, a college media rights management company based in Winston-Salem, announced Wednesday that it will be acquired by IMG Worldwide, a global sports, entertainment and media company.

Financial details of the acquisition were not made public, but ISP said the newly merged group, named IMG College, will be headquartered in Winston-Salem.

No ISP employees will be losing their jobs, the company said, but around 25 new employees will be hired locally.

Winston-Salem Alan Joines said the new positions would be knowledge-based, good paying jobs.

"We've been moving hard to move our economy to one based on knowledge industries, and certainly this type of industry at ISP represents and brings the best of both worlds to our community," said Joines, who has championed the effort to transform the local business landscape away from companies inclined to relocate oversees.

"It will also be terrific for the college sports fan as this combination provides a great opportunity for us to provide more, better and higher quality programming, as well as expanding the base of customers,” IMG CEO Ted Forstmann said. IMG is headquartered in New York City.

ISP Sports, founded in 1992, provides marketing, licensing and media services to many of the country’s most well-known college sports programs, such as Wake Forest, Georgia, Duke, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Elon and Virginia Tech.

"I am very proud of the team and business we have built over nearly 20 years at ISP," ISP founder and CEO Ben Sutton Jr. said. "We are excited about the potential for future growth as part of the incredible company Ted Forstmann and his team at IMG have developed over the past five years.”

Sutton, who earned an undergraduate degree and law degree at Wake Forest University, developed the idea for ISP Sports during his nine-year tenure as sports marketing director at the WFU.

"They have grown with Wake Forest, as well as many universities across the country," WFU athletics director Rob Wellman said. "And they service all of us exceptionally well. We believe that this move is even going to brighten our future in terms of our multimedia rights."

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: A downtown economic-development project that has been planned for three years -- and hoped for over the course of more than 16 years -- is finally moving forward...

Click here to read more of this article from the Winston-Salem Journal.

An Italian food service equipment conglomerate will further consolidate its U.S. operations in the Triad when it moves the headquarters of its Beverage-Air commercial refrigeration company and about 40 jobs to Winston-Salem.

CEO Filippo Berti said his firm’s new 21,600-square-foot building near Smith Reynolds Airport should be ready in May. Frank L. Blum Construction is handling the building project, which has a permit value of $980,000.

Beverage-Air, currently based in Spartanburg, S.C., is owned by The Ali Group, an Italian firm controlled by Berti’s family. It has more than 7,000 employees in 24 countries. The new Beverage-Air building will be located on Patterson Street next to the existing headquarters of Champion Industries, another Ali company that makes commercial dishwashing equipment.

Read more about it on the The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area website here.

The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County announces the debut of a first-of-its-kind social events network, CityOfTheArts.com, that provides a holistic, immersive online experience around events and activities within the city and county. You could win $1,000 if you register before March 30, 2010. And...you can keep track of and invite your friends to all the movies you want to see in the My Planner section.

So go register, check out the site and come explore our City of Arts & Innovation: CityOfTheArts.com.

North Carolina Named Nation's "Top Business Climate"
for 5th Consecutive Year

Gov. Bev Perdue announced on Tuesday that North Carolina remains the state with the “Top Business Climate,” according to Site Selection magazine. It is the fifth year in a row and the eighth time in nine years that the state has taken the top honor in the annual ranking by Site Selection, one of the nation’s premier magazines for economic development.

“Business leaders know we are listening to them and working aggressively to meet their needs,” Perdue said. “Companies know that in North Carolina they will find top-quality talent, world-class infrastructure, a pro-business environment, and premier education institutions. North Carolina is simply a great place to do business.”

Site Selection Editor-in-Chief Mark Arend agreed that North Carolina’s winning streak “demonstrates that businesses are finding in the state what they need to succeed.” He added, “The synergy between North Carolina’s research parks, corporations, communities, and economic developers at the state and local levels is a major factor in this year’s top ranking.”

Site Selection magazine’s annual “Top Business Climate” rankings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors that corporate site-seekers – those who help companies expand or relocate – say they consider most important.

The article about North Carolina’s No. 1 ranking can be found at www.siteselection.com.

Perdue Announces Investments in Green Economy

Gov. Bev Perdue on Wednesday announced that 18 small North Carolina companies will receive grants up to $100,000 to develop and market promising green and alternative energy technologies and products. It is the third round of grants distributed by the state Department of Commerce’s Green Business Fund and puts more than $1 million in federal Recovery Act dollars to work in North Carolina.

“North Carolina continues to position itself as a leader in the emerging green economy with these kinds of smart investments in promising technologies and products,” said Gov. Perdue. “These creative entrepreneurs and businesses are turning green into gold by growing new companies and creating jobs.”

It is estimated that more than 200 private sector jobs will be created as a result of the grants, spread across 18 cities and spanning 18 counties in North Carolina. The federal Recovery dollars come through the N.C. Energy Office’s State Energy Program.

Gov. Perdue Establishes the NC Innovation Council

Gov. Perdue on Monday announced the creation of the first North Carolina Innovation Council. The purpose of the Council is to foster strategic investments and policies in the growing knowledge and innovation economy. Perdue made the announcement after touring a lab in the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem.

“To continue growing jobs in North Carolina we must make sure this state is poised to compete globally in the 21st century,” said Perdue. “Innovation is North Carolina’s launch pad to success in the global economy, and it’s a primary way for us to maintain and sharpen our competitive edge.”

W-S to host Regenerative Med forum

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Translational Regenerative Medicine Foundation will hold a three-day forum on "Drivers and Strategies for Healthcare Innovation and Personalized Medicine" in Winston-Salem in April, according to an announcement. More than 40 speakers, panelists and moderators are already confirmed for the event, according to the Foundation, which was formed in 2005 by Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University's Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

WFU organizes translational science effort

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Thursday, December 17, 2009

Wake Forest University's Translational Science Institute will organize itself around four programs and four specialized centers as it pursues its mission of translating medical research into improved health care, according to an announcement.

W-S Forsyth partners create jobs portal

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Thursday, December 17, 2009

Several community partners in Forsyth County Winston-Salem have joined to create WinstonWorks.org, a new Web site aimed at helping job seekers find employment opportunities and assisting companies with creating jobs. At an announcement Thursday at the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Allen Joines said he’s challenged each of the county’s 8,500 employers to create one job in 2010.

N.C. growth third-highest in U.S.

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Wednesday, December 23, 2009

North Carolina’s population grew by 134,000 in the 12 months from July 1, 2008, the third largest gain of residents in the country.

Only Texas, with an increase of 478,000 residents, and California with an increase of 381,000 people were ahead of the Tar Heel state in terms of increase in the number of people.

In terms of percentage gain, North Carolina had a 1.4 percent population growth rate between 2008 and 2009, the ninth-highest in the nation.

UNC-SA among 'best values'

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Monday, January 4, 2010, 11:44am EST

UNC-School of the Arts is among the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges, as ranked by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine in the February issue.