Winston-Salem, NC -- It will start more as a trickle than as the flood everyone is hoping for, but Caterpillar has begun actively recruiting for employees to work at its new $426 million mining equipment axle manufacturing plant in Forsyth County.
That factory, one of the biggest economic development wins for the Triad last year in competition against sites in South Carolina and Alabama, is expected to eventually employ around 400 full-time workers and another 100 contractors. The first phase of construction on the office area of the facility is slated for completion early this summer.
The Illinois-based Caterpillar, which received state and local incentives packages that could top $40 million, has said it would start hiring for the plant in the second quarter, and appears to be meeting that schedule, with job openings for the plant now being posted on the company's recruiting website.
New Jobs In Rockingham
Stoneville, NC -- A Washington-based apparel maker of heated clothing has chosen Rockingham County for a new plant that will create 158 jobs by 2015.
Gerbing's Heated Clothing, which is the sole supplier of Harley-Davidson heated gear, is set to open an 88,000-square-foot facility at 200 S. Henry St. in Stoneville. The company will invest more than $1.2 million in building upfits and equipment with help from state, county and local incentives.
Gerbing's Stoneville facility will be the first location in North Carolina for the Tumwater, Wash.-based maker of jackets, gloves, pant-liners and other clothing equipped with wires and heating pads. Gerbing's clothing is popular with customers ranging from motorcyclists to hunters, fishermen and professional athletes.
The new facility is also part of a move to relocate the company's manufacturing operations to the United States from China, where Gerbing had difficulty obtaining deliveries on time.
"It's a seven month lead-time from China and even then we might not see it," said Jeff Gerbing, the company CEO. "I like to see what's being done. If we are going to control our own destiny, we need to have product when we need it."
To that end, Gerbing will lease a vacant 88,000-square foot building owned by Stoneville Furniture Properties, said Ronnie Bullins, director of operations and sales for Service Logistics, a Stoneville-based warehousing and distribution firm.
Service Logistics will help Gerbing open the plant, which will employ a range of workers from sewing experts, packers and supervisors for annual wages ranging from $24,000 to $60,000, he said.
Quebin Raises Another $40 Million
High Point, NC -- The official colors of High Point University are purple and white. But when it comes to fundraising in an era of slender budgets and tight-fisted wealthy donors, other colleges might see just a bit of green - for envy.
High Point University President Nido Qubein, who has already raised a staggering $135 million in donations since taking the reins of the school in 2005, has now added another $40 million to that total - with just four donors. Four High Point families, including his own, contributed $10 million each after personal solicitations from Qubein, he said.
The prevalence of such multimillion-dollar donations is virtually without recent precedent in North Carolina among private or public universities.
Business Journal