Lowes to Relocate their Aviation Fleet to Statesville Airport

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1 Lowes to Relocate their Aviation Fleet to Statesville Airport he anticipated $100 million decision was announced November 19, 2003. Lowe 9s Companies has chosen the Statesville Municipal Airport to house their corporate jets, which will make Lowe 9s the number one tax payer in Iredell County. The airport 9s current runway will be extended an additional 2,000 feet, and construction of a new hangar is scheduled to begin in May.

The Lowe 9s company web site address is: www.lowes.com FlexSol Packaging Adds to their Existing Manufacturing Plant local packaging company recently announced their plans for an expansion. FlexSol Packaging, Inc. will begin construction soon of an additional 22,800 square feet.

The $5 million project will also allow the addition of 24 new employees to manufacture plastic films used in food packaging. FlexSol 9s web site address is: http://www.flexsolpackaging.com Engineered Sintered Components Expands in Troutman, NC $7 million expansion is underway. Engineered Sintered Components is building a 30,000 square foot addition to their plant in Troutman.

This expansion and the addition of approximately 50 employees will aid in their production of powdered metal components for automotive, industrial & home appliance products. ESC's web site is: http://www.engsin.com/ ASMO North Carolina Expands new production line ... more. less.

will be added at ASMO North Carolina 9s plant on Crawford Road. The $20-$40 million investment will allow ASMO to manufacture a new, lightweight motor for automobiles. ASMO 9s web site address is: http://www.asmo-na.com T A A A 2 LesCare Kitchens Featured in Wood Products Magazine ood and Wood Products Magazine featured Statesville 9s LesCare Kitchens in their August 2003 issue. Titled, A Reversal of Misfortune - LesCare Kitchens 9 new facility pumps life into North Carolina woodworking industry and economy , the article highlights LesCare 9s history and business philosophy. LesCare 9s web site address is: www.lescare.com . To read the article online go to: http://www.iswonline.com/wwp/200308/lescare.shtml New Cinemas Planned for Statesville arquee Cinemas plans to make their mark in Statesville. Construction of a new 10-cinema complex is scheduled to be completed by November 2004 on Eastside Drive. The 38,000 square foot theatre will feature stadium seating and 1,896 seats. A ground breaking ceremony was held January 6 to officially kick off the project. Left to right: Sally Blackwelder; Sue Hedrick; Larry Hedrick, investor; John Blackwelder, investor; Joe Bertolami, investor; Statesville Mayor John Marshall; Curtis McCall-Marquee Cinemas; Jap Johnson, Statesville City Council; Paula Steele, Statesville City Council; Steve Robinson, Piedmont Bank; Carol Johnson, Statesville Chamber Chairman; Costi Kutteh, Statesville City Council. Not pictured: Dwight Goforth, investor. North Carolina Senate Approves New Incentives For Large Automotive Deals utomotive concerns that invest $100 million or more in new plants in North Carolina could receive a handsome refund of state and local sales taxes under a bill overwhelmingly approved by the Senate. The bill has now moved to the House. If approved by the North Carolina House of Representatives, the new law will give sales tax refunds on building materials used to construct the new plant and refunds on certain equipment purchased for the facility. The proposed legislation is another sign that North Carolina is moving quickly to snare an automotive assembly plant. North Carolina is home to more automotive suppliers than any other state in the Southeast but Tennessee, yet, to date, the state has not landed an auto assembly plant. Article taken from Developments , a quarterly economic development publication of ElectriCities of North Carolina Chamber Invites All Members to Attend 2004 Annual Membership Meeting / Awards Luncheon Sponsored by BB&T Friday, January 23, 2004 / 11:45 am - 1:30 pm Statesville Civic Center $20.00 per person $200.00 Corporate Table for 8 Special Awards Presentations To: Retiring Officers and Directors Outgoing Chairman of the Board Sponsored by Sheri Bistreich & Associates 3 American Express Financial Advisors 2003 Citizen of the Year Sponsored by Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home 2003 Farmer of the Year Sponsored by Carolina Farm Credit, ACA 2003 Ambassador of the Year Special Guest Speaker: Charles Neely 30 Year ACC Football Official & Statesville Native Charles Neely was born and raised in Statesville. He graduated from Statesville Senior High School and attended Appalachian State University. For the past 30 years, Charles has been a manufacturing representative in the men 9s apparel industry. He is Past President of the Men's Apparel Club of the Carolina's and Virginia and served on the Board of Directors for eight years. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Children's Home in Winston- Salem for six years. Charles has officiated college football for thirty years, mostly in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He has served as Secretary and Treasurer of the ACC Officials Association for fifteen years and is Past President of the organization. He also won the Joe E. Long Service to Officiating Award. Charles was a Head Linesman official and has worked the Citrus Bowl, two Bluebonnet Bowls, Gator Bowl, Copper Bowl, Blockbuster Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Independence Bowl and the Outback Bowl, and many other accolades. Submitted by Danny Hearn, President / Statesville Chamber www.statesvillechamber.org W M A 3 Iredell County JobLink Center Provides Valuable Service he Iredell County ESC/JobLink Career Center continues to provide valuable services to Iredell County. Since JobLink is a partnership of a number of service agencies within the community, there is a built-in linkage to additional services for our customers. The JobLink Center is Chartered through the Centralina Workforce Development Board and we submit documentation for re-chartering regularly. In Iredell County we have staff from ESC at the Center full time and Staff from Vocational Rehabilitation, Mitchell Community College, Department of Social Services and I- CARE on a part time basis. The staff of the JobLink Center provide some services individually and others in a joint manner which our customers tell us enhances the product provided. For example, ESC and MCC do joint Job Seeking Skills Workshops and Follow-Up Sessions for those beginning a new claim for unemployment. This is through a project called Federal Reemployment Initiative and is an effort to help those beginning to receive Unemployment Insurance to return to the workforce more quickly. Additionally ESC and MCC have done a yearly job fair in the spring when students from the college are graduating. DSS has an annual Amnesty Day Event in which all the other JobLink Partners have participated. All partners services are highlighted when JobLink Staff provide Orientation Sessions for employees of a company about to experience a large lay off or closure. Staff from each of the JobLink Partner Agencies have access to the ESC system in order to view jobs and make referrals of their clients. Submitted by Jean Manall, Mgr. / Empl. Security Commission jean.manall@ncmail.net Civilian Labor Force Estimates Iredell County Sept 2003 Oct 2003 Nov 2003 Labor Force 67,481 67,783 67,871 Employed 63,124 63,557 63,490 Unemployed 4,357 4,226 4,381 Rate % 6.5 6.2 6.5 Source: Employment Security Commission: www.ncesc.com 2003 Corporate Survey: A Look at the Corporate Site Selector 9s New Mindset rea Development magazine has compiled their 2003 survey ranking various site selection factors. Traditionally, availability of skilled labor , labor costs , and highway accessibility have ranked as the top site selection factors for their readers. This year, for the first time ever, state and local incentives ranked as the number-one factor, considered cvery important d or cimportant d by 92.7 percent of the survey respondents. Rising unemployment 3 currently- at about 6 percent 3 has moved the availability of skilled labor factor down to third place, with an 89 percent rating. Combined Ratings* of 2003 Factors SITE SELECTION FACTORS 2002 2003 Ranking 1 State and local incentives 88.0 92.7 2 Labor costs 89.9 89.7 3 Availability of skilled labor 90.9 89.0 4 Highway accessibility 86.6 88.9 5 Occupancy or construction costs 82.4 86.3 6 Tax exemptions 88.2 86.2 7 Corporate tax rate 84.6 85.1 8 Energy availability and costs 80.9 80.8 9 Proximity to major markets 83.7 80.0 10 Availability of land 75.2 78.1 11 Availability of telecommunications services 76.1 77.9 12 Cost of land 74.0 77.3 13 Environmental regulations 76.7 72.9 14 Low union profile 69.4 71.6 15 Availability of broadband telecom services 66.7 67.4 16 Right-to-work state 58.0 60.8 17 Proximity to suppliers 61.8 58.5 18 Availability of long-term financing 60.0 57.5 19T. Raw materials availability 56.0 55.8 19T. Availability of unskilled labor 55.1 55.8 21 Accessibility to major airport 54.0 53.1 22 Training programs 44.7 47.3 23 Proximity to technical university 33.4 34.0 24 Railroad service 22.6 27.9 25 Waterway or oceanport accessibility 19.3 18.5 QUALITY-OF-LIFE FACTORS 2002 2003 Ranking *All figures are percentages and are the total of cvery important d and cimportant d ratings of the Area Development Corporate Survey & are rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. Article from Area Development Magazine - December 2003 issue T A 1 Low crime rate 75.9 69.8 2 Health facilities 67.2 64.2 3 Housing availability 64.2 59.0 4 Ratings of public schools 65.7 57.3 5 Housing costs 63.0 56.3 6 Climate 43.5 49.5 7 Colleges and universities in area 48.1 49.0 8 Recreational opportunities 45.9 47.9 9 Cultural opportunities 46.3 46.3 4 Business & Industry Recap 2003 New Industry: theZeb.com Immanuel Tire & Auto Square Footage: 10,000 Square Footage: 4,000 Jobs: 8 Jobs: 2 Cardinal Forest Products Ostec Precision Square Footage: 50,000 Square Footage: 4,000 Jobs: 15 Jobs: 1 Holiday Kamper Square Footage: 20,000 Jobs: 30 Expansions: Trim Systems County Electric Company Square Footage: 50,000 Square Footage: 7,500 Jobs: 15 Jobs: 5 Nationwide Express & Distribution Tube Specialties Square Footage: 10,000 Square Footage: 100,000 Jobs: 0 Investment: $4 million ASMO of North Carolina FlexSol Packaging Adding a production line Square Footage: 22,800 Jobs: 0 Jobs: 24 Investment: $40 million Investment: $4.75 million Engineered Sintered Components McCombs Steel Square Footage: 30,000 Purchase of additional equipment Jobs: 50 Jobs: 5-10 Investment: $7 million American Stainless Tubing HDI (Hoke Distributing, Inc.) Square Footage: 107,000 Square Footage: 10,000 Jobs: 50 Jobs: 4 Kontane Logistics Lowes Companies Aviation Fleet Square Footage: 20,000 Jobs: 22 Jobs: 2-6 GSDC / COMMITTEE OF 100 MEETING January 29, 2004 / 12:00 p.m. Statesville Civic Center 3 Room B / 300 S. Center St., Statesville, NC What 9s Ahead in 2004: Economic Perspectives on the Year to Come Guest Speakers: Phil Kirk, President / North Carolina Citizens for Business & Industry Jim Fain, Secretary / NC Department of Commerce ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Greater Statesville Area Committee of 100 115 E. Front St., Statesville, NC 28677 (704-871-0062) www.gsdc.org info@gsdc.org RSVP 704-871-0062

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