featuring‌ Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina North Carolina State Ports Authority Red Moon Marketing Cloudbilt AirTight FaciliTech
may 2015
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PROSPERITY
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Learn to build and operate a 3D printer! CPCC proudly offers one of the first adult-focused engineering workshops in the nation based on a 3D printer. You will learn 3D printing fundamentals while constructing your own printer, which you will take home. By the end of the workshop, you will gain the skills needed to operate and repair your own printer. Date: Wednesdays, May 13 – July 1 Location: CPCC Central Campus Time: 6 – 9 p.m. Cost: $825 (Tuition: $425; Supply Fee: $400)
To register or learn more, visit www.theSTEMexperience.com or call 704.330.2722, ext. 3875.
featuring… PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
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NCEDP: Leveraging Cooperation for Prosperity
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) is the publicprivate partnership tasked with promotion of the state’s economic development strategy, leveraging private sector investment with public sector resources implementing economic initiatives. CEO Chris Chung remarks, “Right now is a pivotal time in North Carolina’s approach to job creation and development and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
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NC Ports Go Deep to Compete in Niche Markets
Paul Cozza, CEO of the North Carolina State Ports Authority (NCSPA), knows that as the volume of international trade contines to grow, businesses and industries are relying on competitive access to global markets. He maintains that the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City have the capability and capacity to serve as competitive alternatives to ports in neighboring states.
Shooting for the Moon A wise adage says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” When it comes to marketing, Red Moon Marketing takes this maxim to heart, boasting a list of clients including The Coca-Cola Company and Brown-Forman brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Snyder’s Lance and Harris Teeter. CEO Jim Bailey knows, “The best way to promote ourselves is by doing the best we can on everything we do.”
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Making It Work in the Cloud
Cloudbilt started out providing managed services and custom apps to users of Salesforce. CEO John Stewart and his team have built the company into a Salesforce AppExchange ISV Partner with four business applications on the market and over 500 customers, including in the Fortune 500. In 2014, Cloudbilt ranked #227 on the Inc. 500, after experiencing 2000 percent revenue growth in three years.
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Building Efficiency and Sustainability Charlotte-based HVAC companies AirTight and FaciliTech have joined forces under the Service Logic umbrella, part of a network of high quality companies with a strong local presence. Their secret to success: “We know that customers must succeed for AirTight FaciliTech to be successful,” acknowledges Greg Crumpton in business development.
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o f i n t e re s t … N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation Promotes 5 Appreciation and Exchange
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Is Now The Time to Sell Your 6 Business? Part IV
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
President Obama’s 7 What Executive Action Means Second Website: LinkedIn and 37 Your Company Showcase Pages
WTVI PBS Charlotte presents An Intentional Living Seminar with
John C. Maxwell New York Times best selling author and Inc. Magazine’s #1 Leadership Expert in the World
May 21 at 9 a.m. Dale F. Halton Theater CPCC Central Campus
Join us to learn: • How Intentional Living helps you increase your ROI • How Intentional Living underlines the values and culture of your business • The difference between good intentions and intentional living • The one thing that adds the most value to your life • How to live the four steps to significance You will also have the opportunity to ask Mr. Maxwell your leadership questions. The program is being recorded for distribution to PBS stations nationally. • Single tickets: $129 • Group discount for 10 or more: $100
For more information and tickets, visit www.PBScharlotte.org.
Celebrating 50 Years of Service
May 2015
Volume 16 • Issue 5 Publisher
John Paul Galles x102 jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com
Associate Publisher/Editor Maryl A. Lane x101 mlane@greatercharlottebiz.com
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Graphic Artist
l l i adK
Susanne Corrado graphics@greatercharlottebiz.com
Account Executives
Gina M. LaRosa x104 704-778-0728 Cell glarosa@greatercharlottebiz.com Nelson E. Sweezy x105 704-778-8866 Cell nsweezy@greatercharlottebiz.com
Business Development Consultant Philip Volponi x107 704-574-0439 Cell pvolponi@greatercharlottebiz.com
Is your message— are your ads—road kill on the digital highway? Are you getting slaughtered in the mass media monetization of the Internet?…Users driving by without even a glance…your message getting wasted without so much as a blink… You’re not alone. ComScore estimates that well over half of all digital ads are never even seen by the user,† run over in the digital flow going elsewhere, becoming part of a vast electronic wasteland. �
If you’re tired of bleeding those precious marketing dollars on the digital highway,
�
If you’re standing at the crossroads of digital, social media and community-branding,
We invite you to consider being where the drivers are…the users’ eyeballs. And that is beside good content. Ditch the click and experience the newer content-metric approach of the Financial Times.‡ ► Don’t find yourself a digital dead-ender. Make sure your message is proximate to good content. ► Make sure you’re armed with alternate routes to get your message out there—including direct-mail print media. ► And take advantage of our resources to help your company with destination content marketing.
You have valuable contributions to make to the community…
4 ComScore estimates a full 54% of display ads are not seen: http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/ViewabilityBenchmarks-Show-Many-Ads-Are-Not-In-View-but-Rates-Vary-by-Publisher ‡ London’s Financial Times is rolling out rates based on time—the number of hours their ads appear in front of readers— rather than impressions: http://adage.com/article/media/digital-advertising-ready-ditch-click/295143/ †
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Let ou r eleva platform te being you from road kill.
Contributing Writers Zenda Douglas Barbara Fagan Pete Prunkl Andrew Rusnak
Contributing Photographers jimmcguire.com mac330.com
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Progress Printing Plus Calvin Hicks • 1-800-572-7804 chicks@progressprintplus.com
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• Press releases: editor@greatercharlottebiz.com. • Editorial: mlane@greatercharlottebiz.com. • Advertising: jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com or sales@greatercharlottebiz.com. • Subscription or change of address: subscriptions@greatercharlottebiz.com. • General: info@greatercharlottebiz.com. © Copyright 2015 by Galles Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, Galles Communications Group, Inc. makes no warranty to the accuracy or reliability of this information. Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. Views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Greater Charlotte Biz or Galles Communications Group, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. For reprints call 704-676-5850 x102. Greater Charlotte Biz (ISSN 1554-6551) is published monthly by Galles Communications Group, Inc., 7300 Carmel Executive Park Dr., Ste. 115, Charlotte, NC 28226-1310. Telephone: 704-676-5850. Fax: 704-676-5853. Subscription rate is $24 for one year. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Greater Charlotte Biz, 7300 Carmel Executive Park Dr., Ste. 115, Charlotte, NC 28226-1310.
OF INTEREST: Providing Leadership for Global Thinking
N.C. ZEITGEIST FOUNDATION PROMOTES APPRECIATION AND EXCHANGE
BETWEEN GERMANY AND NORTH CAROLINA
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German Influence and Culture The Foundation sponsors a formidable Grand Speaker Series. Among those they have hosted are: Dr. Josef Joffe, publisher-editor of German weekly DIE ZEIT on the topic of “Obama & Merkel: Last Man (and Woman) Standing in the West”; Kurt Hans Biedenkopf in celebrating
the 25th Anniversary of Fall of the Wall at Davidson College; Ruprecht Polenz, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, speaking on “The Putin Doctrine—A Danger to Global Security;” Peter Schneider, German novelist, with the book Berlin Now; and Ralf Fücks, president of the Green Political Foundation. This spring, the Foundation even hosted its first annual Deutsche Opernball (German Opera Gala) honoring Dr. Peter Wittig, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the U.S., and hosted Wittig and his wife, journalist and writer Huberta von VossWittig, on a tour around Charlotte. Doing Business in the Carolinas Today, there are 3,500 German companies in the U.S. There are 500 in North and South Carolina, with nearly 240 in the 16-county Charlotte region. “North Carolina is home to one of the largest contingents of German subsidiaries and related companies in the nation,” Becker points out, “and Germany is the largest-represented foreign country in this region. “Germany has been a long-time investor in this state,” informs Becker, “currently creating more than 30,000 jobs. German companies and subsidiaries own roughly $436 million in North Carolina real estate. “Why do German companies like Charlotte?” prompts Becker. “First, Lufthansa and the airport provide easy access to Germany. Second, so many customers and suppliers are here. Third, the German culture is active here. Fourth, there is a good, hard-working base of employees here. And fifth, the Germans can fit into this community without overtly ‘standing out.’” Given the training facilities, skilled workforce, leading-edge research and development, sound infrastructure and overall quality of life, Ronnie Bryant of the Charlotte Regional Partnership agrees, “The area continues to be a destination for German businesses looking to establish or expand their global operations and markets.” “In North Carolina, you have created an environment where talent can grow and hard work is rewarded,” acknowledged Ambassador Wittig during his visit to Charlotte. “German ingenuity sometimes needs American creativity to realize its full potential. Mixing the hard-working ethic of both countries is a recipe for great success.” Hawley sums it up, “There is no doubt that Klaus Becker and The N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation will be successful expanding the relationship between the greater Charlotte region and Germany. His gregarious and ebullient nature makes him a natural as Honorary Counsel for Germany.”
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n barely less than one year, Klaus Becker has made an extraordinary impact on the greater Charlotte region engaging American and German businesses,” attests Mike Hawley of global law firm K&L Gates’ Charlotte office. “He has been especially successful with his Speaker Series and cultural events injecting German culture into this community.” “Charlotte is so fortunate to have such a strong and articulate advocate for German businesses to locate their facilities in the Charlotte region,” asserts Gunda Knese, a member of the German community herself and director of business development at GreerWalker LLP, a Charlotte-based accounting and business advisory firm. “A little over a year ago, Klaus Becker became Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany to North Carolina in the Charlotte region,” Knese continues, “and he is spearheading The N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation. Klaus is also working to bridge the communications gap between Washington, D.C., and Berlin.” “I want to be a credible, serious, thoughtful, and trustworthy representative of Germany to American people,” affirms Becker. Becker has a clear understanding of German influence in the Carolinas and he wants to extend American influence into all corners of Germany. In light of the proposed TTIP trade agreement as it moves forward, Becker sees huge new opportunities to recruit many more business to the Charlotte region. Becker is chairman and president of The N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation, Inc., tasked to inform, educate and foster dialogue about the influence of German business, culture, arts, society and spirit in recognition of the significant and long-standing GermanAmerican bilateral relationship in our region. Zeitgeist means “the spirit of the age,” and in carrying out its mission, the Foundation seeks to build even stronger relationships between Germany and North Carolina. Along with Becker, Margaret Rosenfeld, also Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany to North Carolina, is heading up the Foundation’s efforts in the Raleigh region. Directors of the Foundation include Hawley, Knese, Rosenfeld of Smith Anderson in Raleigh, Mary Dowd of The Cardea Group, and Michael Almond of Antaeus Consulting. Major sponsors include BMW, GreerWalker, Parker Poe, The Cardea Group, Lufthansa, and NiroSteel.
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Content contributed by the The N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation, Inc. For more information, please visit www.nczeitgeistfoundation.org or contact them at 704-412-5022 or contact@nczeitgeistfoundation.org. Their offices are at: The N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation, Inc.; 2700 Coltsgate Rd., Ste. 102; Charlotte, NC 28211. greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
OF INTEREST: Insightful Solutions Perfectly Matched to Your Corporate DNA
IS NOW THE TIME TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS? PART IV: STATUS OF THE M&A MARKET
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s we have discussed in this series of articles, it is important to take into account personal motives and objective conditions when trying to determine the best time to sell your business. A typical business owner in this situation may think, “Who would want to buy my business?” As many owners have discovered, the merger and acquisition (M&A) marketplace can be receptive to acquiring privately owned businesses—maybe even businesses like yours. In some niches, smaller businesses are able to sell to much larger cash buyers. But the market can be fickle. A number of factors can fuel or damper the “buying and selling” mania. These can include:
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4The current state of the economy. A healthy economy tends to encourage investor confidence and a greater willingness to put money in otherwise illiquid businesses. A stagnant or contracting economy can depress valuation, thereby creating favorable conditions for a buyer’s market. 4 Fluctuating interest rates. Low, stable interest rates can provide buyers with inexpensive funds to buy your business. Climbing interest rates can increase acquisition costs and dampen buyer enthusiasm. 4Availability and pricing of financing. The availability and cost of financing can directly impact deal activity. When financing is readily available to buyers at attractive rates, deal activity can become frenzied because buyers can leverage their equity investment. This means they could pay more for businesses and this is the point in the M&A cycle when it may be favorable for owners to be poised to sell their businesses. 4 Corporate earnings overall and in the industry. Strong earnings can provide cash and the tendency for future cash availability; weak earnings tend to portend the opposite. 4 Stock market value. To keep corporate earnings ever-increasing, it can make sense for publicly owned companies to acquire closely held companies with price-earnings ratios lower than the acquiring company’s. Much of the difference in the multiples of publicly owned versus privately owned companies are due to differences in size. 4 M&A currency. When publicly owned stock is trading at high earnings multiples, it makes sense for those companies to use their stock for acquisitions. As the stock market contracts in value, it can be a reasonable expectation for a chilling effect on the M&A marketplace. 4 Supply and demand. According to a Big Four CPA firm website in 2010, “71 percent of small to midsize business owners plan to exit within the next 10 years (2010-2020).” Practically all sellers in the next 5 to 10 years will be baby boomers (born in or before 1965). There are many more baby boomers than any other generation before or after. According to Inc. Magazine, “this movement will result
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
in a glut of companies on the market driving down valuation and giving new leverage to buyers.” Due to demographics and the law of supply and demand, it may be becoming more a “buyer’s market.” Therefore, if you are personally ready to sell and your business is ready for sale, there may be opportunities in selling your business now and potential dangers if you delay. In the short run, according to a recent 2014 publication by KPMG entitled “2015 M&A Outlook Survey Report,” U.S. deal makers are encouraged by “low interest rates, record stock prices, improving employment numbers, and an abundance of cash.” The 735 M&A professionals surveyed declared that “in 2014 M&A in the U.S. has finally reached pre-crisis levels. Respondents expect to be more active in 2015.” It is important for owners to be aware of the condition of the M&A market, and the M&A market in their industry for companies of their size. Usually, transaction intermediaries serving your industry can best advise you. If the M&A market for your business is healthy, you may have the opportunity to adjust your personal timetables to take advantage of it. When the M&A market is favorable (a lot of buyers offering high multiples), you need to recognize that adjusting your “ideal” departure date can be a whole lot easier than adjusting your financial needs. Conversely, when markets shut down, your personal goals may need to likewise adjust. Whether you find yourself leaning toward selling your business now or in the future, today is a good time to begin creating a plan for preparing your business for your eventual exit. An experienced legal professional, in conjunction with your other advisors, can help guide you through the process of reviewing all of the factors associated with exiting your business and creating a comprehensive exit plan that addresses all of your personal and business objectives. Article presented by Robert Norris, a Partner and co-chair of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP’s Emerging and Middle-Market Practice Group. Norris is also a member of Business Enterprise Institute’s International Network of Exit Planning Professionals. © 2015 Business Enterprise Institute, Inc. Reprinted with permission. Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP partners with owners of closely-held businesses to provide comprehensive legal services in all areas of business, tax, exit planning, succession planning, purchases and sales of businesses, estate planning, real estate, employment law, intellectual property and litigation. For more information, contact Robert Norris at 704-945-2926 or rnorris@slk-law.com or visit www.slk-law.com.
OF INTEREST: Immigration Matters
WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S EXECUTIVE ACTION MEANS
FOR BUSINESSES, HIGHLY-SKILLED WORKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS
I
n November 2014, President Obama announced “immigration accountability executive action,” which includes a series of measures to implement commonsense reforms to an outdated immigration system and to acknowledge that encouraging business innovation and the flow of highly skilled immigrants to the U.S. are important priorities for the domestic economy. The measures include several initiatives to support the U.S. business need for highly skilled workers and foreign-born entrepreneurs. As part of the proposal, particular inventors, researchers and entrepreneurs would be granted temporary status if they evidence that they possess sufficient funds to conduct research and development, engage in start-up activities, etc. The proposal would expand the use of the National Interest Waiver program to grant these individuals permanent status (the “green card”) if they can demonstrate that their activities benefit the U.S. economy. Currently, a foreign national on a temporary F-1 student visa may request “optional practical training” (OPT) to work in a field relevant to his/her degree. Students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are eligible for an additional period of OPT for employers registered with the Department of Homeland Security’s e-Verify program. The President’s action would expand the degree programs eligible for OPT and extend the period of OPT for foreign STEM graduates. The L-1B visa program allows multinational companies to transfer to the U.S. foreign employees who have “specialized knowledge” of the employer’s products or processes. Recently, inconsistent adjudications and increased denial rates have plagued the program. In response, the President directed U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to improve program coherence, integrity and consistency in adjudications. On March 24, 2015, USCIS released a draft policy memorandum to remind adjudicators of the appropriate standard of review and clarify previously undefined terms found in legislation and regulation. The practical effect of the final guidance once published later this year remains to be seen. In most cases, the first step in the employment-based green card process is the Department of Labor’s (DOL) application for permanent employment certification where a sponsoring employer establishes that there are insufficient able, willing and qualified U.S. workers for a specific position and that the employment of a foreign national in that position will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. The President has directed DOL to initiate a review of its
processes and define options for identifying labor force needs and methods for aligning domestic work recruitment requirements, modernizing U.S. worker recruitment requirements, clarifying employer obligations, implementing an option for faster processing, and allowing applicants to efficiently address nonmaterial errors. The employment-based green card system is frustratingly slow with many workers waiting years or more than a decade for approvals due to congressionally established numerical limits. Despite heavy demand, thousands of visas go unissued annually. The President has directed involved agencies to improve their interaction to ensure that all green cards are issued and to devise a better system for determining when green cards are available to applicants. Finally, USCIS was tasked with implementing changes to allow employer-sponsored beneficiaries in the green card process more flexibility in switching jobs or employers. Currently, a foreign worker in the green card process (who, because of numerical limits, is awaiting approval) may change jobs without jeopardizing his/her application if the new job is same or similar to the former job. Because no guidance exists as to what constitutes “same or similar,” many workers have not changed employers, sought new job opportunities, or accepted promotions for fear that their pending green card cases would be denied. The President has tasked USCIS with clarifying the types of job changes that constitute same or similar, with an emphasis on removing unnecessary restrictions to natural career progression. While the President’s proposals may be beneficial to domestic business and the economy, these measures remain in limbo as government agencies develop guidance, with no published deadline for clarification or implementation. Time will tell whether any progress is made before the next presidential election. The information contained in this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.
Contributed by
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Content contributed by Jennifer L. Cory, J.D., a partner in the Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm specializing in employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions. For more information, contact her at 704-442-8000 or jennifer.cory@ garfinkelimmigration.com or visit www.GarfinkelImmigration.com. greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Leveraging for Cooperation
Prosperity
Chris Chung: N.C. Business Climate
Chris Chung: Offering Economic Incentives
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by barbara fagan
ollowing a growing national trend, in 2014 North Carolina became the 16th state to privatize a portion of its economic development responsibilities, moving key areas from under the umbrella of the N.C. Commerce Department to a private-public partnership (PPP, also P3). Based in Cary and created by statute, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Inc. (EDPNC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit PPP tasked with consolidating and enhancing the promotional piece of the state’s economic development strategy, essentially taking over the marketing and sales functions formerly performed by the N.C. Commerce Department. PPPs for economic development are formed for the purpose of leveraging private sector capital investment, joining public and private sector resources and powers in formulating and implementing economic development policies and programs. While new to North Carolina, nationally, economic development PPPs have been around for decades. Florida was the first in 1996, but TexasOne, JobsOhio, Arizona Commerce Authority and Missouri Partnership are just several of those currently operating.
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greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
PPPs for economic development are formed for the purpose of leveraging private sector capital investment, joining public and private sector resources and powers in formulating and implementing economic development policies and programs. Chung graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Ohio State University with a double major in Japanese and economics and has completed significant coursework towards a master’s in public policy and management. He is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council. Prior to the Missouri position, Chung began his career with Ohio’s Office of Business Development, eventually serving as manager, leading the sales force attracting new business investment and job creation and the office’s $80 million annual incentives budget.
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may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Wilmington Star News
Between 2010 and 2014, the Missouri Partnership assisted in recruiting 10,000 new jobs, $500 million in new annual payroll, and $1.2 billion in capital investment to the state. Leading that effort was CEO Chris Chung. That is the same Chris Chung that has just started as CEO to the EDPNC. In addition to his work at the Missouri Partnership, Chung has an impressive background in economic development. “I’ve been in the economic development profession for my entire career,” says Chung. “It’s the only career path I’ve ever known.”
Chris Chung CEO EDPNC At the ribbon-cutting ceremony at EDPNC headquarters in Cary, N.C.: John Lassiter, chairman of the EDPNC board of directors, North Carolina Commerce Secretary John Skvarla III, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, Gov. Pat McCrory and EDPNC CEO Christopher Chung. Chung’s 10 years’ experience in Ohio’s public sector model and seven years’ experience in Missouri’s PPP gives him insight into the pros and cons of both and, he says, leaves him with a clear favorite. “To me, it’s not any surprise that you have a third of the states in the country now opting to privatize some or all of their economic development functions,” he says. “It boils down to a few reasons—the first and most important is the leverage that you generate by being able to pursue private sector funding through a PPP. By contract, North Carolina will provide the EDPNC with $17.5 million this year with the condition that the EDPNC raises at least $1 million of private sector money during that period. That fundraising minimum increases to $1.25 million next year. Current fundraising is in excess of $800,000. Per Chung, the way the EDPNC is structured also avoids conflicts of interest. “In some other states, their PPP controls not only the marketing and sales piece of the economic strategy but also the incentives,” he says. “In North Carolina the Commerce
Department retains the purse strings. Only Commerce administers incentives.”
EDPNC Focus Areas While the responsibilities of economic development PPPs vary by state, in North Carolina the EDPNC focuses on five key areas: new business recruitment, export expansion, supporting businesses generally, small business formation, and tourism. Responsible for employing 200,000 and a $20 billion economic impact, Chung says, “Tourism is an important industry sector for the state. We’re the sixth most visited state in the country.” As far as small business formation, Chung explains, “Through our Business Link North Carolina (BLNC) we help small business owners tackle their concepts from ideas to execution, helping them write business plans and getting them financial and technical assistance. “Our team functions like a call center fielding inquiries—about 15,000 a year—from people who want to start a business, whether it be a retail or community service business or small manufacturer. We help these individuals understand the paperwork, permits, licenses or anything else they need to get up and going as they build their business in North Carolina.” Supporting existing North Carolina
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businesses is another key focus area. “We’re leveraging field offices across North Carolina to call on major employers in each of the state’s 100 counties to understand from them what they need to continue growing their presence in North Carolina and what if anything may be inhibiting them from future growth in the state,” Chung says. “In those cases, we’re trying to connect existing employers with resources they can tap into at the state or local level or even within the private sector to help those companies continue to be viable and growing here.” In 2014 North Carolina had a record $31 billion in exports. The EDPNC is tasked with
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“Commerce reserves the right to final decision, as they should, but the EDPNC is dealing directly with the companies. Our job is to have a good finger on the competitive factors and where we are, so that we aren’t paying more than we need to in incentives, but that we aren’t underbidding incentives to the point where we run the risk of losing to another state.”
fueling that continuing export expansion. “Exporting can be a great way for companies to increase and diversify revenues,” says Chung. “In North Carolina there are something like 11,000 companies that currently export. Many of those are smaller to midsize companies that don’t have sales offices in every country. “That’s where our team from the international trade group comes in. Our team, some of whom are based overseas, can help companies with market entry strategies or in growing existing export functions. We take export promotion as a serious responsibility because overseas sales mean more dollars coming
back to North Carolina to help grow those businesses.”
Business Recruitment Certainly right now, the most visible focus of the EDPNC is new business recruitment. Boosting that effort is North Carolina’s perception, both nationally and globally. Accolades come from a number of sources. Most recent is Site Selection’s Top 10 Most Competitive States which ranks North Carolina first place, up from fourth last year. The Southeast dominates the list with Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee rounding out the top five.
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Forbes has routinely ranked North Carolina in the top handful of Best States for Business over the last five years, currently ranking it at number three. And North Carolina ranks third in the nation for having the most favorable climate for businesses according to Chief Executive magazine’s annual survey, moving up one place from last year. (Interestingly, South Carolina ranked 10th, down from fifth last year, despite its ongoing success in recruiting large industrial projects and enticing busi-
While North Carolina has broad appeal for many types of business, the EDPNC is focused on several specific industry sectors. Says Chung, “We’re trying to position North Carolina as competitive for manufacturing, corporate headquarters, data centers, warehouse and distribution operations, financial services, food processing facilities, call centers or some similar back office functions.” At the time of publication, the North Carolina General Assembly has failed to pass funding for the North Carolina incentives
“Automotive is important because of the sheer economic impact an automotive manufacturer can have on a state. The trajectories of entire states’ economies have been moved by their ability to attract an auto manufacturer. You’ve got $1 to $2 billion worth of original investment made by the company itself, but then you’ve got all those additional suppliers, and that second wave of investment that usually eclipses the job creation numbers of the assembly plant itself.” nesses from North Carolina with generous incentives.) “I like to brag about the perception North Carolina enjoys in the mind’s eye of corporate executives and business owners,” says Chung. “North Carolina is held in very high esteem as a business climate and that says something.” Among the attributes the EDPNC highlights are North Carolina’s superior tax and regulatory environment, extensive transportation network providing superior market access, highly skilled workforce (58-campus community college and 16-campus university system helping to provide a workforce that is 36 percent more productive than the average U.S. worker), comprehensive banking resources and wide variety of economic development programs, and a low cost of living and high quality of life that helps recruit and keep talented workers.
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package. Chung remarks that potential investors in North Carolina shouldn’t worry long term about that and refers to it as a “temporary setback,” akin to “the natural conversation all states go through at some point, whether it’s when there is turnover in the legislative or executive body.” He points out that North Carolina today is benefitting from some significant business-tax reform that has already taken place: “Now you have the corporate tax rates having gone from 6 percent to 5 percent with the opportunity to go to 4 percent and 3 percent in subsequent years, meeting certain revenue projections.”
“Chasing Cars” Swedish carmaker Volvo recently announced plans for a $500 million manufacturing plant near Charleston, S.C. Volvo sidestepped both North Carolina and Georgia
in making their decision. Chung is frequently asked about attracting an automotive manufacturing company to the state. Surrounded by BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen plants just outside its borders, North Carolina remains the sole southern state without one. “North Carolinians shouldn’t be disheartened by Volvo’s decision,” says Chung. “One state winning means a lot of other states did not win.” Chung understands the frustration. “Automotive is important because of the sheer economic impact an automotive manufacturer can have on a state,” he says. “The trajectories of entire states’ economies have been moved by their ability to attract an auto manufacturer. “You’ve got $1 to $2 billion worth of original investment made by the company itself, but then you’ve got all those additional suppliers, and that second wave of investment that usually eclipses the job creation numbers of the assembly plant itself. That’s what this game is all about and why it’s such a premium industry for economic development.” North Carolina has taken an important step in attracting an automaker. Auto assembly plants need large tracts of land, often 1,500 or more contiguous acres with connectivity to utilities, rail, interstate highways and a skilled workforce. North Carolina has assembled four of these megasites: one in the eastern part of the state, two in the Triad region, and another southwest of Raleigh-Durham. “It’s not easy anywhere in this country to get this much acreage with the needed characteristics,” Chung explains. “You want to make sure that when we are in discussions with automakers that we have some good site options to put in front of them.” But even with megasite options, North Carolina is still at a disadvantage in luring automakers.
“Other states have been very aggressive in their incentives,” says Chung. “Incentives aren’t the only factor that is part of the decision. You’ve got quality of life, workforce, transportation infrastructure, energy costs, tax rates. “Sometimes those issues will offset the difference in incentives, but if you did an apples-to-apples comparison of North Carolina incentives versus those of other states, if that were the true tie-breaker, then I think we’d be at a risk of losing in those situations,” he admits.
“These are jobs for people in a part of the state that maybe hasn’t seen that many job opportunities in the past several years and that’s important. Right now is a pivotal time in North Carolina’s approach to job creation and development and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Focusing on Success Per Chung, about 30 percent of the recruitment deals in the EDPNC’s current pipeline entail a foreign company or a company with foreign ownership looking at North Carolina. In order to attract foreign investment, the EDPNC uses contract representatives in investment promotions offices in Germany, Japan, Canada and China. “These are four of the strongest markets for direct investment into the U.S.,” Chung explains, “but I’m also thinking about where else we should have representation. I think Korea makes sense. India is another market that continues to demonstrate potential for direct investment opportunities. Brazil’s economy may have cooled but the U.S. is still an attractive market for some companies there as well.” The EDPNC works closely with the N.C. Department of Commerce. “We conference with Commerce every week, discussing the deals we’re working on and making recommendations on what we think is necessary to seal the deal for North Carolina,” explains Chung. “Commerce reserves the right to final decision, as they should, but the EDPNC is dealing directly with the companies. Our job is to have a good finger on the competitive factors and where we are, so that we aren’t paying more than we need to in incentives, but
that we aren’t underbidding incentives to the point where we run the risk of losing to another state.” Regional Charlotte success stories include Sealed Air Corporation relocating their global headquarters ($58 million; 1,262 jobs); Gordon Food Service building a distribution center ($58 million; 275 jobs); Nestlé Waters North America building a water bottling facility ($40 million; up to 50 jobs); AvidXchange building a new corporate headquarters ($21 million; 603 jobs); and Red Ventures expanding marketing and sales operations (580 new jobs). Recent successes for North Carolina include O’Neil Digital Solutions, a provider of publishing and marketing communications services, which expects to create 250 jobs over five years at a new $140 million printing and data center project in Monroe. Also, Scott Safety, manufacturer of respiratory and protective equipment for firefighters, police and the military among others with seven global manufacturing locations, which will invest $28.7 million to expand their Monroe-based headquarters, supporting 67 new jobs. Also, Tosaf USA, a manufacturer of advanced polymers and compounds based in Israel, which will open its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Bessemer City, creating 75 jobs and an investment in excess of $13 million
over the next three years. Also, San Diego, Calif.-based White Labs Inc., supplier of breweries, wineries and distilleries with fresh yeast and related products, which will create 56 new jobs with an expected investment of $8.1 million over five years when it locates its first East Coast operations in Asheville. Chung makes special mention of the EDPNC personnel who successfully worked to bring a new state-of–the-art poultry processing plant and hatchery to Robeson County. With the new plant, Sanderson Farms, the third largest U.S. poultry producer, will invest approximately $139 million and create 1,100 new jobs. “These are jobs for people in a part of the state that maybe hasn’t seen that many job opportunities in the past several years and that’s important,” says Chung. “Right now is a pivotal time in North Carolina’s approach to job creation and development and I’m h o n ored to be a part of it.”
Emerging Issues Forum 2015: Innovation in NC Then, Now and Next
Barbara Fagan is a Greater Charlotte Biz freelance writer. Some images provided by the company.
Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Inc. [EDPNC] 15000 Weston Parkway Cary, N.C. 27513 Phone: 919-4477777 Principals: John Lassiter, Chairman; Christopher Chung, CEO; David Spratley, V.P. Business Recruitment; John Loyack, V.P. Global Business Services; Wit Tuttell, V.P. Tourism and Marketing; Michael Ebert, Senior Manager, Strategy and Operations Founded: 2014 Purpose: Nonprofit corporation that oversees North Carolina’s efforts in business and job recruitment and retention, international trade, and tourism, film and sports development. www.edpnc.com
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Sea
of
Opportunity
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NC PORTS GO DEEP TO COMPETE EFFECTIVELY IN NICHE MARKETS by peter prunkl
or decades, improbable outcomes like David’s victory over Goliath in the biblical battle have energized politicians and administrators. With the highly anticipated completion of the Panama Canal Expansion next year and the expected increase in East Coast traffic from post-Panamax deep-water ships, North Carolina’s ports have been struggling to position themselves to vie for opportunities against neighboring Goliaths. How can the Port of Wilmington and the Port of Morehead City effectively compete with deep-water ports of Charleston, Savannah and Norfolk? That is the question Paul Cozza, chief executive officer of the North Carolina State Ports Authority [NCSPA], has been grappling with.
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››› Port of Wilmington
“With the volume of international trade continuing to grow, forwardlooking businesses and industries are increasingly relying on competitive access to global markets.”
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He knows that with the volume of international trade continuing to grow, forward-looking businesses and industries are increasingly relying on competitive access to global markets. He maintains that North Carolina’s ports of Wilmington and Morehead City, plus inland terminals in Charlotte and the Piedmont Triad at Greensboro, have the capability and capacity to serve as competitive alternatives to ports in neighboring states. For Cozza, it is a significant challenge, as an estimated 75 to 80 percent of North Carolina businesses engaged in import and export trade already take their business to ports other than Wilmington and Morehead City.
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Compared to Goliath “North Carolina ports are never going to compete with others,” Walter Turner, historian at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, makes clear in his book Waterways to the World. “Just look at the map. There is too much to overcome.” Wilmington is at somewhat of a
geographic disadvantage of being located 26 miles from the open ocean on the Cape Fear River. Container ships travel two to three hours from the port before arriving at open water, although that’s only 30 minutes longer than at the Port of Savannah. And neither port meets the general deep-water standard of 50 feet or more channel depth for a fully laden post-Panamax containership, nor does it make practical or economic sense to dredge them. Jeff Miles, former acting executive director of NCSPA, has remarked similarly, “Charleston, Norfolk and Savannah today are just behemoth container operators. Engaging in an ‘arms race’ with those guys is a prescription for a serious loss. We can’t go toe-to-toe with them today.” Clearly, going toe-to-toe with other port facilities would not be a wise business plan. Rather, as Miles also points out, we can compete against other ports because we are better, faster and overall have a better customer service record than any other East Coast port. Anyway, if there were an ‘arms race,’ it was almost certainly lost a long time ago when the North Carolina General Assembly created the Ports Authority in 1945.Turner explains
fenix fotography
Paul Cozza CEO NCSPA its unintended consequences, “In retrospect it would have been wiser to begin with a clear understanding to make Wilmington the major port, with Morehead City as a secondary port. One of the key reasons the state ports authorities of Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia have been successful is that each had a mandate to build one major state port.” Today, containers and bulk/break bulk cargo like dry cement dominate the 284-
“North Carolina’s ports of Wilmington and Morehead City, plus inland terminals in Charlotte and the Piedmont Triad at Greensboro, have the capability and capacity to serve as competitive alternatives to ports in neighboring states.”
acre Port of Wilmington. Grains, chemicals, fertilizers, ores, minerals and cement are Wilmington’s chief imports. Forest products like lumber, paper and forage for livestock lead the list of exports with woodchips and wood pulp close behind. The cargo is quite different at the Port of Morehead City. No container ships dock there. Bulk cargo rules the import and export sides of the 128-acre port. Sulphur products, rubber, scrap metal, potash and ores are its chief imports. Phosphate and phosphate products are by far the terminal’s leading export.
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››› Port of Morehead City
Lead Strategist
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Just over a year ago, Cozza took over leadership of the NCSPA from Miles. Cozza, a West Point graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering, previously served as president of The CSL Group, a marine dry bulk cargo service and the world’s largest owner and operator of self-unloading vessels. He also served in several roles, including CFO, senior vice president finance and administration and vice president for network planning, for Maersk Line, Limited, the world’s largest container shipping company. In addition, Cozza worked for more than a decade with CSX Corporation/Sea-Land Service, Inc., the shipping and container giant. The breadth and depth of his port operations background brings a broad perspective to the 70-year-old NCSPA. He is upbeat about the future of the ports he oversees. “I see more opportunities for us to do more good things for the state to improve commerce,” he says. “Surprisingly, Wilmington is the fastest growing container port on the East Coast with container volume up 21 percent. Containerization [Cozza points out the invention of North Carolina native Malcolm McLean] has been the fastest growing segment of United States trade for the past three decades.” Cozza is looking for ways to compete effectively and grow his customer base. He is quick to point out the advantages of a small port—better customer service, lower cost and better union relationships. “We are utilizing maybe about 40 percent of the Wilmington terminal,” maintains
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Cozza. That means less berth congestion and more crane capacity. Cozza brags about gate turnaround time: “For trucks coming on a round trip, we are turning them around in about 40 minutes. That is close to being the best on the East Coast.”
NCSPA Port Expansions Cozza is overseeing two important expansions initiated by his predecessors. Both come online next year. The first are two state-of-the-art “skin” storage domes currently being constructed at the Port of Wilmington for the storage of wood pellets. At 170 feet high, the domes are 10 feet taller than the twin support towers of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. Wood pellets are bite-sized bits of dry, compressed biomass used to produce electricity in European power plants. In recent years, the United States has become the world’s leading exporter of wood pellets. Enviva, the South’s largest exporter of wood pellets is contributing financially to the
project for the storage of its pellets. “We expect to export Enviva pellets by end of first quarter of 2016,” remarks Cozza. A similar two-dome storage facility will break ground in the second quarter of 2016 at the bulk cargo port at Moorhead City, according to Cozza. The project was delayed to allow WoodFuels LLC, another wood pellets producer, time to secure construction funds and to finalize contract details. Annual pellet production at WoodFuel’s new plant in Sims, N.C., is expected to top 300,000 metric tons. And that is only the beginning—Woodfuels is already planning two additional North Carolina pellet plants. The contract with NCSPA is what lured the Portland, Maine-based company to build in North Carolina. It’s investing over $116M in constructing the Sims plant and the Morehead City storage domes. When fully operational, Woodfuels will add 20 rail cars to every Norfolk Southern train arriving at Morehead City. In June, the real estate development company USAInvestCo will break ground on the second major expansion at the Port of Wilmington. Doing business as Port of Wilmington Cold Storage (PWCS), the company is working with the state to build and operate a 103,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse directly at the terminal. PWCS will blast freeze North Carolina turkeys, poultry and pork and then store, load, handle, unload and manage shipments to foreign and domestic ports. North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is quoted as saying, “The [PWCS] facility is a vital piece of infrastructure that our producers have needed for a long time, and I’m happy that a public-private partnership will be able to make it a reality.” Transporting turkeys, poultry and pork to Wilmington for export should reduce costs and improve logistics for North Carolina exporters. For years, their preferred
destination was the Port at Charleston. With the new PWCS, they may reconsider that decision. Last year, perhaps in response to the PWCS announcement, the South Carolina Ports Authority voted to triple the size of its 55,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse in North Charleston.
Competitive Advantage in Niche Markets
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Ironically, the fact that North Carolina does not have one designated major port may, in fact, be its strongest advantage in competing for port traffic because of the infrastructure supporting all ports and because its ports have specialty niches. Having alternatives for shipping, rail and truck transportation leads to lower costs and better choices. The port at Morehead City, for example, is serviced by Norfolk Southern Railway. When transporting goods to the inland Port of Charlotte, it utilizes the new Norfolk Southern Intermodal Terminal at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The port at Wilmington, on the other hand, is serviced by CSX Transportation, which utilizes the CSX Intermodal Terminal at Charlotte. That’s the rail yard northeast of the airport on Exchange Road. Unfortunately, basic container service between the Wilmington and the Queen City was discontinued in 1989 for lack of volume. One expansion of foremost on the minds of railroad officials at CSX is resumption of containerized rail service between the Port of Wilmington and Charlotte. “If that service resumes, it will be driven by demand from the ocean carriers themselves,” says Cozza. “We have full doublestack capability between Wilmington and Charlotte. The infrastructure is there,” he says, describing the prospect for that service to resume as “very likely.” Both ports are efficient in handling project, dimensional and heavy lift cargoes between vessels and inland transportation modes. Although Morehead City does not accommodate containers, it does handle bulk and break bulk cargo extremely efficiently. Both ports are located within 700 miles of more than 70 percent of the industrial base of the U.S. Wilmington has vehicular access via U.S. 17, U.S. 74 and I-40 and I-140; Morehead City is likewise connected via U.S. 17. Cozza’s $135M five-year strategic plan includes some important improvements. At the forefront are berth and crane enhancements at Wilmington so that operators can load or unload two ultra-large Post-Panamax ships at the same time. On-dock rail improvements
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
and additional equipment are planned for shoreside operations at both Wilmington and Morehead City. Morehead City is North Carolina’s bulk cargo terminal, the center for natural rubber and fertilizer imports and phosphate and sulfur exports. PCS Phosphate of Aurora, North Carolina, is NCSPA’s biggest customer for good reason. The conveyor system at the PCS facility at Morehead City loads ships at a fast 1,000 tons an hour.
“I see more opportunities for us to do more good things for the state to improve commerce. Surprisingly, Wilmington is the fastest growing container port on the East Coast with container volume up 21 percent.”
Imports at Morehead City provide raw materials for two notable North Carolina industries. It is the country’s second largest port for importing natural rubber, the essential ingredient for Goodyear and Bridgestone/ Firestone plants near Raleigh. Charlottebased Nucor Corporation imports some of its direct reduced iron (DRI) from its plants in Trinidad and Tobago through Morehead City. DRI is the preferred scrap substitute or scrap supplement at Nucor’s steel mills in the United States. Originally, it was contemplated that North Carolina would have three ports: Wilmington, Morehead City and Southport. However, the Southport development has been all but scrapped. Earlier this year NCSPA announced that it was selling the Southport Marina and 11 other undeveloped properties in Brunswick, New Hanover and Carteret counties. The undeveloped land no longer serves a purpose for NCSPA. They are real estate investments ripe for converting to capital and long term improvements at the ports. Absent from the for sale list are 600 acres north of Southport that NCSPA planned to develop as a new international port rivaling Charleston and Savannah. Those plans met stiff local opposition from groups such as No Port Southport and others.
“That is a fantastic tract of land,” says Cozza. “Right now, if you look at our strategic plan, we have nothing in place to develop that property. It is not for sale,” he added, “but it would be if there was a significant commerce opportunity.” Cozza frankly admits that North Carolina ports have underserved their customers. The ports forced Tarheel businesses to go elsewhere because services, equipment and facilities were not available. Cozza understands the economic facts of life. If North Carolina businesses are using the ports at Charleston, Norfolk or Savannah and getting fantastic service, that’s good, he says. Whatever benefits North Carolina businesses benefits North Carolina. But if Tarheel businesses are experiencing high costs, a lack of truck availability or increased port congestion at Goliath ports, those are the companies he wants to help. “We are not just looking at growing volume for the sake of growing volume. We are looking at growing capabilities that can help customers in North Carolina run their business better,” maintains Cozza. That kind of attitude and determination gets the word out and builds satisfied customers, and satisfied customers build better prospects for increasing business. The sheer momentum that Paul Cozza is developing can overcome obstacles, and every so often beat a Goliath. Pete Prunkl is a Greater Charlotte Biz freelance writer. Some images provided by the company.
North Carolina State Ports Authority [NCSPA] 2202 Burnett Boulevard Post Office Box 9002 Wilmington, N.C. 28402 Phone: 800-334-0682; 910-763-1621 Principal: Paul J. Cozza, CEO Founded: 1945 Port of Wilmington: 284 acres, 42 ft. channel depth, 394 ships serviced plus 29 barges (2014) Port of Morehead City: Acres (Morehead City): 128 acres, 45 ft. channel depth, 142 ships serviced plus 464 barges (2014) Statewide: NC Ports support more than 76,000 jobs; goods moving through generate more than $14B to the economy; ports contribute more than $700M in tax revenues annually Mission: To enhance the economy of North Carolina. www.ncports.com
Global Leaders Seek Charlotte Businesses Ambassadors, Diplomats and Distinguished Leaders See Charlotte as Entry to U.S. Domestic Market When world leaders visit the United States, they most often visit Washington, D.C. first. In recent years, Charlotte, North Carolina, has become one of the next most frequented cities to visit. Why? Because Charlotte is home to over 1,000 foreign-owned companies that have chosen to do business in the United States. Not only do international businesses benefit from the camaraderie of other foreign-owned firms, they also benefit WACC President from the support mechanisms the and CEO L.J. Stambuk community provides to help them acclimate and thrive. The World Affairs Council of Charlotte (WACC) is a very integral mechanism in that regard. It was founded in 1983 as an outreach program of UNC Charlotte and its Office of International Programs as a non-profit, non-partisan organization. It is supported by private funding from individual and corporate member dues and contributions. As a regional center for education and discussion of world affairs, the Council seeks to provide leadership for global thinking, believing that a broad perspective is necessary for effective competition in the global economy and for responsible citizenship in an increasingly interdependent world. We are pleased to present some of our program highlights. Ambassador of Ireland to the U.S. The World Affairs Council of Charlotte and John Young, Honorary Consul of Ireland to North Carolina, welcomed H.E. Anne Anderson, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States on April 22nd. Ambassador Anderson is the first female Ambassador to hold her current post representing Ireland to the U.S. She presented her credentials to PresiAnderson dent Obama and took her post as Ireland’s 17th Ambassador to the United States in August 2013. During her visit, Ambassador Anderson discussed the current economic and political relationship between Ireland and the U.S. in addition to sharing her
perspectives on the state of the EU and Eurozone, Ireland’s economy and the country’s future prospects for trade and development. President of Costa Rica On May 14th, the World Affairs Council has the honor of hosting Luis Guillermo Solís, the current President of Costa Rica. Costa Rica and the United States have maintained diplomatic relations since Costa Rica’s independence from Spain in 1851. The two nations are economic partners through the U.S.Central America-Dominican Republic Solís Free Trade Agreement, a partnership that accounts for around half of Costa Rica’s imports, exports, tourism, and foreign direct investment. Both countries also cooperate in many international forums such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Organization of American States and World Trade Organization. Dense jungles, volcanic landscapes, pristine beaches and extensive biodiversity shape the character of Costa Rica. The nation’s rich environment inspires the traditional mantra of ‘pura vida’ (pure life). Taking due consideration to maintain the ‘pure life,’ Costa Rica is also a leader in environmental conservation and clean energy policies. In addition to leading by example in its commitment to renewable energies, Costa Rica maintains an exemplary commitment to human rights and placed higher than any other Latin American nation in the Human Development Index measuring life expectancy, income and education.
Corporate Membership and Support: Will You Invest in the World Affairs Council of Charlotte? Why become a Corporate Member of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte? • Learn about international affairs from foreign government/state officials, renowned authors, and world leaders. • Build professional networks through Council events. • Support international education in the Charlotte community. • Increase corporate publicity through program and education sponsorships. • Reach out to sophisticated and high level individuals in the Charlotte community. • Build, maintain and strengthen client relationships. For more information regarding Corporate Membership with the World Affairs Council of Charlotte, please contact Charlotte Klopp at cklopp@ worldaffairscharlotte.org or 704-697-7759.
World Affairs Council of Charlotte Upcoming 2015 Programs May 6, 2015 ......................The Magellan Society (Young Professionals of the WACC): Global Spotlight with Anthea Rossouw, Founder of the Dreamcatcher Foundation, South Africa May 13, 2015 ....................The Magellan Society (Young Professionals of the WACC): Cooking Class May 14, 2015 ....................WACC Presidents Series with Luis Guillermo Solís, President of Costa Rica May 19, 2015 ....................Invitation-Only Luncheon with Steve Barclay, Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in New York May 20, 2015 ....................The Magellan Society (Young Professionals of the WACC): Global Spotlight on Cambodia May 21, 2015 ....................WACC Ambassadors Circle Series with Petr Gandalovic, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the U.S. May 27, 2015 ....................WACC Voyagers Club with Council Scholars: Christina Lohry and Bruce Schulman
www.worldaffairscharlotte.org
Shooting “OUR CLIENTS’ CUSTOMERS OFTEN SEND NOTES UP THE CHAIN SAYING, ‘HEY, THESE GUYS ARE AN EXTENSION OF OUR TEAM.’ THAT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST COMPLIMENTS THAT YOU COULD EVER GET. FOR ME, THAT’S WHAT OUR PHILOSOPHY IS ALL ABOUT.”
for the Moon! MARKETING CLIENTS A LWAY S L A N D A M O N G T H E S TA R S
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Red Moon Marketing/ Jack Daniel’s
wise adage says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” When it comes to marketing communication, the professionals at Red Moon Marketing take this maxim to heart, boasting an impressive list of clients including The Coca-Cola Company, Brown-Forman brands such as Jack Daniel’s, MTD’s Cub Cadet, Huber Engineered Woods, Snyder’s Lance and Harris Teeter. While known primarily for its experiential marketing expertise, Red Moon Marketing shines in a variety of fields including brand promotion, event entertainment and sports marketing, branding, visual communications, as well as interactive media and public relations. And with a roster of more than 30 consumer and business-to-business clients, Red Moon Marketing has truly become a full-service marketing company.
(pictured above, l to r) Mike Adams, Senior Account Director Shyloe Luehrs, Sr. Vice President Jim Bailey, President and CEO Tyler Sigmon, Vice President Jimmy Harte, Sr. Vice President Greg Luehrs, Sr. Vice President Red Moon Marketing, LLC
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greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
(back row, l to r) Tim Braun, Eddie Burklin, Tiffany Moeller, Chase Gregory, Don Coleman, Warren Wisnewski, Fitz Bailey, Krista Nuzum, Justina Zhou, Shyloe Luehrs, Jay Martin (middle row, l to r) Greg Mercer, Haley Randazzo, Tyler Sigmon, Mike Adams, Amanda Maness, Jimmy Harte, Glenn Wilga, Pat Rineman, Tracy Morgan (front row, l to r) Greg Luehrs, Jim Bailey, Seth Wyatt, Mason McVerry, Sarah Scott, Andrea Kall, Caitie Bailey, Bobby Fiacco
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may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
“The unique thing about us,” says founder and CEO Jim Bailey, grinning, “is that we have what we call the ‘Red Moon Virus.’ Once we get in—and clients experience our service, expertise and total commitment to customer satisfaction—we end up sticking around for a long while.” Bailey has significant experience creating partnerships and activating sponsorships within major sports properties including the NCAA, NASCAR, NHRA, NBA, MLS, MLB and the NFL and for clients such as General Mills, Pillsbury, Cinnabon, Mattel and more.
Mobilizing the Moonies Bailey is a veteran marketer with over 30 years’ experience, including more than 20 years working with Coca-Cola during the “Cola Wars.” In 2001, Coca-Cola reorganized the department Bailey had been working in, moving a good segment of his responsibilities to the parent company in Atlanta. Bailey had three children in school in Charlotte and did not want to uproot them, so he decided to open an agency himself. Bailey remembers vividly the autumn night in 2001, when he left his office on the fourth floor of the Coca-Cola Consolidated office building in Brainstorming SouthPark, knowing his time with the company was coming to an end. He at Red Moon Marketing remembers his mixed emotions as he left the building. “The future was full of opportunity,” says Bailey, “and I knew I’d be taking valuable Coke marketing experience with me, but it would be hard to let go of the fierce brand loyalty I had developed over the years. “Thinking about these things, I looked up at my office from the parking lot. The lights were still on, and through the corner of one window I could see the giant red Coca-Cola sign hanging on the wall—it looked like a large A Walk on the red moon.” Moon In that moment the idea for the company’s name and philosophy was born based on the Coca-Cola culture which works to create win-win situations for both itself and its clients. And while Red Moon Marketing now has dozens of clients in various business segments, it is proud of its Coca-Cola heritage, and even maintains offices in the headquarters of Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated to this day. “I’ve been in this building for a long, long time,” remarks Bailey, referring to the CocaCola Plaza. “As a matter of fact, my car can drive here pretty much on its own,” he jokes. It was just a couple of months after the Coca-Cola reorganization that opportunities started coming Red Moon’s way. Bailey was joined by an old friend Greg Mercer, as well as Shyloe Cummings (now Shyloe Luehrs), Greg Luehrs and Jimmy Harte, who had all worked with him at Coca-Cola. Bailey remembers the early days as “exhilarating, but not easy.” The hours were grueling, but the team pulled together as a tight-knit family. “In Red Moon Marketings’s early days, everyone wore a lot of hats; something we still do to this day,” says Mercer. “Red Moon Marketing has a real team atmosphere with everyone willing to help each other out. Something you’ll never hear at Red Moon is, it’s not my job.” In addition to Mercer, Shyloe Luehrs, Greg Luehrs and Harte, Bailey was joined by senior leaders Mike Adams and Tyler Sigmon, plus a host of other ‘Moonies.’ Bailey says he expects Red Moon Marketing to keep growing each year, a trend that has been the norm since the company’s founding.
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Bailey recalls, “The first truly big piece of business we picked up was the WUSA, the Women’s United Soccer Association, featuring Mia Hamm and Brandy Chastain. From there, we picked up Charlotte icon Harris Teeter in 2003, and also partnered with Cinnabon on their NASCAR efforts and promotional efforts. “In 2004, we were fortunate to enter a relationship with Brown-Forman, makers of fine distilled spirits, and also worked with YMCA when they opened the Lowe’s YMCA in Mooresville.” Red Moon Marketing has dozens of successful relationships to its credit—teaming up with Procter & Gamble, Chick-fil-A, Huber Engineered Woods, the Zac Brown Band, Snyder’s-Lance, Woodford Reserve, and even helping develop the brand MolliCoolz!, a pelletized ice cream product featured on major networks, which was later purchased by Dole Foods. Adams, approaching his third year of service, manages the Mello Yello NHRA Relationship. Adams is another former CocaCola Consolidated employee. “I started with working for Coca-Cola Consolidated under Jim through his
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“If it weren’t for these talented folks,” acknowledges Bailey, “we wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful as we are today.”
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retail-tainment programs, grand openings, and other activities,” says Adams. “I worked for a number of other companies afterward and ended up back in Charlotte, staying connected to Jim, which brought me to Red Moon Marketing.” Red Moon Marketing seeks out a younger demographic for its event marketing teams. Greg Luehrs points out, “The majority of our ambassadors are under 25. Charlotte offers UNCC, Queens College, Johnson C. Smith and CBJ Best Places Johnson & Wales graduates…it’s to Work 2014 good to have all of these universities here to talk with about career opportunities. We travel extensively, so the Charlotte airport is also a benefit.” Red Moon Marketing also played a huge part in the Charlotte racing community history by introducing the first primary spirits sponsorship to NASCAR with the Jack Daniel’s 07 Chevrolet with Richard Childress Racing. This sponsorship, along with several other new clients in 2007, led to Red Moon Marketing being recognized on the Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Companies. “Our niche at Red Moon is experiential marketing. It’s going out and talking to the
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
consumer, face-to-face, about all of the great brands we represent,” Sigmon says. “We’ve got people moving across the country every single day of the week. I’m on the phone every day with the folks that are on some of the programs I manage, making sure they’re getting the job done the Red Moon Way which means with tremendous attention to detail. But I also want to ensure our associates are enjoying what they do, learning from it, and growing in their careers.” At Red Moon Marketing, there is no typical eight-to-five day. Virtually seven days a week, Red Moon Marketing’s teams fan out across the country handling projects ranging from the Jack Daniel’s Experience to the hundreds of other events such as the Cub Cadet Challenge and the Huber Engineered Woods tour.
firm in the greater Charlotte area.” Sigmon adds, “I think a big part of our history is being able to not only maintain our core clients, but actually grow those clients much like Greg has done with BrownForman. It started with Jack Daniel’s, but now we work with a number of their other brands including el Jimador and Woodford Reserve. While it’s rare in the agency world, longevity of client relationships is what has helped us to grow and keep growing.” In his 10th year at Red Moon Marketing, Harte adds, “I worked with Jim Bailey at Coca-Cola and moved over to Red Moon Marketing a few years after he started the company. I oversee most of our Coca-Cola business and help manage our Procter & Gamble business.” Asked about the camaraderie, Harte says, “It’s pretty simple. We all have very similar passions from the top down, and we all enjoy helping people, making people happy— that is a lot of what we do—making our clients happy. Additionally, delivering over and above expectations every single day. This helps form a family atmosphere, a place you’d want to hang out for a while.”
Family Camaraderie
Beaming With Satisfaction
All agree that Red Moon Marketing is about family and relationships, both internally and with clients and their brands. Just recently, Red Moon Marketing was designated one of Event Marketer’s “2015 Best Places to Work in Events.” One associate described it, “Red Moon is a wonderful and special place. The people here are the only ones that can truly understand it. I love the company and I love the people.” Red Moon Marketing is also consistently recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as one of “Charlotte’s Best Places to Work.” Longevity is important within the Red Moon Marketing family, both client longevity and associate longevity. “I started with Jim 12 years ago,” says Greg Luehrs, “after we both worked at Coca-Cola together. From the outset, I was determined to get involved with his vision, so I worked as an intern on my days off at first. After about a year, when Harris Teeter came on board, I managed that account, and from there, since 2004, I’ve been in charge of Brown-Forman’s Jack Daniel’s account.” Shyloe Luehrs says as much: “Jim was known for success within Coca-Cola, and I admired his decision to create Red Moon Marketing. As a result of his leadership, we’ve been able to grow unlike any other marketing
Customer service never takes a back seat at Red Moon Marketing. In fact, the entire team is dedicated to providing excellent customer service through the entirety of each interaction, whether that be face-to-face or through email, text or other means. “Our clients’ customers often send notes up the chain saying, ‘Hey, these guys are an extension of our team.’ That’s probably one of the best compliments that you could ever get. For me, that’s what our philosophy is all
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“WE ALL HAVE VERY SIMILAR PASSIONS FROM THE TOP DOWN, AND WE ALL ENJOY HELPING PEOPLE, MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY—MAKING OUR CLIENTS HAPPY. ADDITIONALLY, DELIVERING OVER AND ABOVE EXPECTATIONS EVERY SINGLE DAY.” about,” says Bailey. Bailey comments, “Everybody in this business can do a better job of marketing themselves. We spend a good deal of time, energy and effort to raise up awareness and familiarity with the brands that we represent and their products. So, at the core, the best way to promote ourselves is by doing the best we can on everything we do.” Red Moon Marketing represents top brands in the country and across the world, and endeavors to recruit top-notch talent to keep the company growing and its clients satisfied. But when evaluating potential team members Red Moon is looking for more than experience or a specific skill set; it is looking for the right attitude. “I believe the selective gene is attitude, especially in a talent-filled city like Charlotte,” says Bailey. “We’re much more interested in the attitude a potential employee has versus the credentials or experience. We want everyone to exhibit the attitude that they can be better tomorrow than they are today.” Bailey admits he is amazed when he thinks of all of the technological changes that have occurred during his career. “Over the many years I’ve been in this business, we’re now going to a much more personal experience with media. I think that’s where Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are becoming so much more important—because if I have a certain set of needs or set of interests, I can tailor the
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greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
.com Join Charlotte’s global vision leaders group to participate in a community-wide discussion around the need for Charlotte to develop a global competitiveness strategy.
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information I get simply by the people I follow, the companies I follow. Sigmon acknowledges that while it’s important to keep up with technology, “The development of people here is a big thing. We work in an industry with a high potential for burnout. It’s important that we maintain a supportive and inspiring environment. Keeping people happy, giving them the chance to grow so that they don’t feel like they’re stagnant…that’s the key. If everyone in the company is growing, and the company is moving in the right direction, then we’re good.”
“WE SPEND A GOOD DEAL OF TIME, ENERGY AND EFFORT TO RAISE UP AWARENESS AND FAMILIARITY WITH THE BRANDS THAT WE REPRESENT AND THEIR PRODUCTS. SO, THE BEST WAY TO PROMOTE OURSELVES IS BY DOING THE BEST WE CAN ON EVERYTHING WE DO.” It is hard not to be overwhelmed by the portfolio of Red Moon Marketing’s customers and the scale of their work. Bailey is excited, “Look—we picked up Procter & Gamble last year and what great fun that has been for us. If you think about all the brands they have, from Crest to Charmin to Bounty, this relationship is going to give us a lot of new doors to be knocking on.” So, after more than 10 years, thousands of successful events, hundreds of sales building programs and dozens of happy clients, what’s next for Red Moon Marketing? While no one can predict the future, one thing seems certain…Red Moon Marketing will always keep shooting for the moon for its clients. Andrew Rusnak is a Greater Charlotte Biz freelance writer. Some images provided by the company.
WE'VE BEEN BUSY!
Red Moon Marketing, LLC 4100 Coca-Cola Plaza, Ste. 215 Charlotte, N.C. 28211 Phone: 704-366-1147 Principals: Jim Bailey, President and CEO; Eddie Burkin, CFO; Greg Mercer, Sr. Vice President Account Services; Greg Luehrs, Sr. Vice President; Shyloe Luehrs, Sr. Vice President; Jimmy Harte, Sr. Vice Pres.; Warren Wisnewski, Vice President for International Business Development; Tyler Sigmon, Vice President; Mike Adams, Senior Account Director Employees: 30 Founded: 2002 Offices: Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.; additional office in Shanghai, China Recognition: Event Marketer’s 2015 Best Places to Work in Events; consistently recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as one of Charlotte’s Best Places to Work Business: Full-service marketing agency; brand promotion, event entertainment and sports marketing, branding, visual communications, as well as interactive media and public relations. www.redmoonmkt.com www.redmoonmarketing.com
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From France, With Love
Doesn’t
Space
—
Perfecting
It Takes Care of It
J
ust last year, France’s largest privately owned design firm opened a U.S. headquarters in Charlotte. Team Créatif USA, located uptown in the Carillon Building at 227 W. Trade Street, brings with it a powerhouse of branding and package design from working with some of the world’s leading brands. “The agency was founded in 1986 by Sylvia Vitale Rotta and Nick Craig, two designers who met in Paris, France,” explains Team Créatif USA CEO Attila Akat. “The company’s first major brand was Dannon, the yogurt company, and as Sylvia and Nick grew the business, the pet care division of Mars joined our family of clients.”
by andrew rusnak
Blum … In the Kitchen and Beyond
lum has been conceiving, developing and building brilliantly functional and ergonomic home storage solutions for over 60 years. Amazingly smooth, superbly damped motion for doors, pull-outs and lift systems combined with outstanding use of storage space is the Blum hallmark. The Blum mission is summed up as “Perfecting Motion.” Their goal is to make the opening and closing of furniture all over the house—but especially in the kitchen—a special experience. The same goes for commercial offices, retail showrooms, hotels and food and beverage outlets. Some of the Blum products include: AVENTOS lift systems, TANDEMBOX pull-out systems, TANDEM runner systems, CLIP hinges and ORGA-LINE dividing systems—all designed to inspire with perfect motion: movement so silent and effortless it has to be seen to be believed.
Team Créatif USA march/april 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
[bizprofile]
aking out the trash may seem like a chore, but for Wastequip, it’s big business. The company manufactures many of the common trash cans consumers use every single day, but it also manufactures a large variety of steel containers, compactors, and vacuum truck systems that are used across a variety of industries. “The company was founded in 1989,” explains Wastequip CEO Marty Bryant. “At that time, the focus was on the steel container side of things. But around 2007, Wastequip started to grow larger, integrate, and buy new brands. “Today, Wastequip is the leading manufacturer of waste handling and recycling equipment in North America. We specialize in products, systems and solutions to collect, store, transport, and manage a wide range of waste and recyclables. We’re one of the few companies that manufacture a complete line of both steel and plastic waste handling equipment.”
carts are produced using a patented, stress-free molding technology known as Advanced Rotational Molding, which uses all the superior characteristics of conventional roto molding while enhancing the aesthetic and structural quality of all Toter products.
17 fenix fotography
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B
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greatercharlottebiz.com | march/april 2015
Water as an Economic Driver Water is an economic driver. The agricultural sector most obviously depends on water availability, but so do many other industries. Water supply/ demand imbalances also affect decisions on corporate locations and expansions. In other words, an adequate water supply supports a region’s economic growth. For the same reasons, a growing region requires more water. And Charlotte is growing. With a projected annual population growth rate of 1.98 percent and an annual job growth rate of 3.1 percent, the Charlotte Metro Area (including parts of Upstate South Carolina) ranked ninth in Forbes 2015 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Cities. Water for the people and businesses in the Charlotte Metro Area is supplied by the Catawba-Wateree River Basin extending from the headwaters of the Catawba on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain near Blowing Rock, N.C., to the Wateree River's confluence with the Congaree River east of Columbia, S.C. The Catawba and the Wateree Rivers are essentially one 224mile river that begins in the Blue Ridge
thirst for growth requires managed use
T
Blum Expertly Blends Form and Function
A
ccording to the United Nations, 1.2 billion people, or one-fifth of the world’s population, live in areas of water scarcity. It’s a problem that affects every continent and is expected to be an issue for many societies in coming decades. In the United States, drought levels from moderate to exceptional stretch from California to Texas; the Colorado River is starting to run dry in places; and Lake Mead, which currently supplies water for 22 million people, may be a thing of the past by 2021. When most people think of water scarcities, they think of water for household use: water for drinking, showering, washing clothes or watering lawns. What many don’t realize is the essential part water plays in their local economy.
by barbara fagan
Ta lk
by andrew rusnak
by andrew rusnak
Attila Akat CEO Team Creatif USA, Inc.
Water Wise
Wastequip
Motion Workflow
TEAM CRÉATIF USA PRODUCES APPEALING BRANDING AND PACKAGING
Trash Talk
Here in this Toter brand manufacturing facility in Statesville, N.C., the Advanced Rotational Molding manufacturing process literally rotates the product within its mold, eliminating built-in stress and resulting product weakness associated with injection molded products.
Advanced Rotational Molding Process
Toter Bear Tight Cart
january/february 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
greatercharlottebiz.com | january/february 2015
Mountains of western North Carolina and flows through the Charlotte metropolitan area into Lake Wateree in South Carolina, 30 miles northeast of Columbia. The name of the river changes to the Wateree River in Lake Wateree and eventually joins with the Congaree River upstream of Lake Marion. There are 11 major lakes or reservoirs in the basin and the dams that form these lakes have a major impact on the flow of the river. Largest of these in terms of usable storage capacity are Lake Norman, Lake James and Lake Wateree which provide recreation, water and hydroelectric power for the area. Duke Energy is the managing authority for the reservoirs and 13 hydropower stations (Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project) under a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The licensing process defines how the basin will be managed over the license term, which could be up to 50 years. During Duke Energy’s re-licensing process with FERC (the license, issued in 1958, expired in 2008), a water supply study uncovered a critical problem. Namely that, without intervention, given the current rate of growth in this region, the water demands on the Catawba River would reach maximum capacity by the year 2048. It was in conjunction with the re-licensing process, in concern for this situation, that the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group (CWWMG) was formed in 2007.
Your Business is Unique!
The CWWMG Cooperatively Works to Ensure Our Water Supply Meets Future Demands
Catawba-Wateree Water Management The CWWMG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit formed to identify, fund and manage projects that will enhance the capabilities of the Catawba-Wateree River to provide water resources for human needs such as water supply, power production, industry, agriculture and commerce, while maintaining the river’s ecological health. The CWWMG has 19 members; one member representing each of the 18 public water systems in North and South Carolina which rely on the 4,750-square mile river basin, and one member representing the utility company Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, which built the reservoir system beginning in the early 1900s through the 1960s.
Without intervention, given the current rate of growth in this region, the water demands on the Catawba River would reach maximum capacity by the year 2048.
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march/april 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
greatercharlottebiz.com | march/april 2015
Now, with the US Airways and American Airlines
by zenda douglas
Your customers and potential clients choose your business through your marketing materials.
› Great design makes
merger underway to create the world’s largest airline, and with the Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility at the airport becoming operational late this year, Charlotte Douglas’ role will expand from being the largest hub for the nation’s fifth largest airline to a global hub for the world’s largest airline and one that can be
up to the East coast because of the expansion of the Panama Canal (to be completed next year), Charlotte Douglas is poised to become an “inland port” for world trade. It is no wonder the city of Charlotte and the North Carolina Legislature have recently begun battling for control of this crown jewel.
Orr is responsible for all aspects of the airport’s operation. Orr is a native of Charlotte and a 1962
A Better Approach
graduate of North Carolina State University where he received a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering. From 1962 until 1975, he operated his family-owned land surveying business. In 1975, Orr joined the City of Charlotte’s Aviation Department as a staff engineer and was named Aviation Director in 1989.
AndujAr ConstruCtion’s
I
Combined Benefits The compelling reason for a merger of this kind is the rapidly changing medical environment towards protocol care; that is, standardization. Protocol care requires a certain level of sophistication that is difficult to provide in a smaller environment. “Protocol care provides the best quality and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks,” says Cohen. Most of the established protocols for urol➤ ogy are designed by the American Urological Association.
T
by zenda douglas
Andujar has taken his talent and put it together with a “Never say no” mantra to build a multi-million dollar commercial construction business that has successfully weathered the economic storms that have impacted the building industry over the past several years.
m ay 2 0 1 1
Designing a Business Based in Charlotte, Andujar Construction is a full-service design+build commercial contracting company offering services ranging from feasibility studies, design adaptation analysis, extensive value engineering through the complete building experience. The company is licensed to work in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and Arkansas, and will soon be licensed in Alabama. Since 1994, it has focused primarily on office, medical, restaurant and retail buildings, although Andujar emphasizes that he doesn’t like to be pigeon-holed into one niche.
TO THE
“We’ve done hundreds of office builds and upfits—all types. I love to do base building work and also to build out the interiors. A building is a building is a building—sticks, bricks, concrete, electrical and mechanical, whether the sign on the outside is medical or retail.” Examples of completed works include Colony Professional Center, The Arbors, Baxter Place, multiple Auto Bell locations, over 15 daycare facilities and over 200,000 square feet of retail space.
~Michael R. Cram M.D.
w w w. g re a t e rc h a r l o t t e b i z . c o m
c o n s t r u c t i ve c a t a ly s t fo r c re a t i ve c o n s c i o u s n e s s
m ay 2 0 1 1
W
ACCESSIBILITY
Photo: Fenix Fotography
story forts. I’ve always been able to use my hands in ways that I didn’t need to learn from other people,” says Andujar, owner of Andujar Construction, Inc. “Construction just made sense to me from day one.” 1927 South Tryon
Competitive “bid and build” systems often result in delays, change orders, and cost overruns, making this approach a risky choice for owners. Andujar’s Design+Build Approach allows for design quality, while controlling costs and schedules, ensuring timely completion of projects.
“We cover a very large swath of the region. Between the seven divisions, we take care of about a quarter of a million patients.”
With the issue of jobs reigning supreme in the minds of business, government and the american family, charlotte Works has just one thing on its agenda—getting qualified people into suitable jobs.
He says his management strategy hasn’t changed from 24 years ago: “We decided that was about
Never-Say-No approach SucceedS
o say that Ken Andujar has a natural affinity for building is an understatement. “When I was nine years old, I used to go into the woods and build two-
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(l to r) Kenneth Andujar Owner and President Anthony Andujar Jr. Vice President Andujar Construction, Inc.
july 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
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educate empower engage
Successful Leadership T. J. “Jerry” Orr is the chief executive of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. As Aviation Director,
Carolina Urology Partners Wraps Its Offices Around the Community
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greatercharlottebiz.com | july 2013
WORLD
Visionary Jerry Orr Puts Charlotte Douglas In Play
providing the highest level of service at the lowest possible price. So that’s how we structured the program, and that’s how we’ve always run the program.” Eric Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal
by jim froneberger
captures the “plainspoken visionary’s” personality regularly in his news columns. One example: “At
hen Chiquita Brands International was looking for a new headquarters location, one of the primary reasons they chose to
71, Orr remains blunt and spry. His cryptic sense of humor is a constant, as demonstrated by his relish for telling CEOs and civic groups the airport is spend-
move to Charlotte was Charlotte Douglas International Airport. With direct flights to many of Chiquita’s main business centers in Europe and Central
ing money ‘like a bunch of drunken sailors.’ The truth, of course, is anything but.” Or his description to Spanberg of running the
T. Jerry Orr Aviation Director Charlotte Douglas International Airport
and South America, Charlotte was a perfect fit. That scenario has played out any number of times, with
airport: “We look at it like we’re running an infrastructure platform that is publicly owned and
and refined unique solutions to challenges in an ever changing industry, resulting in an air transportation facility with continued airline growth that is one of
Charlotte Douglas figuring sizably in corporate decisions to move to the Queen City as well as event planners to host in the city. As the largest connecting hub for US Airways, Charlotte may have
operated without any cost to the public, which is a pretty good deal. We run it very much like a business. We don’t like to tell people ‘no’; we don’t like to
the most cost-efficient airports in the world. Orr also developed the CLT Air Cargo Center and has led the extensive development of corporate avia-
the best air service of any city its size in the world. Charlotte business and leisure travelers benefit from over 700 daily nonstop flights to over 100 cities in the United States, plus 35 more around the globe. It
make people mad. We like to find common ground, knowing that if we make them successful, it will make us successful.”
is the 6th busiest airport in the world in aircraft movements, and is 11th nationwide and 25th worldwide in passenger traffic. Without a doubt, Charlotte Douglas has been a key driver of economic growth for the Charlotte region over the last three decades. According to UNC Charlotte’s Center for Transportation
Although the 71-year-old hints from time to time about his imminent retirement, talking about
the establishment of the airport-based intermodal facility, connecting four modes of transportation—air, rail, sea and highway—in one location, transforming
how much he enjoys picking oranges from the tree outside his house near Charleston, when asked point-blank about retiring in 2013, he responds in his
Charlotte into a major global freight center. Voted Charlotte Business Person of the Year 2012 by the Charlotte Business Journal as man-in-charge of
Policy Studies, the airport contributes nearly $10 to 12 billion in annual total economic impact to the region, and more than 100,000 jobs are either directly or indirectly tied to the airport
usual taciturn style, “No. Maybe another year.” Known for his unique style and fiscal stewardship, Orr is respected as a visionary in aviation by
and its services.
leaders in the industry. During his 38-year tenure at Charlotte Douglas, Orr has developed, implemented
what has become an airport of international distinction and one that is vital for keeping and recruiting companies and jobs to the region, he is noted for being “off limits” to political rhetoric and none too keen on excessive supervision.
Focuses on the Development oF a Globally competitive WorkForce For charlotte area employers
tion, resulting in the locating of seven Fortune 500 corporate flight operations at CLT. He has spearheaded
april 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
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by zenda douglas ith the issue of jobs reigning supreme in the minds of business, government and the American family, Charlotte Works has just one thing on its agenda—getting qualified people into suitable jobs. To
accomplish this, however, means spending a great deal of time and effort working and collaborating with businesses and organizations, municipal governments and schools and colleges to develop a globally competitive workforce for employers in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. “We’ve just celebrated our first anniversary rebranded as Charlotte Works,” announces Steve Partridge, president and CEO of Charlotte’s newest one-stop, which is a consolidation of former offices. The 501(c)(3) organization was established in 1998 as the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board with the passage of the federal Workforce Investment Act. As in other states, federal funds are provided to the governor’s office and channeled through the Department of Commerce and down to local levels. In 2012, Charlotte’s Workforce Board was rebranded as Charlotte Works. “Our goal is to get people out of unemployment and back to work,” says Partridge. “The rebranding was needed to improve employment-related services for both employers and potential employees.” “Previously, we were a much smaller organization and subcontracted out most of our services,” explains Partridge. “We realized that to carry out our mission to upgrade and
Photos: Fenix Fotography
BOTH WORLDS t all started with a phone call from urologist Todd Cohen to his former colleague, Michael Cram. That, in turn, led them to host a meeting with several other urologists having practices in the Carolinas. Gathered around a platter of sandwiches and a batch of fresh ideas, the group spent three to four hours discussing the feasibility of creating a new, combined practice group. Then, the serious work began. It took a year of research, legal strategy and requirements, vetting background and compliance records, contract negotiations, asset acquisition, real estate assessment, licensure and privilege applications, human resources development and a new Medicare identification number, to combine 31 physicians and 200+ employees under one group name with 13 urology centers—Carolina Urology Partners, PLLC. The newly formed entity was official as of March 1, 2011. The ambitious merger of seven independent practices, now called divisions, extends Carolina Urology Partners’ footprint across seven counties in the Charlotte region and makes it the eighth largest urology group in the country. “We cover a very large swath of the region,” says Cram, co-CEO for the group. “Between the seven divisions, we take care of about a quarter of a million patients.” “One of the things we want to communicate to our patients is that the long-standing relationships they’ve had with their physicians and their community won’t be changing,” says Cohen, sharing CEO responsibilities with Cram. “We have different scrubs on and a different sign on the door, but none of the doctors from the practices are changing as a result of this merger.”
Photo: Fenix Fotography
simultaneously accessed by air, rail and highway. Alongside the new trade corridors being opened
All Seven The Best of
expand services, we were going to have to raise the bar on the qualifications of the people hired to deliver these services.” Now, with 24 professional employees, Charlotte Works is directly engaged in a broad array of customized services including coaching, training and networking—all targeted to the ever-changing needs of the Charlotte-area employers.
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by carol gifford
[bizprofile]
Trees
I
Seeing the Forest for the
Wanted: “Everyone has great ideas, but you also need the time, money and patience to see the idea start at the drawing board and make it through the process to the end product.”
harlotte seems like the perfect fit for new city manager Ron Carlee. He spent over three decades in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington, Virginia, but even though he’s been on the job here in Charlotte for just a short time, the Birmingham, Alabama, native already feels right at home.
“I’m definitely a southern boy, there’s no question about that,” he says with
a big grin. “The day we were unpacking, Interim City Manager Julie Burch
~Louis J. Foreman
dropped by with a bottle of champagne. That was a sure sign I was back in the
Founder and CEO
South, because nobody in Washington ‘drops by’ to see anybody, anywhere, anytime. That really told me that I was out of Washington.” Carlee says he stumbled onto the Charlotte opportunity almost by accident. He was working as chief operating officer of the International City/County Louis J. Foreman Founder and CEO Enventys, LLC
Photos: Fenix Fotography
Management Association (ICMA), but had served as Arlington County manager from 2001 to 2009. In the fall of 2012, he ran into an old friend who happened to work for a search firm that was competing for the contract for the Charlotte city manager search. “I was very happy at ICMA and wasn’t job hunting, but I did miss city management a little,” Carlee admits. “The Charlotte job profile had my name all over it. If I were writing a profile for myself, I wouldn’t have changed a word. It even said that experience as a chief operating officer in the private sector would be helpful. When I sent it to a couple of my references, they read it and said, ‘This is your job.’”
17 When their little one spilled Cheerios all over the back seat of the minivan for the umpteenth time, lightning struck and Melinda Shepard described her “spill-proof bowl” concept to her husband Brad, an engineer. With the assistance of Enventys, the bowl-in-bowl technology to prevent spills came to life as the Löopa Gyro Bowl complete with website, logo, and industrial design.
Ron Carlee City Manager City of Charlotte greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2013
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w w w. g re a t e rc h a r l o t t e b i z . c o m
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Based on that premise, Stewart went to New York and pitched an idea to some private equity groups, raised some capital and started Forest2Market, Inc. in 2000. Stewart, president and CEO of Forest2Market, likens the company to a Bloomberg-type news service specifically for the forest products industry.
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greatercharlottebiz.com | october 2012
(l to r) Michael Ramich Partner Andrew Lindner Managing Partner Joel Lanik Partner Richard Maclean (not pictured) Managing Partner Frontier Capital
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leads into customers.
What does a profitable, high growth company do when it sees an exciting new opportunity—whether it be a major new product initiative, a geographic expansion, or a major acquisition—but lacks the capital required to move rapidly? It might approach Richard Maclean, Andrew Lindner and their experienced team at Charlotte-based Frontier Capital, a 13-year-old growth equity firm formed in 1999. Growth equity firms such as Frontier provide companies with the capital they need to seize such opportunities. Similar to venture capital firms, but focusing on established companies rather than startups, growth equity firms receive investments from high net worth individuals and institutional investors and then redeploy that capital in profitable, high growth companies. The equity firm and their investors share in the profits as those companies grow and prosper.
september 2012 | greatercharlottebiz.com
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greatercharlottebiz.com | september 2012
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[
“For a brief period in college, when I really started to care about my studies,” Lackey recalls, “I went from barely making it to doing quite well, but I didn’t want to just get As—I wanted 100s.” For Lackey, playing soccer revealed other personality quirks as well. “Looking back at how I played, it’s clear that I loved taking risks. With two or three seconds left on the clock, there are always players praying that they don’t get the ball. But that wasn’t me—I was
Intellinet Helps Companies Know Their Business
the one screaming for it. I wanted to make that last shot to win.” Lackey, founder and CEO of his sixth startup, KYCK.com, admits that, even as a child, he had personality traits typical of an entrepreneur. But he credits a light bulb moment for starting him on his unconventional career path. “Out of school, I started working at a software development company,” Lackey remembers. “It was maybe my first or second day on the job when the company president called a brainstorming meeting in his office. Everybody started gathering up their paper and pens but he held up his hands to me and told me to stay out and answer the phone. “I had such a visceral response to that. I had ideas. I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t want my input. That’s when the light bulb went off and I decided that I couldn’t be in an environment where my ideas wouldn’t be heard or I couldn’t push ideas that are important to me. I resigned six months
Bell still serves as Intellinet’s chairman, but Mark Seeley, president and senior partner, now oversees the day-to-day operations. Seeley joined Intellinet in 1996 after working as a senior management and process consultant at Andersen Consulting. In his over 20-year career, he has founded or co-founded five different companies in a variety of industries including software, e-commerce, logistics, and real estate. Intellinet entered the Charlotte market in 2003, and because of the Carolinas market’s rapid growth, the company decided to further focus business development efforts by bringing in Glenn Williams as regional vice president in 2007 to run the Carolinas practice. Prior to joining Intellinet, Williams served as the vice president of sales and co-owner of Infovision, a Charlotte-based Microsoft Business Solutions partner.
Charlotte entrepreneur combines soccer and social media for startup success
mac:lackey Founder and CEO Kyck.com
UNC Charlotte’s Solar Decathlon House Combines the Best of Education and Industry for Sustainability
the Club at longview is a vision unCompRomised
E
The Club at Longview
mericans invented the solar cell, wind turbine and lithium battery. Not a bad start in the highly competitive, alternative energy marketplace. While the U.S. earns points for genius, our impact on society has been tepid at best. For example: solar power. It is a free, renewable, clean and seemingly inexhaustible resource. Why isn’t the sun America’s
ach time Mel Graham passes through the gates at The Club at Longview, he is struck by the natural beauty of the land—the rolling topography of old trees, natural streams and Six-Mile Creek, along with natural land preserves. “God gave us a wonderful canvas to work with,” says Graham, the founding partner and visionary of The Club at Longview. And what a
The Club at Longview is situated in a 500-acre private gated residential community south of Charlotte with the region’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The Club is consistently ranked one of the top 20 private clubs in North Carolina by Golf Digest ‘Best in State.’
masterpiece he and his partners have created. The Club at Longview is situated in a 500-acre private gated residential community south of Charlotte with the region’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The Club is consis-
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greatercharlottebiz.com | november 2012
■■■
by zenda douglas
later and I, and an engineer I’d become friends with at work, decided to start our first company, a software development company we called InTouch Interactive.”
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Eden urban
Revisited
]
“People are going to connect about things they want to talk about. Ultimately, sites that get mind share with people are going to win and backyard projects just don’t get mind share.”
by barbara fagan
Carolinas Key to Growth
Glenn Williams Regional V.P. of Client Solutions - Carolinas Intellinet Corporation
Frontier Capital Partners with High Growth Business Services
The Scottish Muir
KYCKs
When a major logistics company wanted to provide information on fuel costs, weather and specialized route information to their drivers on the road, they needed a way to deliver that data to hundreds of trucks all over the country. When AAA Carolinas wanted to learn more about what services their customers used and how to make better customer-focused decisions, they needed to pull data from multiple disparate systems to create actionable customer information. And when a manufacturing company wanted to understand the profitability of different SKUs, customers and regions, they needed to bring together data from financial accounting systems, inventory management systems, and sales management systems. All three of these companies turned to Intellinet Corporation, an Atlanta-based management consulting and Microsoft-centric technology services firm. Founded by Frank Bell in 1993 as a boutique technology services company, today Intellinet is a broad-based management consulting and business technology services firm consulting on IT strategies, processes, and the complete stack of Microsoft enterprise-level products. While the corporate offices are in Atlanta, Intellinet operates regional offices in Charlotte and Durham, and the Carolinas market is playing an important role in the company’s growth strategy.
Intellinet helps clients define their IT strategy, optimizes business processes with change management and project management techniques, and provides assistance with business solutions that allow companies to better align their technology with their business objectives.
Show me the Money!
dollars trying to figure out the market. If a company our size was spending that kind of money, I could only imagine what the largest forest products companies were spending to get good market data. Billion dollar companies like Weyerhaeuser and International Paper had to be spending just tons of money.”
Peter J. Stewart Founder, President and CEO Forest2Market, Inc.
› Great design turns
by jim froneberger
from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in forest economics from the University of Georgia. No matter how casually made, the career choice turned out to be a smart one. According to the American Forest & Paper Association, the forest products industry accounts for about five percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, producing approximately $175 billion in products each year and employing close to 900,000 people.
before Stewart first noticed a systemic problem. “About 30 percent of all timberland is owned by pension funds,” Stewart explains, “and I was in charge of valuing it. But I could never find good data. It was nearly impossible. “I began thinking that there’s got to be a better way to collect, handle and distribute this data. At the time I worked for a company of about 50 people and we would literally spend hundreds of thousands of
Just f r
by jim froneberger
As a kid growing up in Charlotte, all Mac Lackey wanted to do was play soccer—all day, everyday, until it was dark. It was all he cared about and luckily he had talent which took him to Wake
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Equity
Stewart admits that his career in forestry began as a high school toss-up between oceanography and forestry, which he jokes is proof that “17-year-olds should never make decisions that affect the rest of their lives.” A couple of college career days later he was studying forestry, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree
It was also a good choice for Stewart who found that he enjoyed the business and its surprisingly mathematical and statistical bent. His first job as a consultant in the industry moved him from his native Texas, where he was a wood buyer for a large forest products company, to Charlotte. It was not long
Reaching Out to Inventors “Everyone has great ideas, but you also need the time, money and patience to see the idea start at the drawing board and make it through the process to the end product. “I want people to understand the product development process and to educate them on the responsible way of doing it,” says Foreman, personal inventor and holder of 10 patents. “Many inventors with new product ideas start on the process get disillusioned and can’t get to the final destination.” The company grew out of his own personal frustration, says Foreman. He founded the company in 2001 in Huntersville. The next year, he moved it to the 23,000-square-foot converted grist mill warehouse location in Charlotte. The company also has a Taiwan office. ➤
p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe
by barbara fagan
In business, innovation is a good thing—a pathway to growth, a doorway to progress and possibly even a trajectory to industry leadership. But while innovation may be good for business, Pete Stewart found that being a business innovator wasn’t always easy.
Enventys Means Hope for Everyday Inventors ow many times have you seen a product, delighted in its straightforward utility, and thought, “I could have invented that!”? So many products—charms for wine glasses, silly wrist bands shaped like animals and sports figures for kids to wear on their wrists, waste cans that open with a touch to a foot pedal, and other popular products—they seem so simple that it begs the question: Why did it take so long for this to hit the market? Many reasons, says Louis Foreman, founder and CEO of Enventys, a Charlotte product innovation development company that helps people and companies introduce new products and redesign existing ones. Foreman’s company transforms compelling ideas into new products, offering a suite of services.
by pete prunkl
Forest on a soccer scholarship and to a year of playing pro soccer as a Charlotte Eagles’ forward. But Lackey’s obsession with soccer was more than just a passion; it was a clear example of his “all in” personality. He did everything to an extreme.
Photos: Fenix Fotography
Forest2Market Provides a Canopy of Market Information
Innovative Ideas and New Challenges
Fenix Fotography
“On the back of our business cards is our motto, ‘Promises kept.’ I bet a majority of our employees would say that’s one of the main reasons they came to work for Intellinet. Beyond us being a great strategy and technology company, we strive to do what we say, and at the end of the day, that’s what’s most important. After all, we’re in the people business.”
october 2010
Growth
Fenix Fotography
Charlotte’s New City Manager Carlee is Well-Suited to the Job
Fenix Fotography
A Southern
GENTLEMAN
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Great design conveys your message clearly and impressively at a time when every moment counts.
july 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
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by jim froneberger
I’m definitely a southern boy, there’s no question about that. The day we were unpacking, Interim City Manager Julie Burch dropped by with a bottle of champagne. That was a sure sign I was back in the South, because nobody in Washington ‘drops by’ to see anybody, anywhere, anytime. That really told me that I was out of Washington.”
›
Steve Patridge President and CEO Charlotte Works greatercharlottebiz.com | april 2013
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tently ranked one of the top 20 private clubs in North Carolina by Golf Digest ‘Best in State.’ Graham began design and construction of the Club in 2000 and completed it in 2003. He owns it in partnership with James Little, formerly an investment banker, and Bruce Anderson and Pat Welsh of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. Together, the partners have built a community that promotes an atmosphere of relax-
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ation and exclusivity with uncompromised conveniences and amenities for members to enjoy, with respect for the highest quality design concepts and land preservation.
september 2012 | greatercharlottebiz.com
greatercharlottebiz.com | september 2012
may 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
by barbara fagan
primary source of power? The poet T.S. Eliot knew the answer. “Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act,” he said, “there falls a shadow.” An enormous portion of the solar shadow is cost. A few years ago real estate agent Binnie Orrell investigated running his Charlotte home entirely on solar power. He received an estimate of $25,000 to install a single photovoltaic (PV) solar panel on the roof. “It was absurd,” comments Orrell. “Prices for photovoltaic systems that generate electricity have dropped dramatically in the past few years,” says solar energy engineer Tommy Cleveland of the North Carolina Solar Center. “A quote today
Tommy Cleveland adds another solar fact of life: “It costs more to retrofit a house for solar than new construction.”
UNC Charlotte’s “Urban Eden” house incorporates truly revolutionary approaches to sustainable design and construction, including the choice of building material (geopolymer cement concrete), an innovative passive cooling and heating system integrated into the walls and ceiling of the house, and responsive technology that allows the house and its inhabitants to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Envisioned as an urban infill project for empty nesters or young professionals, the house design is defined by a strong connection between indoor and outdoor living areas; even in an urban context, the outdoor living area allows one to privately enjoy the outdoors. The UNC Charlotte team began work on the design in October 2011, broke ground in February 2013, and will complete construction over the summer before transporting the house to California in September 2013. The competition takes place October 3-13, 2013.
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The Club at Longview
greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2013
march 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
The Choice
SHARON SQUARE
would be half of what it was three to four years ago.” Part of the reason for the price reduction is the Chinese government. When they decided to subsidize solar panel production, other manufacturers like Bosch Solar in Mooresville, quickly dropped their prices.
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greatercharlottebiz.com | march 2013
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Magellan Aviation Group takes flight with global solutions
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greatercharlottebiz.com | april 2013
bu i l di n g
Pappas Properties’ Vision Creates Extraordinary Value by jim froneberger
When you listen to Charlotte developer Peter A. Pappas talk, it doesn’t take long to understand why he’s been so successful in the Charlotte real estate market. He absolutely loves what he does. “I really enjoy real estate,” beams Pappas. “It’s not just my career. It’s my hobby and it’s my passion. I don’t feel like I’m going to work. I’m just going to do something I love doing every day.” Over the last 25 years, Pappas has been at the center of some of the most transformative real estate projects in the Charlotte region—Phillips Place, Birkdale Village, Metropolitan, and now Sharon Square—all innovative developments that have changed the way area residents live, work, dine and shop. Guided by two of the most influential real estate developers in Charlotte history—Johnny Harris and Smoky Bissell—Pappas learned the trade from the best and has continued to expand the boundaries with his own firm, Pappas Properties, and a new venture announced in May, Terwilliger Pappas Multifamily Partners.
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july 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Opportunities Grounded in Ethics
Gardner-Webb University's Godbold School of Business: Where Bright Futures Ignite
(bottom right) Michelle J. Menard President Vernon J. Menard Vice President Choice Translating, Inc.
“I
by laurie williams
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Peter A. Pappas Founder and President Pappas Properties, LLC april 2013 | greatercharlottebiz.com
GLOBAL
Because Meaning Turns on a Word
PLACEMAKING
Photo: Fenix Fotography
ir travel delays are a fact of life. Bad weather is a frequent culprit, but delays can be caused by equipment problems as well. The most serious equipment problems prevent aircraft from flying, described by a term called AOG or “aircraft on ground.” “For us, AOG has the same meaning and urgency as the term STAT does in a hospital,” explains Bill Polyi, president and CEO of Magellan Aviation Group. “When an aircraft is grounded there may be a couple of hundred passengers waiting in a terminal somewhere. That’s where we come in. One of our greatest strengths is being an AOG (same day service) company.” Magellan Aviation Group is a global aftermarket supplier of aircraft parts and products and a specialist in aircraft engine leasing and trading. The group’s Magellan Aircraft Services operates out of 108,000 square feet in southwest Charlotte. The company also operates Magellan Aviation Services out of 25,000 square feet in Shannon, Ireland, and has satellite offices in Florida, Peru, China, Singapore, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, and South Africa.
Rachelle Foucachon
“Our vision at Pappas Properties is to create places and build communities that add value to the cities that we work in. We’ve always said that any project that we undertake would need to check that box or we wouldn’t do it.”
Photo: Fenix Fotography
parts and products and a specialist in aircraft engine leasing and trading.
Translating
& COMMUNITY
»A global aftermarket supplier of aircraft
greatercharlottebiz.com | july 2013
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Michelle and Vernon Menard UNCC: Why Every Word Counts
elebrating 20 years in the linguistic services business, Choice Translating founders Michelle and Vernon Menard look back as witnesses to a technology revolution that has certainly changed the fundamental ways in which they do business. Yet what has been most critical to them has been to maintain their extreme dedication to accuracy, precision and localized style—something that has been appreciated by the organizations they serve. One client, Travis Dowell, director of international sales with OttoEnvironmental Systems, speaks to their performance. “The services and support Choice Translating has provided us have been ‘second to none,’” he says. “The team’s assistance on a conference call with our Mexico City distributor was extremely helpful in gleaning every nuance on a sales call and led to large orders for Mexico. We may not have realized record sales to Mexico without Choice Translating’s support and accurate services.”
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n business, the greatest rewards come to those who can adapt to the changing dynamics of a global economy without losing sight of their core values. These are the ethical entrepreneurs—innovators and leaders who understand that maximizing profits and maintaining integrity aren’t mutually exclusive,” maintains Dr. Anthony Negbenebor, dean of one of North Carolina’s rising star schools and insightful thought leader. That is how success is defined at the Godbold School of Business at Gardner-Webb University, a private Christian school with its main campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., and satellite campus in Charlotte. The school’s renowned graduate programs—including its online M.B.A., ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in 2012 (U.S. News & World Report) and No. 9 worldwide (BusinessMBA. org)—are led by seasoned practitioners from around the world.
march/april 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
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greatercharlottebiz.com | march/april 2015
greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
Cloudbilt Business Apps Enhance Productivity by andrew rusnak
C
loudbilt has been on an upward trajectory since its founding in 2009 by successful serial entrepreneurs CEO John Stewart and CTO Ben Brantly. Initially named Saber Business Solutions, Inc., the Charlotte-based company started out providing managed services and custom app development to users of Salesforce. Growth came rapidly. Stewart and Brantly hired their first employees in 2010, released their first ezCloudAudit app in August 2011, and followed that shortly after with what is now their flagship MapAnything app in December 2011. By 2012, both Stewart and Brantly thought it time to branch out to develop client relationships and increase accessibility. They identified Atlanta as a primary hub for software development, and in May 2012, Brantly moved there to head up Cloudbilt’s Office of Technology in the northern suburbs.
30 MapAnything Overview
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
AddressAnything Overview
ezCloudAudit Overview
Making It Work In The Cloud
jimmcguire.com
John Stewart CEO and Co-Founder Cloudbilt, Inc.
Brantly and his staff of developers is tasked with expanding the company’s inventive technology strategy and vision, developing innovative CRM software. Brantly also evaluates emerging technology and industry trends to provide technical direction to both clients and staff. A few months later, in September 2012, the company released its ezFileLoader app. About that time, Stewart took stock and decided it was time for a shift in focus: “It was a couple of years in when we started looking at patterns in the projects we were working on and what products salesforce. com was promoting in their AppExchange, which is their marketplace for applications (think of it like the Apple iTunes store for business apps within Salesforce.) “After determining the most prevalent customer needs, we started building products for the AppExchange, and in late 2012, they really started to take off. As a result, we decided to rebrand the company using the Cloudbilt name and focus solely on producing cloudbased software applications for users of Salesforce.” Cloudbilt is now a Salesforce AppExchange ISV Partner with four business applications on the market and over 500 customers, including multiple companies in the Fortune 500. In 2014, Cloudbilt ranked #227 on the Inc. 500 after experiencing 2000 percent revenue growth in three years. There’s no doubt about it, Stewart and Brantly are successfully making it work in the cloud!
“We’re very focused on a single marketing channel. We try to build our brand equity within salesforce.com. That, in turn, drives traffic to our AppExchange products and increases our downloads, and ultimately, this gives us more opportunities with customers.” • Map your Salesforce data • Route and schedule optimization • Prospecting and lead generation • Territory management • Salesforce1 mobile-ready
• Track Salesforce use • Drive user adoption • Monitor sensitive data • Detect potential abuse
• Global address capture and verification • Save time on data entry with type ahead and auto-completion • Clean your entire org
Saber-rattling in the Cloud • Drag-and-drop file uploads • Upload multiple files at once • Email attachments from records
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may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Prior to Cloudbilt, Inc., Stewart had founded Saber Design and Analysis Services, LLC, a consulting firm providing engineering and manufacturing services to the aerospace and defense industry. A New York native, he holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. He successfully sold the company in 2011. Prior to joining up with Stewart, Brantly had co-founded several other companies including Southern Computer
Innovations, Educational Network Solutions, and SoftwareFixIt.com. In addition to his position at Cloudbilt as CTO, Brantly acts as the company’s Chief Architect, a role in which he directs the development of Cloudbilt’s AppExchange products along with custom client solutions and Salesforce deployments. Brantly was born in Georgia and attended Georgia State University. As Stewart recalls, in 2008, as the financial crisis began to affect industries across the country, he started looking for new opportunities. At the time, however, “cloud computing” had yet to become a real thing that companies were considering. “People weren’t really saying ‘cloud computing’ until around the time that IBM did their Super Bowl ad using the term in 2009,” remarks Stewart, “and from there, interest in cloud computing has been growing like you wouldn’t believe. So we jumped into it, knowing that we had the expertise and ability to develop, deliver and support new apps.” Cloudbilt is a 100 percent cloud company that sells its apps on salesforce.com’s platform, meaning salesforce.com is responsible for delivery to the client. This puts Cloudbilt in the unique position of having very little infrastructure and virtually zero footprint. Alongside the main office here and the development office in Atlanta, it has remote field sales employees in Boston and San Francisco. Though there’s never a “typical” day in his business, Stewart comments, “On a day-to-day basis, I do a lot of different things, from wearing the sales hat, to forming business partnerships, to sourcing new vendors for our products. Even though its software, we still license content from other people to add value for our clients, so it’s a variety of things. “I love what I do; I’m passionate about it! The products, the company, these are my babies—mine and Ben Brantly’s.” “We’ve seen Cloudbilt grow from zero
end users to north of 23,000 licenses of our MapAnything application. And, really, the possibility of seeing that figure climb to 100,000 users in the next year or two, that’s what keeps me coming in. That’s exciting!”
“It is important that we get the feature-function part of our apps correct. We have a product advantage due to the unique intellectual property inside our apps. We certainly know how to market, sell and navigate within the salesforce.com ecosystem. This gives our team the ability to approach building brand equity unlike anyone else.” “We do have a little bit of competition,” explains Stewart, “So, I think that it is important that we get the feature-function part of our apps correct. We have a product advantage due to the unique intellectual property inside our apps. We certainly know how to market, sell and navigate within the salesforce.com ecosystem. This gives our team the ability to approach building brand equity unlike anyone else.” As Stewart puts it, Charlotte is also a key to adding value to a customer’s experience for a multitude of reasons. Although Stewart has family ties to the Charlotte region through his wife, he strategically chose the area so that he could find the best people to deliver amazing products and service to customers. “I think that Charlotte contributes to our success and our ability to provide value to our customers because there are a lot of people here that came from other places, myself included. In fact, the majority of my neighborhood has come from elsewhere,” says Stewart. “Charlotte is a melting pot, which is great, as we have a very tech-savvy, educated workforce here. I credit the banks for creating this environment. When you really boil things down, banks these days are basically IT companies. In Charlotte, the banking companies have drawn in a large population of highly-skilled, educated people in the high-tech space that we can leverage and recruit to
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resources that salesforce.com’s platform provides in regard to development.
Staying on Top in the Cloud
“Brand loyalty is created by making sure we produce a great product and employ a great services team to deploy the apps and train users. This has resulted in a lifetime renewal rate of 92 percent.” expand the company and deliver the best to our customers.” Cloudbilt’s success and ability to provide real value to clients, especially in the hightech and software worlds, is really dependent on the people. Stewart states that, because the origins of Cloudbilt came from providing Salesforce development and customization services, the company is in a better position to truly help customers through off-the-shelf software solutions in the cloud using the
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Weighing in at 25 employees, Cloudbilt is able to offer advanced products without the bureaucracy that similar companies have to deal with. Says Stewart, “In terms of our structure, we really only have a few departments, including development, sales, marketing, and client services. “Client services include our customer success managers who are responsible for training, adoption, and maintaining our customer base as well as our support functions. From a structural standpoint, the heads of departments report to me, and we try to keep things as simple as possible.” Also, Cloudbilt is dedicated to reaching out to customers where they are, and this involves showcasing at salesforce.com’s trade show events, including the annual Dreamforce event that is highly attended. Stewart points out that Cloudbilt also spends a lot of time educating salesforce.com engineers and employees as to the benefits of the company’s cloud-based products. Stewart makes it clear, “We’re very focused on a single marketing channel. We try to build our brand equity within salesforce.com. That, in turn, drives traffic to our AppExchange products and increases our downloads, and ultimately, this gives us more opportunities with customers.” “Brand loyalty is created by making sure we produce a great product and employ a great services team to deploy the apps and train users,” Stewart continues. “This has resulted in a lifetime renewal rate of 92 percent. We’re not talking annually; we’re talking about the lifetime of the products. You build the loyalty by providing a fantastic application, listening to feedback from users, offering top-notch support, and making upgrades based on customer recommendations and desires.” The company’s most popular product is MapAnything, an app that resides within salesforce.com’s platform and is used as a
Cross-media study shows print advertising has highest ROI While every advertising campaign should feature a mix of media, magazines provide the highest return on investment.
{ ROI score Across advertising campaigns } INDEX
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geo-location tool to engage in territory management, route optimization, and other mapping functions for field sales agents. Cloudbilt’s ezCloudAudit app is a usage monitor and auditing tool built specifically for salesforce.com. Cloudbilt’s AddressAnything app provides address verification and predictive type ahead and autocomplete functionality. And, most recently, Cloudbilt’s ezFileLoader is a drag-and-drop attachment utility tool.
Source: www.inma.org
ROI – gross media spend compared to additional sales during campaign
Magazine advertisements produce the highest ROI of all media channels
Apping the Future of Cloud Computing Given their growth, Stewart is confident in the company’s strategies. “There are definitely verticals that make a lot more sense to us as we progress,” he says. “Certainly, financial services is one as we have a bunch of credit card companies as clients, but we also have five telecom companies you would recognize the names of that are very successful in using our products. “Essentially, wherever there is a large number of field people (sales and services), that is the optimal fit for our MapAnything app because it really drives field productivity. Those are our ideal customers.” When determining a need for employees, Cloudbilt’s senior management plans 12 months into the future. Each year, a budget is created for a headcount of new employees, and although department managers hold initial screenings, Stewart holds a personal
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“As an industry, we’ll also continue to see a consolidation of platforms; no one will own their own infrastructure. So, you’ll build an app and deliver it on Amazon Web Services, or Oracle, or Salesforce, or Google’s app engine stack. Everybody will rent software, but almost no one will own it.” interview with each candidate to ensure that he or she is the right fit for Cloudbilt, not just based on experience, but also based on a culture fit and a personality fit. In terms of managing employees to build the future of cloud computing, Stewart credits a fairly straightforward hierarchy. In his opinion, this keeps things on track and ahead of the curve. When discussing success measurement, Cloudbilt relies on setting objectives for all departments that must be met in order to redeem success. He claims, “I’m an engineer by degree, so in my world, it’s either pass or fail. We do a lot of management by objectives because this helps to keep our company on track, but it also sets clear standards.” To add to Cloudbilt’s hiring and management strategy when seeking to provide excellent products and service, there needs to be a forward-thinking attitude at hand,
and this is where Stewart demonstrates his leadership. “I think cloud technology is the way of future, definitely,” continues Stewart. “It’s highly unlikely that any software provider will do anything but cloud delivery in the coming years. Highly unlikely.” “As an industry, we’ll also continue to see a consolidation of platforms; no one will own their own infrastructure. So, you’ll build an app and deliver it on Amazon Web Services, or Oracle, or Salesforce, or Google’s app engine stack. I think you’ll see five or six players there, and everybody’s delivery of applications will be on one of those platforms. Everybody will rent software, but almost no one will own it.” Mobile technology is also a big part of Cloudbilt’s strategy. In the past, mobile business apps were “view-only,” meaning field sales agents only had the chance to receive
information, not interact. Today, however, these same agents are trading in desktops and laptops for tablets and smart phones and being given the chance to communicate in real-time with the office from the road. This can be anything from providing quote info to logging cost information. Stewart feels that the cloud and Cloudbilt’s best days are ahead. He says, “For us, I don’t necessarily have any industry-specific concerns, but when I was in engineering, manufacturing would slow down and that would be a big problem. Because Salesforce is so diverse, we’re not tied to one industry, per se. That’s nice and leads to advancement. There’s always an industry that is experiencing growth.” He adds, “Our biggest challenge, however, is finding the right people. The other challenge is continuing to grow in such a way that, with the resources that we have, we can continue to maintain quality in our software products and for our customer support…we have to balance that. In the end, however, I think we’re doing an excellent job of meeting these challenges.” Stewart concludes with, “We’re going to continue to enhance our primary offering, MapAnything, and we’ll probably develop offshoot applications, child applications if you will, that are industry specific, but still part of the MapAnything family. That’s likely where our development strategy is going, and we’re confident about the future, especially with the backing of all that Charlotte has to offer.” Andrew Rusnak is a Greater Charlotte Biz freelance writer. Some images provided by the company.
.com
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“In the face of global competition, Charlotte needs to position itself as an ‘inland port’ with easy access to rail, interstate highways and the airways. We need to move with urgency. If we don’t have a strategy to compete, somebody will eat our lunch.” ~Chase Saunders, organizer/leader of the Charlotte Global Vision Group
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Cloudbilt, Inc. 3201 International Airport Dr., Ste. 100 Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Phone: 866-547-8016 Principals: John Stewart, CEO and Co-founder; Ben Brantly, CTO and Co-founder Employees: 25 Founded: 2009 (as Saber Business Solutions, Inc.) Locations: Headquartered in Charlotte, technology office in Atlanta and remote employees in Boston and San Francisco Recognition: Salesforce AppExchange ISV Partner; member of the Inc. 500, the annual list of the fastest growing private companies in America Business: Independent software vendor that develops applications exclusively for salesforce. com’s AppExchange. www.cloudbilt.com
OF INTEREST: Get LinkedIn or Be LeftOut
YOUR SECOND WEBSITE:
LINKEDIN COMPANY AND SHOWCASE PAGES
T
he importance of a well-developed and optimized, comprehensive website for your company cannot be stated strongly enough. Your website represents you and your organization online for the world to see. It’s not unusual for a prospective employee or client to review your site with the idea of getting to know you better. The design and navigation has a direct impact on the visitor’s perception of how you wish to be viewed and marketed. Having a great website may not be sufficient. With almost 350 million LinkedIn members, your LinkedIn Company/Showcase Pages may be more important than the site you spent significant funds LinkedIn’s Best of developing. Company Pages There are over 3 million Company Pages today. Any organization may create one as long as they elect an administrator of the page. Typical page elements include a brief description of the products and services offered, contact and location information, and a page hero image. A vibrant and well-maintained page is essential. Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn Company Pages seek to grow their followers. Think of this platform as the conduit to your consuming public, potential business partners, job seekers and the business press. Each year LinkedIn seeks nominations for the best Company Pages. For the year 2014, several notable firms such as Dell, Wells Fargo, Hootsuite and Tesla Motors were named one of the 10 best Company Pages. Each was cited for a specific use of their page. The winners may be found at http://blog.linkedin.com/2014/12/09/announcing-linkedins-best-of-company-pages-2014/. The outstanding Company Pages were chosen based on the variety of marketing opportunities that their pages presented. Let’s review the various applications any organization may take advantage of and how the top 10 activated them.
Connect Your Employees Each of your employees is an ambassador for your organization. Their profiles are an extension of how you are perceived by clients and business partners. When they properly populate their profiles with your company name, they automatically are connected to your company page. This allows your logo to be imbedded into their profile, providing you with another touch point for company promotion. In addition, LinkedIn members will now be able to see who is employed at your organization when they visit your company page.
Share Announcements and Updates Both Tesla and Evernote were cited for the use of their Company Page to update their followers about the latest developments in their companies. For example, when Evernote posted a new feature to their app, they pinned the post to the top of their page ensuring that it was seen. As the car of the present and future, Tesla has an ardent following, which thirsts for any updates on the auto’s development.
Encourages Promotion Content sharing is a vital element of your page. Followers seek industry related information along with self-publishing company content. Marketo was cited for its content sharing while taking advantage of the power imaging that relates to the update.
Create Engagement What sets your Company Page apart from your website? Engagement. Rich media and thought provoking content is the recipe for driving engagement. Eye-catching images and videos increase visibility and engagement. Asking questions of the reader also serves to create conversation and interaction. Sharing company milestones and other significant events bring insiders and outsiders together as a community. Tips and insight add to the vast possibilities you may post to drive engagement. The Nature Conservancy, L’Oreal and Hootsuite were cited for their imaginative engagement techniques.
Sponsored Posts to a Larger, Targeted Audience The new LinkedIn Network Display allows for posts to be sponsored beyond the LinkedIn member network, to include off-platform opportunities utilizing thousands of business publisher sites. Dell and Wells Fargo recognized the power of “boosting” their posts by microtargeting down to the zip code level.
Post Available Positions A cost-effective avenue to promote openings within your organization is posting them to the career section of your company page. You also have the opportunity to highlight your company culture. The Luxottica Group attracted top talent by including their company page in their recruitment process.
Showcase Your Individual Offerings Does your company offer a wide range of services and products? Showcase Pages are the perfect avenue to segment and specify your offerings. Each has its own set of followers and vertically oriented content may be posted. Similar engagement and sponsorship opportunities exist as they do for Company Pages. Company and Showcase Pages are free for all LinkedIn members. Create your Company Page and update it regularly. Take advantage of this ideal opportunity to highlight your company, engage followers, and potentially grow your business. Content contributed by Linda and Ira Bass of IB Media LLC, an advertising media planning and placement firm built using the strategic power of LinkedIn to serve agencies and marketers with a targeted approach to reaching their customers. For more information, please contact Ira Bass at IraBass@IBMedia.biz or 704-989-3790. Learn more at www.IBMedia.biz or www.LinkedIn.com/company/IB-Media-LLC.
Basses
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greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
Building Efficiency Sustainability
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may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Service Logic’s AirTight FaciliTech Covers Mission Critical to Heavy Industrial HVAC
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by zenda douglas
When two successful companies join forces, it often means that
one enterprise falls subject to the other, loses its identity and perhaps employees as well. Not so with the combination of AirTight Mechanical, Inc. and FaciliTech, Inc., two heating and air conditioning (HVAC) companies home-grown and prospering in Charlotte. Today, they are thriving as AirTight FaciliTech, under the umbrel-
la of Denver-based Service Logic, one of the largest privately-held energy and HVAC/mechanical services holding companies in the United States. Its mission is to build a national footprint of high quality companies through the acquisition of boutique HVAC service companies that retain a strong local presence. Service Logic acquired FaciliTech in 2007 and, with the intent of expanding the Charlotte market, acquired AirTight in 2014. Eventual merger of the two companies is a planned component of the acquisition.
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Combined HVAC Strengths
mac330.com
AirTight FaciliTech services include general HVAC services, operational assessments, planned maintenance, emergency repair, energy optimization, design build, critical site services, and professional consultation. “The primary reason for the combination is to merge complementary skills,” says Scott Gugenheim, senior vice president of the combined entity. “Each company has its strengths—and weaknesses. Now we can go after the full portfolio of client needs.” Whereas FaciliTech’s focus is on heavy industrial services such as automation and integration of building controls, chillers and
boilers, AirTight is highly involved with mission critical cooling systems, UPS (uninterruptable power supplies) support services of electrical systems to commercial and industrial mission critical sites, as well as the comfort cooling markets of commercial office buildings. Both companies are very active in the health care and higher education markets, primarily with maintenance service and repair. The company’s expertise is diagnosing equipment failure and problems, assessing and working on different systems and brands, and getting equipment back online quickly and safely—while staying in constant communication with its clients. Most of the company’s customers are located within a 100-mile radius of the Charlotte region. The majority of its work comes from repeat AirTight Virtual Tour Data Center business. An increased
focus on mission critical services to IT data centers and mechanical systems has allowed the company to expand its base to South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Customers include data centers, banks, motor sport and health care facilities, as well as new construction projects. “The merger has not gone as smoothly or quickly as we would like,” admits Greg Crumpton, co-founder of AirTight along with his wife and partner, Connie. “Although the companies are almost identical on paper and successful in their methodology, they are about as far apart culturally as you could get.” AirTight, established in 1999, had an inverted pyramid structure—a bottom-up leadership model. Crumpton describes the AirTight environment as “a funky culture and personality” and being “very entrepreneurial.” FaciliTech, founded by Nick Sarif in 2001, was more traditional in leadership from the top over a core group of long-term employees. “Scott is taking the best of both cultures and blending them into one,” explains Crumpton. “With more than 75 employees, we needed to go for more structure, but we are trying to keep that entrepreneurial spirit. It’s a work in progress. We’re working hard to keep the mojo on the good side.” One major change is the hiring of a new vice president of operations in April. Russ Correll, originally from Illinois, has been
(l to r) Scott Gugenheim Sr. Vice President and General Manager Greg Crumpton Business Development and Technology (Founder, AirTight Mechanical, Inc.) AirTight FaciliTech, A Service Logic Company
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“We’re still AirTight and FaciliTech— we’re just better.”
in the Charlotte area since 1988. He is a 35-year industry veteran and formerly employed with Siemens Building Technologies. “Russ will be the guy to let the rubber hit the road,” says Crumpton. The company saw few other changes in staff as a result of the merger. “Right now, we’re busy learning about each other’s customers,” comments Gugenheim, “and internally learning about each other’s business and employees. The merger is also helping to provide some of our employees with new and expanded career opportunities.” AirTight Testimonial
Being On Call is Mission Critical
“We have a considerable amount of autonomy from Service Logic,” affirms Gugenheim. “We’ve kept our names and cultures. We’ve built our local senior management teams and they run the company.” “Our industry is littered with bought-up companies that are then white-washed to be alike. Service Logic liked the uniqueness of this company. They don’t come in heavy-handed. They do merge everybody onto a common accounting platform, but as far as decision-making, it’s
“Our willingness to embrace current and emerging technology allows us to show our customers how to look at their businesses holistically all the way down to access control. We need to know the questions the CFO is going to ask next year before they know it so we can guide them on capital planning and execution of their capital budget.”
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“We’re not the cheapest people in town to work with, but the work is done right and they don’t have to redo it. We do quality work on the front end so it’s more cost-effective down the road.”
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very locally driven,” says Crumpton. AirTight FaciliTech joins 11 other operating companies and 26 independent offices under the Service Logic umbrella. AirTight, which started out in a former single-family home in Charlotte, grew to a 6,000-square-foot facility on Stuart Andrew Boulevard. FaciliTech operates out of a facility on Mathews Mint Hill Road in Mathews. Plans are underway to house the combined company in a new facility on Hundred Oaks Drive in Charlotte this coming September. Both Crumpton and Gugenheim point out that much time, effort and resources are given over to education of the employees. “We are firm believers in education for all employees,” says Crumpton who expects to spend a significant amount of money in 2015/2016 on education and training for staff, including the labor associated with getting it done. “It’s a significant investment that pays for itself over time.” “I believe in a read, learn and share mindset,” says Crumpton. “The industry is constantly changing. Once employees learn something new, I expect them to share it,” says Crumpton. “We have modeled our training program for the technical side as an apprenticeship,” explains Gugenheim. “Technicians work during the day with peers for on-the-job training and then we expect them to go to a technical community college for HVAC- related curriculum. We pay for their training. “Many employees will go to Central Piedmont Community College here in Charlotte; others to Rowan County Community College or Cabarrus County
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
Community College. The company works with CPCC, Wake Tech and Cleveland County Community College to train mission critical operators through the MCO Program. “This was made possible through a federal grant to North Carolina to help technicians learn and understand the environments of critical missions and the specific aspects of their operation.” “Mission critical equipment affects multi-million dollar operations and many lives that depend on those operations,” says Crumpton. “We’re trying to build a workforce to support these needs. We’re always trying to find that next rising star to get them on their way.” The company also does work in the comfort aspect of HVAC—specific needs within the building as well as with chillers and boilers.
start helping his situation immediately. “By 8 a.m., we’ll be back in touch with our client to review what’s been done and keep them updated—that’s important as well. Our job is to make sure their equipment is up and running; to give them peace of mind.” AirTight FaciliTech has excellent first-responder capabilities—it’s not uncommon for AirTight FaciliTech staff to be the first on the scene, according to Crumpton.
Synergistic Gains Crumpton also points out that education of existing customers and potential customers is equally important. In order to further efficiency, prevent breakdowns, save money and further sustainability, customers need to know what is changing in the market. “Our willingness to embrace current and emerging technology allows us to show our customers how to look at their businesses holistically all the way down to access control,” explains Gugenheim. “We need to know the questions the CFO is going to ask next year before they know it so we can guide them on capital planning and execution of their capital budget.”
“We know that customers must succeed for AirTight FaciliTech to be successful. We make a concerted effort to learn and understand the customer’s business. By understanding your clients and working hard to anticipate and satisfy their needs, you build long-term relationships.”
AirTight FaciliTech employees are oncall 24/7. Scheduling of both primary and secondary on-call technicians is necessary during hot weather months. “Our work involves mission critical equipment, so we can receive calls any time,” says Crumpton. “An IT professional could call at 3 a.m. because an alarm is going off in his facility. We answer the phone and get someone to
“We’re not the cheapest people in town to work with, but the work is done right and they don’t have to redo it,” says Crumpton. “We do quality work on the front end so it’s more cost-effective down the road.” “We know that customers must succeed for AirTight FaciliTech to be successful,” Crumpton explains. “We make a concerted effort to learn and understand
the customer’s business. By understanding your clients and working hard to anticipate and satisfy their needs, you build long-term relationships.” Crumpton got his mechanical leanings from his father who worked in HVAC for a large company in Atlanta. “Mother wanted me to be a lawyer or doctor,” remembers
“Our work involves mission critical equipment, so we can receive calls any time. An IT professional could call at 3 a.m. because an alarm is going off in his facility. We answer the phone and get someone to start helping his situation immediately. By 8 a.m., we’ll be back in touch with our client to review what’s been done and keep them updated—that’s important as well. Our job is to make sure their equipment is up and running; to give them peace of mind.”
Crumpton. “I wanted to be in something in the mechanical industry.” Crumpton went to work in the same company as his father, working his way up to division leadership, then part ownership of the company. He sold his interest in that company to start up AirTight. “I’m a serial entrepreneur,” admits Crumpton who also describes himself as a lifelong learner. “I didn’t care much for formal education until I was an adult and learned how much I needed it. I went back to school at night at Clayton University in Atlanta and have been in continuing education ever since.” Crumpton is also behind two new start-ups in Charlotte. Gugenheim grew up in Charlotte, then moved to Raleigh to attend and graduate from North Carolina State University. He was working with Piedmont Service Group, also owned by Service Logic, when he was tapped for the senior vice president and general manager position at AirTight FaciliTech. His new position facilitated a move back to Charlotte. The company finds it important to give back to the community, according to Crumpton. This is reflected in their support of the National Children’s Cancer Society, Special Olympics, Cool Kids Campaign, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Crumpton admits to feeling the impact
of the 2010 recession but says the company came through pretty lean but debt-free. “We still were able to collect 99.2 percent of every dollar invoiced,” says Crumpton. “Even training went forward; we knew things would turn around and we needed to be prepared. “It allowed us to look at a merger through a good lens,” affirms Crumpton. “There was nothing making us want to be acquired or making us want to merge outside of it being a good business decision. People make bad choices when you get into a crack. We were never in that position. We’re very happy to be part of Service Logic. It feels like a partnership; a very strong relationship.” Service Logic has bought out the interests of both the founders of the companies, Crumpton and Sarif. Both will remain on board in a consulting capacity. Crumpton works on the Service Logic executive team, is active in mergers and acquisitions, and is also the liaison to the mission critical world on a consulting basis. The company’s five-year plan is to double the Charlotte market business. “We have a little green swish under our logo,” says Crumpton, referring to the Service Logic graphic. “We’re still AirTight
“
and FaciliTech—we’re just better.” Zenda Douglas is a Greater Charlotte Biz freelance writer. Some images provided by the company.
AirTight Mechanical, Inc. and FaciliTech, Inc. dba
AirTight FaciliTech, A Service Logic Company 1338 Hundred Oaks Drive Charlotte, N.C. 28217 Phone: 866-380-8247; 704-568-4121 Principals: Nick Sarif (Founder, FaciliTech, Inc.), Chief Operating Officer; Greg Crumpton (Founder, AirTight Mechanical, Inc.), Business Development and Technology; Scott Gugenheim, Sr. Vice President and General Manager; Russ Correll, V.P. of Operations Employees: 75 In Business: AirTight Mechanical since 1999; FaciliTech since 2001 Business: Facilities management and HVAC repair company; HVAC service, controls and datacenter installation serving commercial building owners and facility mangers throughout the Charlotte region under the Service Logic umbrella. www.atftservices.com
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704-676-5850 x 102 | John Galles
greatercharlottebiz.com | may 2015
[publisher’spost]
OF INTEREST: Promoting Thought Leadership Across the Carolinas
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harlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is as large as it is primarily because of our partnership with US Airways, now American Airlines, and its need for a hub in the southeast region of the United States. About 44 million people will use our airport this year. Of that number, fewer than 20 percent originate and depart from Charlotte. So, our asset is “at risk” if ever American Airlines determines that using CLT is no longer in their best interest. Since deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 and the ensuing consolidation of airlines, John P. Galles Destination CLT the top four airlines— Publisher American, Delta, United and Southwest— now control more than 80 percent of passenger traffic. They each use “hub and spoke” strategies. Currently, Please feel free to contact me at CLT is the second largest hub 704-676-5850 x102 or jgalles@ for American Airlines and is greatercharlottebiz.com. recognized as a “fortress hub.” Together, CLT and American Airlines make CLT the eighth largest airport in the U.S. and 24th in the world. The disruption of 9/11 caused airlines to rethink their strategies. For US Airways, that meant a restructuring of their routes, effectively dehubbing Pittsburgh. US Airways flights sank from 500+ per day down to an average of about 40 per day. CLT presently operates over 700 flights per day. To lose this hub would be tragic. We need to make sure it is not at-risk. It turns out that the same industry shifts and consolidation in the shipping industry can have a similar impact on ports. This spring, both Hanjin Shipping Co. and Hapag-Lloyd withdrew service to the Port of Portland, Oregon, because of poor productivity and conflicts with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). These two lines accounted for 99 percent of Portland’s container volume. The 44 immediate impact was the elimination of 650 trade and transportation jobs, but long term they take with them hundreds of jobs
may 2015 | greatercharlottebiz.com
and a loss of stability for other businesses in the region. Additionally, other ports will become more expensive to ship out of, without Portland competing for the same business. Our container port, the Port of Wilmington (in this issue) , under the very capable leadership of Paul Cozza, has been improving access and service in an attempt to develop a niche market that appreciates a smaller port with a targeted mission that performs well. It is equally important to acknowledge the significant changes occurring in the shipping industry itself that affect the future of business in the Carolinas. The most dramatic change is the expansion of the Panama Canal scheduled for completion in 2016, increasing shipping traffic using much larger ships. Current ships traversing the Panama Canal carry about 5,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs); the larger ships carry 10,000 to 12,000 TEUs. In a recent Seaport Outlook 2015 by JLL (formerly known as Jones, Lang, LaSalle), they show that overall growth in TEU container volume is growing at 3.3 percent higher in 2013 than in 2007. Significantly, the West Coast volume is 6.8 percent below their 2007 peak levels, while East Coast is up by 19.1 percent. The percentage split between West and East Coast volumes has changed from 61-39 percent in 2007 to 55-45 in 2013, with East Coast volume only expected to increase. JLL also reports that the Southeast has lagged other U.S. regions in its recovery from the recession, but this outlook is changing given the absorption gains in Atlanta which it credits to a specifically targeted strategy by the Georgia Department of Commerce and the GA Ports. One lesson that is being learned by supply chain executives as trade routes worldwide change, shipping companies consolidate, and labor strikes and other disruptions are a factor, is the value of being able to shift their flow of goods strategies toward multiple ports, putting their “eggs in multiple baskets.” JLL also notes that, “Charlotte is
evolving as a hub market thanks to a new inland port (NS Intermodal)” with connections to Charleston and Savannah. They also point out that CSX has built a new neardock intermodal in Baltimore as part of its National Gateway double-stack network. A consequence of this increased traffic was discussed in a The Wall Street Journal piece entitled “Bigger Ships Snarl U.S. Ports,” describing the dilemma of bigger ships and ports that cannot offload and reload ships quickly enough, and truckers delivering loads only able to make one or two runs per day when they need at least three to make a living. With transportation costs being approximately 50 percent of a distributor’s overhead according to JLL, they are ideally seeking space within a 15-mile radius of the primary ports. JLL U.S. Ports Snarled by indicates that vacancy Bigger Ships rates are down and lease rates are up for space near ports. All of these facts lead to the conclusion that the new NS Intermodal facility at the airport will become increasingly valuable to our economic development opportunities. Since this facility opened over one year ago, little has been done to create a logistics and distribution center plan for the open acreage around the combined facilities. Yet its central location with ready access to not one but two major railroads, and not one but four container ports, virtually screams out for attention. CLT airport has a detailed plan for further expansion of passenger traffic, but no apparent plan for expansion of air cargo, commercial and freight traffic. CLT is ranked 33rd in the nation for air cargo. It would be prudent to get on that now, given the expanding international trade activity. By working to expand both CLT and NS Intermodal transportation facilities in a unified and cohesive plan, we will diversify and protect our economic base from disruptions like Portland and Pittsburgh and occupy an important space for an ever-expanding future. We are the perfect location for access to many baskets!
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Don’t miss our 2015 speakers. Join Today!
Friday, January 9th Troy Vincent Former NFL All Pro & Current NFL Executive VP of Football Operations
Thursday, April 2 Woody Durham “Voice of the Tar Heels”, former play-by-play radio announcer at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Friday, September 11th Elizabeth Smart Abduction survivor and Founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation
Friday, February 13th Jim Knight Culture, Branding and Customer Service Catalyst
Friday, March 6th Jim Morgan President & Chief Executive Officer Krispy Kreme
Friday, May 15th Nick Faldo & Ian Baker-Finch CBS Sports Golf Analysts
Friday, October 9th Jonathan Karl ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent
Friday, November 13th Michael Leiter Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
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