Taking Flight

Kinston-Lenoir County Taking Flight

All Sy-STEMs Ready Math, Science Program to Revamp Learning, Train Tomorrow’s Workers

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s the aerospace and related industries increase their presence in Kinston-Lenoir County, local officials are making sure that they won’t lack for trained employees, both now and in the future.

Lenoir County has been selected to receive a $50,000 investment as part of the STEM Initiative, an education program backed in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Battelle Memorial Institute. STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, is a program designed to combine hands-on learning with a theoretical base of knowledge, with the end goal being a tech-savvy workforce right out of high school or college.

And as one of only three areas in the state tapped for the initiative, Lenoir County is ready to go.

“We have already had a lot of influence over some different grants because of this project,” Tom Vermillion,

one of the leaders of the Lenoir County STEM Community Collaborative, says. “Now we’re eager to get these programs into the schools.”

With players such as Spirit AeroSystems moving into the county, it’s vital that local schoolchildren get first crack at new technical, well-paying jobs, he says.

“We are going to work with Spirit and other companies closely and make a strong connection,” Vermillion adds.

“We want these kids to get these jobs, so we need to produce students that have those disciplines so that they can go to work. We want these kids to know that there are opportunities for them right here, and STEM will help them to be ready.” www.ncstem.org

Committee of 100 Celebrates 25 Years of Promoting, Enabling Economic Development

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n every successful city and county, there are individuals and organizations that play a key role in economic development, either as catalysts for action, consensus builders or simply as advocates. In Lenoir County, that role is filled by the Committee of 100 Inc. This nonprofit organization began with a group of citizens eager to provide strong leadership to better their community.

Since its formation in 1985, the Committee of 100 has relied solely on membership contributions and has been an invaluable asset to economic development growth in Kinston/ Lenoir County.

The committee’s mission is to provide funding for economic development projects deemed beneficial to the citizens of Lenoir County. It provides discretionary funds to appropriate agencies charged with implementing meaningful strategies and programs for economic development and job creation.

The Lenoir Committee of 100 Inc. understands it must be willing to plan and invest money, time and resources. All of

Todd Bennett

Local Muscle

Students at Lenoir Community College in Kinston work on projects in the mobile machining lab, part of LCC’s Aerospace Advanced Machining Center. This project received support from the Golden LEAF Foundation.

which are to be used not just in the maintenance of the status quo, but to ensure prosperity for future generations. The Lenoir Committee of 100 provides leadership that is not just discussing something new or trying something different – it is planning and acting.

Economic development is critical for a community’s health and viability. Attracting and retaining business and industry affects job opportunities, the community’s tax base, population and even the number of stores in which we can shop. The Lenoir Committee of 100, with its motto “we’re on the way,” is a vital resource in Kinston/Lenoir County.

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N o r th C a r ollina Glob al Tr ans P a r k

Center of Activity TransPark Offers Multiple Amenities, Central Location to Aerospace, Related Industries

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On-site benefits include an 11,500foot runway, Foreign-Trade Zone access and more, including a rail spur that will be operational by 2012. Additionally, the GTP is environmentally permitted for 5,775 acres and has existing land availability at its central location on the East Coast of the United States.

“We have the regional airport on site, Foreign-Trade Zone status, a 33,000-square-foot training facility and are centrally located among all the military bases in eastern North Carolina,” Darlene Waddell, executive director, says.

The Global TransPark’s anchor tenant

is Spirit AeroSystems, which has not only made headlines with its new, 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, but is also attracting related companies, such as Schenker Logistics Inc., a third-party logistics provider.

“Spirit is going to create more than 1,000 jobs by 2016, and we think that Schenker will be the first of many suppliers to come in and support them,” Waddell says.

“We already have some aerospace tenants and defense contractors in the park, such as Mountain Air Cargo, Delta Private Jets and Spatial Integrated Systems, so we’ve been targeting what we

Photo Courtesy of global transpark

he founders of the North Carolina Global TransPark (GTP) wanted it to be the premier industrial/ airport site in eastern North Carolina.

Now at 97 percent of its current building capacity, and with expansion on the way, it seems they have succeeded.

The 2,500-acre park offers a host of amenities, including a capable local workforce, favorable tax structure and utility rates, and an affordable cost of living in the surrounding area.

Several colleges and universities are nearby, offering multiple training and partnership opportunities for the park’s businesses.

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consider our niche components: aerospace, [the U.S.] Department of Defense and logistics. We think that we’re going to continue to grow as other companies see what we have to offer,” she adds.

In addition to the rail spur, the park will soon offer a new 100,000-squarefoot spec building, as well as promoting multiple land parcels that are ready for construction. The TransPark staff is working with the North Carolina Department of Commerce to certify all 936 acres of land available for development within the park. Once certification is complete, all of the park’s

available acreage will be considered shovel-ready, with all necessary environmental permits completed and utilities available within 500 feet of each parcel. In addition, easily accessible transportation and telecommunications infrastructure will be in place.

“We just completed a master properties map, so we can show companies the various parcels and the amenities on each of those parcels,” Waddell says. “We’ve also initiated the process with the Department of Commerce to get the entire TransPark certified, which we hope to have done by the end of 2010.”

Todd Bennett

… Ta kin g Flight

North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston

www.ncgtp.com

Global TransPark Tenants: Commerce Overseas Corp. www.commerceoverseas.com DB Schenker www.dbschenkerusa.com Delta Private Jets www.deltaprivatejets.com Henley Aviation www.henleyaviation.com

North Carolina’s Eastern Region www.nceast.org

Location near several major military installations

Spatial Integrated Systems www.sisinc.org

Rail spur operational by November 2011

Spirit AeroSystems www.spiritaero.com

Short distance to Interstates 95 and 40 Proximity to two deep-water ports

Longistics www.longistics.com

North Carolina Global TransPark At a Glance:

MJE Telestructure www.mjetelestructure.com

5,775 acres environmentally permitted for development

Mountain Air Cargo www.airt.net/mac.html

Buildings and sites readily available

New Breed Inc. www.newbreed.com

Airport (ISO) with an 11,500-foot by 150-foot runway

N.C. Emergency Management www.nccrimecontrol.org

ILS upgrade to CAT II/III underway

N.C. Forest Service www.dfr.state.nc.us

Foreign-Trade Zone #21

N.C. Highway Patrol www.nccrimecontrol.org

33,000-square-foot Spirit AeroSytems Composite Center of Excellence

www.ncgtp.com

Telecommunications infrastructure, fiber optic network and full utilities on site

This special section is published for the Kinston-Lenoir Chamber of Commerce

by Journal Communications Inc.

For more information, contact: Kinston-Lenoir Chamber of Commerce Contact: Laura Lee Sylvester, (252) 527-1131 E-mail: llsylvester@kinstonchamber.com www.kinstonchamber.com ©Copyright 2010 Journal Communications Inc. 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067 (615) 771-0080 All rights reserved. No portion of this special advertising section may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

Lenoir Community College

Class Is Always in Session Lenoir Community College Offers Workforce Development, Training for Any Need

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stablished industries and new businesses alike know that a quality workforce is their most important asset. In Kinston and Lenoir County, they also know Lenoir Community College is their source for any and all training needs.

Since its founding in 1958, the college has been an integral player in local and regional economic development efforts.

Through numerous on-campus and remote programs, it has helped dozens of new and existing industries train and retrain their employees, keeping the local workforce both educated and competitive. As new industry sectors,

such as aerospace, move into the area, LCC and its partners are ramping up efforts to help them succeed.

“The costs associated with implementing these programs can be prohibitive for community colleges, and aerospace programs are among the most expensive. Without our partnership with the Golden LEAF Foundation, it would be extremely difficult to meet the needs of companies such as Spirit AeroSystems,” Dr. Brantley Briley, president of Lenoir Community College, says.

“We have a lot going on with our training and retraining programs, and

we’re able to help companies in a variety of ways,” Dr. Jay Carraway, vice president of continuing education, adds. “We work with industries to develop specific training programs for their employees through either our occupational extension courses or our Customized Industry Training Program, so that their training can be customized just for them. We also work with new companies, so they can have their workers ready even before they open the doors to their plant.”

The college utilizes the WorkKeys Career Readiness Certification (CRC) program, allowing workers to acquire

Students work in an ambulance setting in the Emergency Medical Sciences program at Lenoir Community College in Kinston. The “ambulance” forces students to work with patients within the confines of an actual ambulance.

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… Ta kin g Flight

PHOTOS BY Todd Bennett

Students work in the “Sim Lab” in the Emergency Medical Sciences program at Lenoir Community College in Kinston.

An instructor stationed behind a one-way mirror is able to control a practice dummy to give “real” responses during training and testing sessions.

specific skill sets that companies desire in employees. As more employers demand CRC-trained staff, having this national program in place locally has been instrumental in businessrecruitment success. LCC is a CRC-preferred employer in its own right, and North Carolina is a CRC-preferred state, another plus when it comes to business recruitment and retention.

“If we go into a new company, or an existing company, and identify skill gaps through WorkKeys, then we can provide training to those employees to meet the needs of the company,” Bobby Merritt, director of customized industry training, says.

“When our economic-development people tell that to companies, they know that we not only have a workforce, but also a skilled and trainable workforce,” Merritt says. “They can identify exactly how many employees they can find here, and know that they are ready, because we have those hard figures.”

The college’s efforts also include a robust outreach program to area industries, so that it is familiar with both www.lenoircc.edu

ongoing issues as well as new needs. “[Merritt] meets with plant managers, human resources people, all the time,” Carraway says. “If they need anything from machining training for a new product line coming in, to software skills or leadership skills, we are available to help them. It might be for two people or 50 or more people; we have the programs, or will develop the programs, that the company needs.”

Going forward, the goal is to be even more proactive when it comes to meeting and exceeding employers’ expectations.

“We’re trying to make sure more of our citizens have their CRC, because we think that is the industry standard and it is going to be a baseline for what our students need to be gainfully employed,” Carraway says. “We’re working with the aerospace industry and others that come in, so we can help them. We have a lot of irons in the fire – big or small, new or old, if they have a training need, we are going to try to meet it.” www.lenoircc.edu

Spirit AeroSystems

Taking to the Skies Spirit AeroSystems Opens Major Regional Operation at TransPark

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s the world’s largest independent supplier of commercial aircraft assemblies and components, Spirit AeroSystems doesn’t do things halfway. So when the company announced that it was setting up shop at the North Carolina Global TransPark, the local workforce got excited.

And with good reason. The new, 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will have around 200 workers by early 2011 and will ramp up to around 1,000 employees over the next few years, offering high-paying, skilled positions with strong growth potential.

“We’re getting the best of the best, and most of them are drawn from the Kinston-Lenoir County area,” Dan Wheeler,

vice president and general manager of Spirit’s North Carolina Business Unit, says. “We’re in growth mode, and everything is going well.”

The Kinston facility will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the composite center fuselage upper and lower shells (Section 15) and front wing spar for the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The design work has been completed, so the facility’s state-of-the-art machinery and processes are already up and running.

Spirit won a contract with Airbus in May 2008 to design and produce the A350 XWB’s Section 15 composite-fuselage structure, which is 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and weighs almost 9,000 pounds. The Kinston plant also will produce the front spar for the airplane’s wings, structures that are almost 100 percent composite material, 105 feet long and weigh more than 2,000 pounds. When complete, the fuselage components will be shipped to Spirit’s new facility in Saint-Nazaire, France, while the front-spar sections will go to Spirit’s Prestwick, Scotland, facility. Both will then head to Airbus for final assembly.

Since choosing the Global TransPark for this operation in 2008, Spirit officials have worked closely with a local economic development team that includes city and county officials, TransPark staff and others. That has allowed for a seamless transition from announcement to operations, say those involved in the process.

“The support we’ve gotten from all of our key partners is remarkable,” Wheeler says. “Lenoir Community College is a key one; they have done amazing things. We’re very successful in large part due to them, as well as the partners from the Golden LEAF Foundation, the North Carolina Workforce Development Network and the Global TransPark, our next-door neighbor and best friend.”

The TransPark itself got into the spirit of things as well, renaming its training center the Spirit AeroSystems Composite Center of Excellence in early 2010. Current and future employees will transition through this high-tech facility and will be trained with curriculum developed by Spirit and nearby Lenoir Community College.

As for those already at work, Wheeler says employees are communicating loud and clear how happy they are to state and federal officials.

“We had Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., in the plant recently, and as a part of that, we paired her up with one of our machine operators,” Wheeler says. “She got to hear first-hand from an area resident about how much he liked working for Spirit. He worked really hard and took a lot of notes during training and expressed how much it means to have these intellectually highcontent jobs right here in the middle of eastern North Carolina.” www.spiritaero.com

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Photos Courtesy of spirit

‌ Ta kin g Flight

www.spiritaero.com

L en oir C ount y Ec o n o mic D evelo p m ent … Ta kin g Flight

Building the Future Lenoir County Economic Development Department Recruits, Retains Quality Employers

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from working with local tourism officials to grow that industry to marketing a new, 40,000-square-foot (expandable to 160,000) shell building in the 70 West Industrial Park.

The department works with local, state and regional leaders, including the Committee of 100, to promote the area regionally and across the United States. It’s a strategy that’s working.

Since 2005, 11 new companies and 10 expanding companies have chosen Lenoir County as the location for their projects that are creating more than $1 billion in investment and 4,000 new jobs over the next few years.

Some of the new residents include Sanderson Farms, the nation’s fourthlargest poultry processing company; Spirit AeroSystems, the world’s largest independent supplier of commercial

Photo Courtesy of mark pope

ith a multifaceted approach, the Lenoir County Economic Development Department is playing a major role in the area’s current and future success.

“Our major goals and objectives are to recruit new manufacturing prospects for Lenoir County that will generate capital investment and add new jobs, as well as work with existing industry to build and maintain relationships and encourage retention and expansion in Lenoir County generating capital investment and new jobs,” Mark Pope, executive director, says. “We also are working with the Global TransPark to help locate industry, as well as with Lenoir County and its municipalities to effectively compete for economic development projects.”

Current efforts include everything

airplane assemblies and components; Precision Shavings Inc., a supplier to Sanderson Farms; Commerce Overseas Corp., a leading military aviation parts manufacturer and supplier; Goldsboro Milling Co., which built two new grainstorage units to expand its production capabilities; New Breed Inc. a lead logistics and supply-chain management company; Select Foods, a warehouse/ distribution facility combined with fullservice catering/banquet facilities; Spatial Integrated Systems Inc., a company specializing in information technologies engineering services and software solutions for the U.S. Navy and aviation industries; Schenker Logistics Inc., a third-party logistics supplier for Spirit; and Mother Earth Brewing LLC, which purchased and renovated an existing vacant building in downtown Kinston for a state-of-the-art microbrewery.

Expanding local companies and longtime leaders include Alsco, Best Diamond Packaging, Dopaco Inc., Double D Trailers Inc./Premier, DuPont, Electrolux, Field Controls, MasterBrand Cabinets Inc. and West Pharmaceutical Services.

The future also looks solid for the growing defense/aerospace cluster that’s developing here, Pope says.

“The goal of the cluster initiative is to develop a regional concentration of interdependent aerospace companies, institutions and partnerships that together will create competitive advantages for both the aerospace industry and the region,” he says. “The initiative is seeking a broad range of regional participation from aerospacerelated industries, economic developers, educators, workforce development professionals and other partners interested in developing a regional aerospace cluster.” www.lenoiredc.com Left: Sanderson Farms

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