3 minute read
ECONOMIC EXPANSION
By John H. Walker
After years and years of battling economic difficulties, Edgecombe County got backto-back-to-back shots in the arm in late 2017 and into mid-2018 with new industry announcements involving more than 1,000 jobs at a minimum.
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In December 2017, Gov. Roy Cooper joined with officials of the Carolina Gateways Patnership to announce a pair of new industries — Chinese tire manufacturer Triangle Tire and New York-based manufacturer Corning.
The third was more on-again, off-again as CSX went through a leadership change, switched its operating mindset, went through another leadership change because of a death and modified its operating mindset.
The end result is that a much-anticipated CSX intermodal facility is under construction in Edgecombe County across from N.C. Wesleyan College, and even though its footprint is smaller than once expected, state transportation officials believe it will have an indirect impact of up to 1,300 jobs.
Carolina Gateways CEO Norris Tolson calls July 19, 2016, “the day we got on the map.” as he phrases it, in regard to the Twin Counties being known to site consultants.
“It was the day after we announced the CSX intermodal terminal,” Tolson told Welcome to Tarboro magazine. “Our calls went up 100 percent after we made that announcement. We were on the economic development map.”
At the time of the magazine story, the CSX project was still in limbo, although Tolson said he was convinced CSX would develop the site
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sooner rather than later, which they are now doing.
Edgecombe County Manager Eric Evans said he thinks the three announcements bode well for his county and the region.
“They certainly position us to where we can begin to turn the corner,” he said.
The Triangle facility, according to Cooper, represents the single-largest economic investment in rural North Carolina in history. It is the first venture outside China for Triangle, and suppliers are expected to follow and locate in the area, much as with auto plants.
The numbers are mind-boggling.
Triangle represents an investment of more than $800 million, while Corning’s comes in at $86 million. The CSX project, which is expected to impact the entire region, represents an investment of nearly $160 million.
Corning is expected to be operational by the end of the year and projects 111 jobs. The huge facility sits on a 150-acre site alongside U.S. 64 Alternate near its intersection with New Hope Church Road across from what once was Midway Trailer Park. Corning is also building a manufacturing facility in Durham.
Pay at Corning is expected to be in the $35,000 per year range, which is about $3,000 above the Edgecombe County average.
The Triangle Tire project is located between US 64 Alternate and the CSX rail line and, because of heavily forested areas, is more difficult to view.
Triangle is expected to be operational in 2020, although comments made in the public session of a recent Edgecombe County commissioners meeting indicated that might be, at least at the time, a fluid target.
Triangle will produce both passenger tires as well as commercial tires at the facility, which will be built in two phases.
Construction on the first plant which will make tires for passenger vehicles, is scheduled to get underway soon and be fully operational next year.
The facility is anticipated to create 800 jobs and pay at Triangle is expected to be $56,450 — almost $24,000 more than the Edgecombe County average. An additional 400 jobs are projected at yet-to-be-named associated industries.
CSX is another 2020 — or later — project and even though its footprint is about half — 330 acres versus 715 — of what was originally announced, it is coming.
Just prior to the site groundbreaking, Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce President David Farris told the Telegram he is excited about the CSX facility because “it’s going to bring in a lot more industry because of the shipping availability from not only Nash and Edgecombe, but probably a 50- or 60-mile radius, which lifts us all up economically.
“This is going to give us a different kind of boost than a plant coming in with 500 or a thousand or 2,000 employees. This is going to provide opportunities for those plants where it makes sense to come here.”
