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December 4 - 17, 2020
wilmingtonbiz.com
Greater Wilmington Business Journal
| ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
COVID highlights cold chain needs
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harmaceuticals and agriculture are heavy players in driving some of the state’s cold chain business, said panelists during N.C. Ports’ virtual Cold Chain Summit last month. And more opportunities may come with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with grocers and vaccine distribution. The industry leaders spoke on a range of topics and possibilities for growing business CHRISTINA HALEY and bringing more options for moving and storing goods in cold transportation, warehouses, logistics and at the Port of Wilmington. N.C. Ports has grown its capabilities in this segment in recent years. A developer has added the 101,000-square-foot, privately owned Port of Wilmington Cold Storage facility. And then this year, in the midst of the pandemic, work wrapped on the new $14 million refrigerated container yard at the Port of Wilmington. That move has positioned N.C. Ports to become an even bigger player in the global cold chain network, officials said. Refrigerated space from either an agricultural perspective or a pharmaceutical perspective is similar, and businesses in those segments are finding North Carolina attractive, said Gary Salamido, president and CEO of the N.C. Chamber. “In the agricultural food processing business, we are feeding the world through a lot of the agricultural products here; it’s our No. 1 industry. In manufacturing, there’s over 10,000 manufacturers in North Carolina, and it’s been our backbone for a long time and it continues to be our backbone,” Salamido said. “And when we look at the health care sector, in particular the pharma sector … the way that North Carolina [and] the ports have grown, innovated and developed, and having a unique cold storage facility located where it is, and having a single building, having an interchange point for pharmaceuticals, particularly now that our vaccines are going to require significant cold storage, people are noticing,” he said. There are several coronavirus vacine candidates working toward
O’NEAL
PHOTO BY CHRIS BREHMER
Cold chain opportunities: Chuck McCarthy, president and CEO of the Port of Wilmington Cold Storage, stands among goods stored inside the facility.
approvals and distribution. When they are manufactured for distribution, global logistics firms and transporters will need to be ready to activate a network of cold chain opportunities to move and store the billions of highly-perishable vaccine that will be needed around the world, panelists said. Overall, growing that cold network is important, through options such as additional cold storage warehouses and distribution centers. The value of the system makes sense for bringing in companies on the food side, especially as prepackaged meals and imported food grows as a subsector, said Joe Melvin, business development director at North Carolina’s Southeast, an 18-county regional economic development organization. The grocery sector is a big growth area for N.C. Ports. An area of opportunity in that sector N.C. Ports is targeting is its location to about a dozen large refrigerated grocery distribution centers within a half-day truck drive of the port, centers for big name grocers such as Walmart, Food Lion and Publix, officials said. William Duggan, North American cold chain adviser for Eskesen Advisory, said, “North Carolina has made a dedication to focus on this segment of the business,” he said. “I think North Carolina is clearly on
the right track. The key is to continue to attract the carriers, get the carriers in there and make that, both on import and export part, make it accessible to the world.”
Genesis Block opens with big goals for future Genesis Block, which officially opened its doors in November, has a jobs and investment plan to help grow the minority-owned and women-owned business community in the Cape Fear region. The community collaborative is focusing on a three-year goal to help spur companies to create 400 jobs and add $13 million in investment in the area, said Tracey and Girard Newkirk, co-founders of Genesis Block located at 20 Wrights Alley in Wilmington. The Newkirks, through the firm, are taking on an economic development role for the advancement and enrichment of the local minority business community, launching Genesis Block as a business development company. “We have three very clear strategies as far as our three-year goals, and that is to graduate 120 minority and women-owned businesses, through them create 400 jobs, and drive $13 million in revenue for the community through those business-
es,” Girard Newkirk said. The Newkirks aim to take a three-vertical approach to Genesis Block through its new co-working space, entrepreneur academy and minority accelerator and the developing ANZA technology platform, a mobile application and website that will be built to promote minority businesses in the Wilmington area. The business aims to launch the ANZA application in early 2021.
Manufacturer eyes expansion project A state grant has been awarded to a Brunswick County manufacturer in the aviation and aerospace business, to help the firm expand and create more than a dozen local jobs, according to a news release. The N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority approved a $100,000 grant to support development at the HSM Machine Works site, 2613 Mt. Misery Road. The funding is for infrastructure improvements to provide public wastewater to a building occupied by HSM Machine Works, stated the release. The firm, which manufactures landing gear for the aviation and aerospace industry, plans to create 17 jobs and invest $150,000. HSM Machine Works employs about 18 people locally.
