Lenoir News-Topic: Study says Lenoir has potential to be a hub of high-tech manufacturing
Date Posted: 7/5/2010
FROM LENOIR NEWS-TOPIC
JULY 5, 2010
COURTESY BOYD GROUP SITE CONSULTANTS
by Paul Teague | pteague@newstopic.net
Providing a needed boost to the area’s economic psyche, Lenoir has been selected as one of the top small market cities in the country for high-technology manufacturing in an independent study conducted by a national site selection consultant.
According to The Boyd Company – a New Jersey-based consultant whose clients include Hewlett-Packard, Pepsi, Pitney Bowes and Time – Lenoir had the lowest projected annual operating costs when compared to 44 other cities across the country. The study surveyed cities with populations of 50,000 or less and was based on a hypothetical 250,000-square-foot production facility with 300 employees.
The report, issued this week, was geared as a way to compare costs for technology companies involved in advanced manufacturing and computer-driven processes such as precision metalworking, engineered plastics, composites and other fields.
“Lenoir is one of the top-three markets for high-tech manufacturing according to this report,” Boyd Company principal John Boyd Jr. said. “We periodically do these reports for specific industries. It’s really a way for us to service our current clients. We need to supply our clients with information that we know that they want.”
In evaluating operating costs, the study looked at average pay, benefits, electric power, amortization, property and sales taxes, and corporate travel.
Lenoir’s total of $19.97 million was the lowest, beating out Starkville, Miss., Ardmore Okla., Pryor Creek, Okla., and Goose Creek, S.C. At $34.55 million, Melville, N.Y., had the highest operating costs in the study, followed by Dayton, N.J., Galloway, N.J., and Walnut Creek, Calif.
Lenoir and Caldwell County officials, who were unaware the study was being conducted, said they were thrilled by the ranking. The city and county have been trying to recover economically following the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the past decade. Though the county’s unemployment rate has fallen from a high of 17.6 percent earlier this year to 14.5 percent in April, it still has the fourth highest level of joblessness in the state.
“I think that this is wonderful news,” Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey said. “I think it speaks very well for the community and what we have been doing in trying to reposition ourselves.
“We’ve got a lot to be proud of. And this is a story that we’ve got to keep telling. We’re going through difficult times right now, but I’m convinced that our best time are ahead of us.”
Caldwell County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Harry Whalen said the report will enhance the county’s ability to market itself to potential clients.
“We are excited about this ranking, especially when you look at the list of communities,” Whalen said. “It is an excellent benchmark to market the community to prospective investments, and we need to identify product to capitalize on this ranking. We will utilize this factor and other advantages in our recruitment efforts.”
Lenoir was selected as the “Best in the East” in the Boyd Company study, while Quincy. Wash., gained the honor in the West and Ardmore in the Midwest. Boyd said a key factor for all three communities was the presence of high-technology data centers, such as Google in Lenoir.
The study said Lenoir is “shedding its image as a furniture industry capital and establishing itself as the epicenter of a new cluster of high technology companies locating along the U.S. Highway 321 corridor stretching from Charlotte to the Tennessee border ... A favorable labor market, low costs, a moderate climate and proximity to Charlotte are major advantages for Lenoir.”
Boyd cautioned, however, that pending legislation in Washington, D.C., could increase Lenoir’s coal-derived power costs and put the city at a competitive disadvantage to communities such as Quincy, which has plentiful hydroelectric power.
“In real estate, people say, ‘Location, location, location,’” Boyd said. “Right now in 2010, it’s energy, energy, energy. And a lot of this has to do with pending cap-and-trade legislation. Our industrial clients in North Carolina are very concerned with it.”
Caldwell County Manager Stan Kiser said the report is “a positive selling point for economic development in the county.”
Added Whalen, “This is great ‘feel good’ news in that we have an operational advantage to talk about with prospective companies who are looking at us versus other locations. We will use this to market the community.”
Concluded Boyd, “As the economy improves, (Lenoir and Caldwell County) will be on the radar screen for advanced manufacturing.”
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