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Click Here for Major Employers
Click Here for Infrastructure Data
Click Here for Incentives for New and Expanding Businesses

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Click Here for Key Facts about Catawba County
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Workforce Data

Labor Force (2002)
Catawba County 153,784
Hickory MSA 359,856
Source: NC Employment Security Commission

Unemployment (2006)
Catawba County 5.4%
Hickory MSA 5.9%
North Carolina 4.8%
Source: NC Employment Security Commission

Distribution of Employment
(Catawba County) 1st Quarter 2007
Agriculture & Forestry 0.13%
Construction & Mining 3.5%
Manufacturing 32.4%
Wholesale Trade 4.02%
Retail Trade 11.6%
Service 20.2%
Public Administration 3.4%
Transportation, Communications, Public Utilities 5.1%
Financial, Insurance, Real Estate 2.8%
Healthcare 10.6%
Education 5.9%
Misc. 0.4%
Source: NC Employment Security Commission

MAJOR EMPLOYERS CATAWBA COUNTY

2,000+ EMPLOYEES
Catawba County Schools

1,000+ EMPLOYEES
Frye Regional Medical Center
CommScope, Inc.
Coming
Merchants Distributors, Inc.
Hickory Springs
Catawba Valley Medical Center
Catawba County
Sherrill Furniture Co.
CV Industries, Inc.
McCreary Modern

500-1,000 EMPLOYEES
Shurtape Technologies, Inc.
Thomasville Furniture
Newton-Conover City Schools
Pierre Foods
International Legwear (Ellis)
City of Hickory
Hickory Public Schools
Gold Toe Moretz
Ethan Allen, Inc.
Garbage Disposal Service
Vanguard Furniture, Inc.

300-499 EMPLOYEES
Hanes Industries
Carpenter Company
Getrag Gears
Lee Industries
Rock-Tenn (Gulf States Paper)
CVCC
Hickory Business Furniture
Delta Apparel (Maiden)
Snyder Paper Corporation
Duke Energy
Lenoir Rhyne College
Southern Furniture Co.
Classic Leather
United Church Homes & Services
Technibilt
Shuford Yarns

200-299 EMPLOYEES
General Dynamics
Owens Corning / Vinyl
CT Group
Plastic Packaging
Sarstedt, Inc.
Draka Comteq

100-199 EMPLOYEES
Klingspor Abrasives
City of Newton
Hickory Printing Group
King Hickory Furniture Co.
C.R. Laine
Carolina Container Co.
Z.F. Lemforder

Infrastructure

Regional Air Service
Charlotte International Airport
four runways - Length of longest runway 10,000 feet
14 Carriers

Hickory Regional Airport
Two runways - Length of longest runway 6,400 feet

Motor Freight/Trucking
Catawba County is serviced by approximately 74 carriers.

Rail Service
Served by Norfolk Southern and Caldwell County railroad.

Water/Port Facilities
Charleston, SC 250 miles
Wilmington, NC 298 miles
Morehead City, NC 328 miles

Highway Access
Interstate: I-40, I-77 and I-85
U.S. Primary: Hwy 321, Hwy 70 and Hwy 64
State Primary: Hwy 10, Hwy 16 and Hwy 127

Utilities
Electricity – Duke Power Company, Energy United and Rutherford Electric Membership Corp.

Natural Gas – Piedmont Natural Gas

Telecommunications – BellSouth and Sprint

Water & Sewer – See Municipalities

North Carolina is a Right-to-Work-State
North Carolina law permits individual workers to choose whether or not they wish to join a labor union. North Carolina, which has the nation’s highest percent of manufacturing employment, has the nation’s lowest union membership. The state’s 3.2% union membership rate is well below the national average of 13.9%
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000

Incentives for New and Expanding Businesses

Assistance to Business
North Carolina provides all qualified companies with financial programs and advantages that will lower your cost of doing business, thus impacting your company's bottom line.

The Commerce Finance Center (CFC) provides a "one-stop" financial center to which relocating companies and existing employers come for the articulation of the financing alternatives available in North Carolina.

Incentives to Qualifying Businesses
William S. Lee tax credits and subsequent acts: This legislation, enacted in 1996 and amended in 1998, provides tax credits that may be taken against state income, franchise, or gross premiums tax burdens. These credits for job creation, investment, worker training, and research and development are available in all 100 counties and based upon a county's level of economic distress.

Industrial Revenue Bonds
Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) or Industrial Development Bonds may be used by companies engaged in some type of manufacturing for the acquisition of real estate, facility construction, and/or equipment purchase. IRB's fall under three issuance types: Tax Exempt, Taxable, and Pollution Control/Solid Waste Disposal Bonds. Regulations governing bond issuance are a combination of federal regulations and North Carolina statutes. Population designates the amount each state may issue annually.

North Carolina Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program
These grants may be obtained by local governments (municipal and county) to be used for projects involving a specific business that will create new jobs. With a participating bank, loans may be made to private businesses to fund items such as machinery and equipment, property acquisition, or construction. Assisted project activities must benefit persons (60% or more) who were previously (most recent 12 months) in a low or moderate family income status.

Business Energy Loans
These loans may be used by business for facilities or projects that demonstrate energy efficiency or the use of renewable energy resources resulting in energy cost savings.

Industrial Access/Road Access Fund
Administered by the Department of Transportation, this program provides funds for the construction of roads to provide access to new/expanded industrial facilities.

The Rail Industrial Access Fund Program
This program provides grant funding to aid in financing the cost of constructing or rehabilitating railroad access tracks required by a new or expanded industry, which will result in a significant number of new jobs or capital investment.

Industrial Training
North Carolina's Community College System provides approved training for new employees at no cost to the participant company. This is widely considered the top incentive offered by North Carolina and is a model program nationally. Funding is provided from a statewide pool and does not come from the regular operating budget at Catawba Valley Community College.