business images catawba county, nc 2009-10
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Business Images Catawba County, NC 2009-10TRANSCRIPT
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BUSINESS
Right on TargetRetailer rings up
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Success Blueprint Tech campus designed to build new engineers
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2 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
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Patrick Beaver Memorial Library on Hickory’s SALT Block
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OVERVIEW 5
BUSINESS ALMANAC 6
BUSINESS CLIMATE
Growth Spurt 8New investment, expansions keep Catawba’s economy rolling.
Calling Catawba 9
EDUCATION
Thinking Big 10Lenoir-Rhyne is a small university with a large legacy of leadership.
TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS
Right on Target 12Region scores with distribution for retail chain.
HEALTH
A Healthy Outlook 14Medical center puts weight behind fi ght against childhood obesity.
New Tools for the Fight 17
LIVABILITY
In Awe of Catawba 18Communities blend progress with preservation of the past.
Getting Ready for Work 20
MANUFACTURING
A Durable Sector 21Catawba manufacturers invest in the future.
ARTS & CULTURE
Flavored With Culture 22Hickory’s SALT Block is a hub for arts, literature and learning.
TECHNOLOGY
Success Blueprint 26Tech center is designed to build new engineers.
ECONOMIC PROFILE 29
contents
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 3
BUSINESS
®BUSINESS
CATAWBA COUNTY2009 EDITION, VOLUME 2
C U S TO M M A G A Z I N E M E D I A
MANAGING EDITOR BILL McMEEKIN
COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS
ASSOCIATE EDITORS LISA BATTLES,
SUSAN CHAPPELL, JESSY YANCEY
ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER MATT BIGELOW
STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN, KEVIN LITWIN
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAMELA COYLE, SAM SCOTT
DATA MANAGER CHANDRA BRADSHAW
INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER COLIN WRIGHT
SALES SUPPORT MANAGER SARA SARTIN
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN MCCORD
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS, TODD BENNETT,
ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, J. KYLE KEENER
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ANNE WHITLOW
CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS
WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BRIAN SMITH
ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN
PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGERS
MELISSA BRACEWELL, KATIE MIDDENDORF, JILL WYATT
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LAURA GALLAGHER,
KRIS SEXTON, CANDICE SWEET, VIKKI WILLIAMS
LEAD DESIGNER ALISON HUNTER
GRAPHIC DESIGN ERICA HINES, JESSICA MANNER,
JANINE MARYLAND, AMY NELSON, MARCUS SNYDER
WEB DESIGN DIRECTOR FRANCO SCARAMUZZA
WEB PROJECT MANAGERS ANDY HARTLEY, YAMEL RUIZ
WEB DESIGN CARL SCHULZ
WEB PRODUCTION JENNIFER GRAVES
COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN TWILA ALLEN
AD TRAFFIC MARCIA MILLAR,
PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY
CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN
SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER
SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN
SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER
V.P./SALES HERB HARPER
V.P./SALES TODD POTTER
V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER
V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS
MANAGING EDITOR/COMMUNITY KIM MADLOM
MANAGING EDITOR/CUSTOM KIM NEWSOM
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO
CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY
ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, DIANA GUZMAN,
MARIA MCFARLAND, LISA OWENS
RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP
DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR YANCEY TURTURICE
NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR JAMES SCOLLARD
IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE
SALES SUPPORT RACHAEL GOLDSBERRY
SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/SALES SUPPORT KRISTY DUNCAN
OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM
RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP
Business Images Catawba County is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce. For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at [email protected].
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:Catawba County Chamber of Commerce1055 Southgate Corporate Park S.W. Hickory, NC 28602Phone: (828) 328-6111 • Fax: (828) 328-1175www.catawbachamber.org
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4 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
contents
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CATAWBA
ake NormankaaLaLaaaaaa
Lake Hickory
CharlotteC
Morgantonnorgantonn
StatesvilleSSS
HickoryConover
Newton
TaylorsvilleTay
TOP 10 REASONS TO WORK AND LIVE IN CATAWBA COUNTY
1. CENTER OF A 360,000-POPULATION MSA Catawba County
possesses a diverse
economy, with strong retail
and manufacturing sectors.
Outlook Americas ranked
three Catawba County
municipalities in the top
five Best Manufacturing Small Towns in the Country,
and Southern Business and Development ranked
Hickory third in its small markets category for
Top Deals and Hot Markets.
2. ACCESSIBILITY Catawba County’s proximity to
major interstates makes it a top choice for business.
Interstate 40 runs through the county, and
Interstates 85 and 77 are easily accessible.
3. LOW COST OF LIVING
Catawba County boasts
low costs for living and
doing business. MSNBC
has recognized Hickory
as the 14th Hottest
Housing Market in
the Nation, while
Forbes magazine
ranked Hickory as
third in the nation for
lowest business costs.
4. QUALITY WORKFORCE TRAINING The region offers top education
and workforce training institutes,
including Appalachian State University,
Lenoir-Rhyne University, the North Carolina
Center for Engineering Technologies and
Catawba Valley Community College.
5. LOCATION Catawba County is located within
one hour of Charlotte; Asheville lies less than an
hour and a half to the west; Winston-Salem and
Greensboro lie less than an hour and a half to
the east.
6. QUALITY OF LIFE Hickory was named the 10th
Best Place to Live and Raise a Family by Reader’s Digest and the Eighth Best City in the State for
its quality of life by Business North Carolina.
The county boasts extensive and affordable retail
developments, scenic beauty, arts and cultural
destinations, and restaurants.
7. SCENIC BEAUTY Located in the foothills of the
Blue Ridge Mountains, Catawba County offers vast
open spaces, lakes, parks and rivers.
8. HOSPITALITY City, county and economic
development officials actively work together
to address the needs of relocating businesses.
9. SHOPPING Catawba County is a retail shopping
destination for the entire region. Its furniture
showrooms draw shoppers from around the world.
10. AN IDEAL CLIMATE The climate is consistently
mild, with an average year-round temperature of
68.8 degrees.
CatawbaCounty
SEE VIDEO ONLINE | Take a virtual tour of Catawba County at imagescatawbacounty.com, courtesy of our award-winning photographers.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 5
overview
THE CARS ARE THE STARSHickory Motor Speedway has been a racing fixture in Catawba
County for nearly 60 years.
The .363-mile “bullring” track lays claim as the oldest continually
operated motor speedway in the country.
On Saturdays from mid-March through October, the track is alive
with the sounds of roaring engines and roaring crowds to watch
late-model stock cars, street stock, trucks and hobby cars race –
and perhaps get a glimpse of a future NASCAR star. For more
information, go to www.hickorymotorspeedway.com. PH
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COUCHED IN RETAILCatawba County boasts some 2 million square feet of
retail space devoted to furniture and home accessories,
that draws savvy shoppers by the thousands.
The four-level Hickory Furniture Mart features more
than 100 outlets offering furnishings, lighting and other
home accessories. The two-level Catawba Furniture
Mall includes eight acres of showroom space for
furniture and home decor.
The famed 20-mile stretch of stores along U.S.
Highway 321 from Hickory to Lenoir includes numerous
outlets for well-known furniture manufacturers such as
Broyhill, Kincaid and Thomasville.
STUCK ON SUCCESSHickory-based Shurtape Technologies is a world leader
in foil and film tape, packaging tape, double-coated
tape, cloth tape and duct tape. Since 1999, Shurtape
has invested more than $50 million in new technology,
equipment and expansion of its manufacturing space,
and has created a research-and-development lab in
North Carolina. For more, go to www.shurtape.com.
IN THE SWING OF THINGSFor those who like their professional golf with just a touch of gray, the PGA Champions Tour makes a stop in Catawba County for the Greater Hickory Golf Classic, played at the 7,046-yard Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover.
The event, entering its seventh season, has raised some $600,000 for local charities and draws 80,000 to 90,000 spectators each year. R.W. Eaks has won the tournament in its last two years.
The 2009 tournament is set for Sept. 14-20. For more information on the event, go to
www.greaterhickoryclassic.com.
6 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
business almanac
GEM OF AN ATTRACTIONThe Emerald Hollow Mine in
Hiddenite bills itself as the only
emerald mine in the United
States open to the public
for prospecting.
Emerald Hollow boasts more
than 60 types of naturally
occurring gems and minerals.
Visitors can try their luck
sluicing, creeking and digging
to unearth emeralds, sapphires,
garnets, topaz and other gems,
along with an abundance
of smoky and clear-quartz
crystals. For more information,
go to hiddenit.ipower.com.
THE WAY IT WASFor a glimpse into Catawba County’s past, visit the Murray’s Mill complex along the banks of Balls Creek. The Murray family first operated a mill on the site in 1883.
Preserved intact are a 1913 mill, the 1890s-era Murray & Minges General Store, the 1880s-era wheathouse, used as an exhibit gallery, and the 1913 John Murray House, furnished to the period.
The structures and surrounding land have been preserved and interpreted by the Catawba County Historical Association since 1980. Go to www.catawbahistory.org/historic_murrays_mill.php for more.
AN ECONOMY HIGH IN FIBERSome 50 percent of all
the fiber-optic cable
made in North America
comes from Catawba
County. Major producers
CommScope, Corning
Cable Systems and Draka
Communications have
operations in the region
that employ 3,000.
Catawba’s infrastructure,
transportation access,
quality technical schools
and trained workforce
make it a good fit for
fiber production.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 7
New investment, expansions keep Catawba economy rolling
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SpurtGrowth
8 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
business climate
F rom two new call centers to a Williams-Sonoma offshoot, a major distribution facility and
plant expansions, Catawba County’s efforts to create quality jobs are paying off.
Niagara Ventures, a real estate devel-opment company, picked Catawba County for its first spec project in the South, 48,000 square feet of Class A industrial space in the Claremont International Business Park.
The shell, which can be expanded to 100,000 square feet, was finished in October 2008; the project could grow to 350,000 square feet.
“What we found is a lot of interest in companies in dealing with smaller towns,” says Stephen Bollier, Niagara’s vice president of real estate. “An edu-cated, manufacturing-based workforce is available. That’s one of the things that drew us there.”
New and existing businesses value the solid workforce in a region about an hour northwest of Charlotte.
An independent study commissioned by the Committee of 100, an advisory group to the Catawba County Economic Development Corp., provided even more ammunition. It found 95 percent of employers rated productivity as good or excellent and nearly half rated avail-ability of skilled workers as good or excellent. One-third of the region’s avail-able workers were willing to change jobs for $14.99 an hour or less; among those unemployed or underemployed, only 4 percent had less than a high school diploma or its equivalent.
That 2007 study was a turning point, says Scott Millar, development corpora-tion president.
“The difference maker was workforce analysis, which reinforced the interviews that potential employers had,” Millar says.
In 2008, a year after the study, Poppelmann Plastics, a German producer of horticulture supplies, announced its second 60,000-square-foot building, also in the Claremont park. The campus is designed to hold nine buildings, and the
city is putting in rail lines to accommo-date the manufacturer.
Sutter Street, a division of Williams-Sonoma, which also owns Pottery Barn, announced a multiphase project and has already hired 175 people for its furniture-making, distribution and logis-tics operations that will be in Hickory.
The county saw 1,000 new jobs created in 2008 and commitments for 3,000 by 2012. A new Target distribution center is hiring 450 in 2009 alone.
“We’ve had some good stuff happen,” Millar says.
Turbotec, a Connecticut company that makes tubing for geothermal heat pumps, is locating a new plant in Hickory with 25 jobs to start.
President Sunil Raina says he may relo-cate much of the company’s operations to North Carolina, citing Connecticut’s high costs.
“We were looking for a ready-made workforce,” Raina says. “The other advan-tage is for us, most of our customer base is on the East Coast.” – Pamela Coyle
Stephen Bollier of Niagara Ventures is bullish on development in Catawba County.
ScorecardCATAWBA COUNTY BY THE NUMBERS
359,856Population in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA
$39,213Median household income
170,500Labor force in the MSA
No. 3Ranking on Forbes list of best MSAs in the country for business costs
Calling CatawbaCUSTOMER-SERVICE CENTERS DIAL INTO THE REGION
Two new call centers in
Catawba County mean at
least 1,200 new jobs and
greater economic diversity.
Call-center giant Convergys,
which serves at least two
dozen Fortune 500 companies,
considered several sites before
giving Hickory the nod for the
$4 million project.
Covation, a new company,
also picked Hickory, where it
plans to hire more than 900
people within three years and
invest $5.5 million. Average pay
is $34,500, above the average
pay for the region. Convergys
already has hired 500 people,
more than its initial estimates.
Both companies cited a good
supply of qualified workers as a
factor in their decision to set up
shop in Catawba County.
Covation plans its operations
in McDonald Crossings Business
Park. Convergys renovated the
former Joan Fabrics corporate
headquarters. It opened for
business in October 2008.
“Convergys simply had to add
the workstations and computers
for the customer-service agents,
as well as the technology
systems to accommodate
our business,” says Jill
DiPuccio Giles, Convergys
senior manager for economic
development and government
relations. “The first-class
infrastructure was in place.”
The Catawba County
Economic Development Corp.
is now eyeing data centers as a
new opportunity and has added
that sector to its Plan of Work.
The agency lists available sites
at www.datacentersites.com.
– Pamela Coyle
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 9
Lenoir-Rhyne University offers 60 majors and is home to the Reese Institute for the Conservation of Natural Resources.
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10 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
education
Lenoir-Rhyne is a small university with a large legacy of leadership
It wasn’t as if Lenoir-Rhyne was struggling as a college. It was just time to rise up.
For nearly 120 years, the Hickory school had earned a reputation that in recent times made it a familiar presence in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the best Southern baccalaureate-degree institutions.
But with 50-plus majors, 17 intercollegiate teams, 1,500 students, a multimillion dollar expansion and a growing number of graduate degrees in areas such as athletic training, the feeling spread that Lenoir-Rhyne was getting bigger than its name.
“We were already acting like what most people would call a university,” says Mike Langford, Lenoir-Rhyne director of marketing and communications.
And so, on Aug. 23 2008, the college was reborn as Lenoir-Rhyne University, a move that coincided with a new motto: “Rise up.”
The change had concrete consequences, including restruc-turing the school into four colleges: Arts and Sciences; Education and Human Services; Health Sciences; and Professional and Mathematical Studies, which includes the new Schort School of Mathematics and Computing Sciences.
By any name, the school has been adding to the region’s intellectual, cultural and academic heritage since 1891, when four Lutheran pastors created a one-room school.
Coeducational from the start, which was rare for that day, Lenoir-Rhyne has often blazed its own trail, through a variety of endeavors, such as its longtime emphasis on education for the hearing impaired.
Indeed, sign language is so common that many students often
pick up the basics just by being around it, Langford says. Hearing-impaired students may receive assistance through Support Services for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students, but otherwise are immersed in regular campus life.
More recently, Lenoir-Rhyne has added environmental programs to its offerings through the Reese Institute for the Conservation of Natural Resources.
The institute was founded in 2004 through a $3 million donation from Thomas Reese, a 1948 graduate, successful businessman and widely recognized conservationist.
Part of the institute’s mission is to help develop long-term solutions to environmental challenges inside and outside the university, such as helping Catawba County meet federal air-quality standards.
In 2009, the university added another program to its commu-nity commitments. The Latino Partnership will help Hispanic students unable to enroll in higher education due to legal or financial issues take distance classes in Mexico.
So it’s no surprise that in 2007-2008, Lenoir-Rhyne students performed nearly 1,500 hours of community service. It’s part of the Lenoir-Rhyne way, Langford says.
“We are here to rise up and make a difference in our vocation and our commitment and our service to the world beyond,” Langford says. – Sam Scott
Thinking
BIG
SEE MORE ONLINELearn more about Catawba County’s education
leaders at imagescatawbacounty.com.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 11
When it comes to distribution, Catawba County is a prime spot from which to move goods along the Atlantic
Coast and throughout the Southeast. Among the county’s keys advantages is, in a
word, location, says Scott Millar, Catawba County Economic Development Corp. president.
Catawba County is intersected by Interstate 40, a major east-west transportation route, and is within 30 minutes of two major north-south interstates – I-77 and I-85.
Being situated less than an hour from Charlotte and its hub airport, midway between Florida and New York, and within a day’s drive of 60 percent of the U.S. population doesn’t hurt either.
Despite national trends, the distribution
industry that has boosted the county’s economy in recent years shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the county’s reputation as a distribution hub is getting extra oomph out of retail giant Target’s new 1.6 million-square-foot center, which opened in summer 2009 in Newton.
The Target project represents a $90 million capital investment in Catawba County, Millar says, and will be the largest such facility in the 16-county Charlotte region.
The building features 37 acres under one roof and contains 6 miles of conveyor belts. Initial employment is 450 workers.
The retailer chose to locate in Catawba County because of its accessibility to transportation, as well as the availability of a skilled workforce and
More Insight
IT MOVES THE GOODS
Catawba County is intersected by east-west route I-40 and is in close proximity to I-77 and I-85, two major north-south routes. The region is within a day’s drive of 60 percent of the U.S. population.
Discount retailer’s distribution center is latest logistics success for Catawba
TargetOnRight
12 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
transportation & logistics
FedEx Ground is doubling its workforce in Catawba County with a 109,000-square-foot distribution facility.
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the quality of life in the area. In addition, other distribution operations already located
in the area are expanding, including FedEx Ground and Merchants Distributors Inc., a privately owned wholesale grocery store distributor that supplies more than 600 retail food stores in the Southeast.
FedEx Ground’s $5 million, 109,000-square-foot facility replaces an existing facility and will double its workforce to 120, Millar says.
Merchants Distributors plans to invest $50.5 million in an expansion that will add 260,000 square feet to the company’s existing distribution facility off U.S. 321 North in Hickory.
The project will increase the size of the facility to more than
1 million square feet and be the second expansion at the site since it was built in 1996. The expansion will add 200 jobs to the company’s 1,500-employee workforce in the region.
The upshot of all this is good economic news for Catawba County. The new and expanding distribution centers will provide much-needed jobs.
“It will mean an increase in demand for support services, such as fueling and truck repair, packaging services and clean-ing services,” Millar says. “As this demand increases, we hope suppliers might be convinced to locate in the area as well. As word gets out, we expect to see an increase in companies con-sidering Catawba County for their own distribution centers.”
– Carol Cowan
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 13
IAN CURCIO
Medical center weighs in against childhood obesity
health
14 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
HealthyOutlook
Nobody, of course, wants to have to go to the hospital. But people who live in the Hickory metro area have the comfort of knowing that if the need arises, they
have one of the nation’s best public health-care providers in their backyard.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, the region’s largest nonprofit community hospital, has received numerous distinctions for its quality of care, including twice being selected as a magnet institution by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
In January 2008, CVMC was recognized by research firm J.D. Power and Associates as a Distinguished Hospital for an Outstanding In-Patient Experience, exceeding national bench-marks for overall satisfaction by a considerable amount. Only 20 percent of the nation’s hospitals qualified for that distinction.
The center has also been recognized recently for cancer treat-ments, which include cutting-edge technology such as RapidArc, which delivers radiotherapy to patients two to eight times faster than older technologies.
“Because we serve on the front lines every day, we are on a continual quest for better and better patient outcomes,” says J. Anthony Rose, CVMC president and CEO.
In 2008, state regulators approved the 258-bed hospital’s request for its first major capital expansion since a $32 million upgrade in 1992.
Subject to financing arrangements, the envisioned project would add nearly 100,000 square feet of space, including private medical beds, surgical beds, oncology beds and labor and delivery suites.
The estimated four-year project would also renovate 50,000 square feet of existing space at the hospital, upgrade nursery and surgical inpatient units, and enlarge operating rooms and support space.
As good as its services are, Catawba Valley Medical Center is also adopting innovative techniques to ensure young people don’t have to rely on them.
The rate of childhood obesity has tripled in the past 40 years at the same time complications from being overweight have become one of the nation’s leading causes of preventable death.
The epidemic particularly affects poor and minority children, who face socioeconomic barriers.
Between 2004 and 2006, the rate of obesity in Catawba County children ages 5 to 11 increased 7.4 percent, according to the hospital. For those ages 12 to 18, it increased 6 percent.
In response, Catawba Valley Medical Center has started Healthy House, turning an old home on its campus into the
first regional facility dedicated to preventing and treating pediatric obesity.
The house offers a variety of programs from physical activity to nutritional guidance. In partnership with Catawba County’s Head Start, the program is open to all children and is overseen by Dr. Vondell Clark, medical director of the hospital’s weight solutions.
“The foundations of our Healthy House programs are built on family involvement,” Clark says. “A house as the site for our childhood obesity programs mirrors the program’s design and ref lects an optimal healthy living environment for families.” – Sam Scott
258Number of beds at Catawba
Valley’s 400,000-square-foot main campus in Hickory
9,300+Annual admissions at Catawba Valley, whose emergency room
treats 46,000 people a year
$59.1 MAnnual payroll at Catawba
Valley, which has a staff of about 1,450
Catawba Valley Medical Center has plans for a $32 million upgrade that will include enlarging operating rooms.
SEE MORE ONLINEFor more on Catawba
County health care, go to
imagescatawbacounty.com.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 15
Frye Regional Medical Center
has had its finger on the pulse
of Catawba County’s health-
care needs since the hospital’s
inception in 1911.
So it’s fitting that Frye
Regional is renowned for
taking care of the heart.
The 355-bed acute-care
facility was named the best in
the Charlotte region for overall
cardiac care in 2008 by
HealthGrades, a health-care
ratings company.
The Tenet Healthcare Corp.-
owned hospital in Hickory
received five-star reviews for
overall cardiac care, treatment
of heart failure and coronary-
intervention procedures such
as angioplasty.
“That’s a big award,” says
Eddie Salyards, vice president,
before adding it is just one
distinction among many.
Indeed, the reward
recognized just one aspect of
Frye’s spectrum of specialties,
which live up to the tag line: “Why
drive farther when the health
care you need is all right here?”
Frye also includes facilities for
spinal care, orthopedics, bariatric
surgery, patient rehabilitation,
pediatrics, neuroscience,
women’s care and cancer
treatment, among others.
The hospital recently installed
the region’s first high-field, open
MRI, which offers a less-enclosed
setup than traditional MRIs.
The powerful technology
combined with an open
design provides quick service
to patients, who can have loved
ones nearby for reassurance.
The MRI began operation in
winter 2009.
But the biggest recent
step for Frye Regional may
be expansion of its cancer
treatment center, a move
centered on the installation
of a multimillion-dollar linear-
accelerator imaging system that
adds radiation therapy to the
hospital’s oncology treatments.
Due to go into service in
mid-2009, the equipment allows
doctors to provide image-guided
radiotherapy, a precise form of
treatment that uses multiple-
imaging techniques for
ultra-accurate targeting
of tumors, thus protecting
healthy tissues.
“The device that we are
installing is the latest and
greatest that you can get,”
Salyards says.
– Sam Scott
New Tools for the FightFRYE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER INVESTS IN TOP TREATMENTS
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 17
health
Downtown Hickory blooms with shops and restaurants. Right: Newton offers a historic downtown and many cultural options.
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18 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
livability
Communities blend progress with a preservation of the past
Claremont is a city of 1,100 residents, but the community balloons to a population of 4,000 people every weekday.
“About 3,000 people from surrounding com-munities drive into Claremont to work at the many jobs we happen to have here,” Mayor Glenn Morrison says. “There is plenty of industry in Claremont, which is especially impressive for a city of our small size.”
Larger employers in the city include Cargo Transporters, CertainTeed, CommScope, Draka Communications and Pierre Foods.
“Not only do these companies provide a good living for their employees, but they also substan-tially contribute to our tax base,” Morrison says.
The historic Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is in Claremont, and Catawba County is installing walking trails leading to it.
While it values its history, Morrison says, the city also is pushing toward the future with new projects. “We have a 67-home development that recently opened, as well as 91 condominium units. We offer a nice quality of life here,” he says.
The city of Conover, in the geographic center of the county, is home to a number of quaint and thriving antique stores and eateries, as well as a planned passenger train stop that will link Asheville to Salisbury.
A staple of the community is the Conover Farmer’s Market, open Saturdays from late April through October. The market features vendors selling products grown and produced within a
125-mile radius.In the county seat of Newton, several parks
and greenways grace the community, along with a historic downtown and a bevy of cultural and arts options.
The downtown district includes the city govern-ment complex, a historical museum and several residential properties.
The Catawba County Museum of History show-cases the region’s heritage in the former Catawba County Courthouse, an imposing National Register Renaissance Revival structure built in 1924.
The city promotes and celebrates diversity through an annual Unity Day, says Gary Herman, Newton public information officer.
In Hickory, an unusual mix of specialty shops with local and imported merchandise has made the city’s downtown Union Square district a shop-ping and entertainment destination.
“I like to call it our living room because it is where we invite people to visit and relax on a regular basis,” says Connie Kincaid, executive director of the Hickory Downtown Development Association. “Not only are there many activities we schedule in Union Square, but historic build-ings in the square’s park-like setting create a very interesting commercial district.”
Downtown Hickory also has a good selection of restaurants – from deli to pub fare to fine dining. “Those kinds of engaging attractions help make Hickory and all of Catawba County so interesting,” Kincaid says. – Kevin Litwin
More Insight
FEELING RIGHT AT HOME
The Catawba River provides opportunities for boating and other outdoor recreation. Catawba County is home to numerous parks, including BAKERS MOUNTAIN and RIVERBEND, that offer hiking, fi shing and picnicking.
Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover is home to a PGA Champions Tour event, and the region boasts numerous high-quality golf courses. The CLASS A HICKORY CRAWDADS baseball team plays at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 19
Getting Ready for WorkCOLLEGE PUTS STUDENTS ON CAREER TRACK, SHARPENS SKILLS
A key facet of Catawba
County’s quality of life is the
higher education options that
help students transition to four-
year colleges, receive training
to prepare them for careers or
sharpen skills they already have.
In March 2010, Catawba Valley
Community College in Hickory
will open North Carolina’s largest
simulated hospital, a
28,000-square-foot center
dedicated to teaching the
next generation of health-care
professionals without imposing
on the current crop of patients.
Students will tend to robots
sophisticated enough to blink,
to cry or to turn blue, but not,
of course, to feel pain.
“If our nurses are drawing
blood, they are able to mess
up on a robot many times
before they actually have
to stick a real human,” says
Dr. Garrett Hinshaw, president
of the 6,536-student college.
It’s another example of the
college’s overarching mission
of workforce development,
workforce training and
meeting the needs of
the region’s employers.
The college regularly
collaborates directly with
industry, helping to train
new employees through
its Workforce Development
Innovation Center, mentoring
growing businesses through
its Small Business Center or
developing new technologies.
The Center for Emerging
Manufacturing Solutions,
the school’s R&D facility,
helped one business develop
biodegradable socks out
of corn silk, a product that
generated more than $8
million in sales, Hinshaw says.
“We’re creating jobs here,”
he says.
The college and three
other higher-education
institutions have formed a
partnership that will expand
degree programs offered in
the region by Appalachian
State University.
The new partnership is
a successor to the Hickory
Metro Higher Education
Center, founded in 2003
to provide opportunities
for students to earn four-year
degrees through Appalachian
State without having to leave
the region.
– Sam Scott
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livability
Catawba’s manufacturers are investing for the future
A Durable SectorMore Insight
MADE IN CATAWBA COUNTY
The Catawba region is home to more than 500 manufacturing operations employing more than 28,000 people and accounting for more than 30 percent of total employment.
Major manufacturers include:
Century Furniture LLC
Commscope Inc.
Corning Cable Systems LLC
Ethan Allen Inc.
Getrag Corp.
HDM Furniture Industries Inc.
Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co.
McCreary Modern Manufacturing
Pierre Foods Inc.
Sherrill Furniture Co.
A diverse core of manufacturers is expand-ing in an area once dominated by textile and furniture makers, building on a
foundation that already accounts for nearly one-third of the jobs in the region.
Hickory-based von Drehle Corp., which makes paper towels and similar products for industrial and commercial clients, spent $5 million on new equipment in 2008. The company added 60,000 square feet to its plant in Maiden in 2007 and installed automated towel-folding equipment that went on line in December 2008.
Fiber-Line Inc. is adding 60,000 square feet to its Hickory facility and expects to add about a dozen jobs to its staff of 34. The company converts synthetic fibers for the fiber-optic, utility and composite materials markets. The $4.5 million project, the second expansion since Fiber-Line set up shop in 2002, broke ground in December 2008.
“This is very good location,” says Kevin Sennett, Fiber-Line general manager, who notes the region’s quality, dedicated employee base.
In upgrading equipment, Catawba County operations also are going green. Technibilt /Cari-All, which makes shopping carts in Newton, spent $3 million to create an industry first, a step that adds a protective coating that protects against rust. The production changes not only give the carts a longer life – the industry average is five to six years – but Technibilt “took a heavy green hand” in making them, says David Orfinik, executive vice president of sales and marketing. The company has reduced its annual water con sumption by 2.5 million gallons, cut its treated wastewater by 2.1 million gallons and shrunk its solid waste production by 8.2 tons, he says. Technibilt makes 800,000 carts a year and hopes to grow to 1 million. “We have to be prepared from the manufac turing standpoint,” Orfinik says.
For von Drehle, major capital expenses have included a new de-inking process in nearby
Cordova that removes chlorine, lead and other materials, which allows the company to use more grades of waste paper. The company also invested in new baling equipment that lets it take more scrap paper back to its mill for reprocessing.
“All of our paper is made from recycled fiber,” says Jon Thomson, von Drehle’s marketing manager. “We use no virgin fiber or trees.”
In Maiden, the company added a new high-speed bath tissue production line in addition to the folding equipment. Employment in Maiden has grown from 17 in 2002 to about 60 in early 2009, with more hiring expected.
“This is not a good time for a lot of people, but if you’re in the position and you have money, it is a good time for growth,” says Tim Bolick, Catawba County Economic Development Corp. administrative manager. – Pamela Coyle
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Technibilt/Cari-All manufactures 800,000 shopping carts a year at operations in Newton.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 21
manufacturing
FlavoredWith
22 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
arts & culture
Hickory’s SALT Block is a hub for arts, literature and learning
No matter what your taste, the SALT Block in Hickory offers so much variety, you’ll likely be
licking your lips for more.A focal point of culture, the SALT
Block offers everything its acronym of a name suggests – Science, Art and Literature Together.
On one block sits the Catawba Science Center, the Hickory Museum of Art, the Hickory Public Library, the Western Piedmont Symphony, the United Arts Council of Catawba County and the Hickory Choral Society.
“It is just very unique,” says Kathryn Greathouse, co-executive director of the United Arts Council, likening the site to a small-town version of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
The block’s anchor is the iconic former Claremont High School, built in 1925 and transformed 60 years later into IA
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C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 23
the 75,000-square-foot Arts & Science Center of Catawba Valley.
Science and art under one roof was a rare idea in the 1980s, but the concept caught on, with donations quickly exceeding expectations.
The center allows tenants such as the highly respected Hickory Museum of Art, the first museum of American art in the Southeast, to stay rent free, letting the organization focus on its primary cultural mission, Greathouse says.
In 1999, the city of Hickory received donated land on the northwest corner of the block that became the site of the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library. The state-of-the-art facility was another drawing card for the cultural corridor, and the “literature” addition resulted in the adoption of the SALT Block name.
Most recently, the block has grown again with the science center adding fresh- and saltwater aquariums and a 30-foot domed planetarium, which is equally good for movies that explore space or laser shows that are set to Pink Floyd.
“The science center typically brings in a younger crowd than the art museum normally caters to,” says Kristina Allen, communications
manager of the art museum, which is famous for its Southern Contemporary folk art. “We can follow on their coattails and bring their people to our side.”
The success of the SALT Block is widely heralded as both a cultural center and as an economic force that makes Hickory more attractive to newcomers. Each year more than 200,000 people visit the block, not counting those going to the library, Greathouse says.
The block is scheduled to grow further under a multiyear capital campaign to renovate the old West Wing building into offices for the organizations, classrooms for the science center and new rehearsal space for the symphony, Greathouse says.
“You have to keep offering new things to stay relevant,” she says. “This block has just done a great job of that.”
– Sam Scott
SEE VIDEO ONLINETour the Catawba Science Center
in our quick online video at
www.imagescatawbacounty.com.
Kristina Allen talks up the Hickory Museum of Art. Left: The Catawba Science Center is a SALT Block anchor.
ON THE BLOCK
Catawba Science Center
Hickory Choral Society
Hickory Museum of Art
Hickory Public Library
United Arts Council of Catawba County
Western Piedmont Symphony
Go to imagescatawbacounty.com for links to these organizations.
More Insight
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24 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
arts & culture
City of Hickory, NC
828.323.7400 www.hickorygov.com
Getting To Know...CULTURAL CHOICES IN ABUNDANT SUPPLY IN CATAWBA
Catawba County offers a rich
tapestry of cultural treasures.
Here are just a few examples:
CATAWBA COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONwww.catawbahistory.org
The association is the keeper
of the region’s major historical
assets and oversees several
historical attractions in the area,
including the Harper House &
Hickory History Center; the
Catawba County Museum of
History; Murray’s Mill Historic
District; and Bunker Hill Covered
Bridge, one of only two original
remaining covered bridges in
North Carolina.
CATAWBA VALLEY FURNITURE MUSEUM www.hickoryfurniture.com
Located on the first level of
the Hickory Furniture Mart, the
Catawba Valley Furniture
Museum features historical
displays that celebrate the
region’s rich tradition of
furniture craftsmanship. The
museum includes an authentic
reproduction of an early
Catawba woodworking shop
and vintage furniture pieces.
THE GREEN ROOM COMMUNITY THEATREwww.the-green-room.org
The Green Room Community
Theatre produces six main-
stage productions at the
Newton-Conover Civic and
Performance Place each season.
The season includes two
major musicals, a family show,
a youth production and a
comedy or a drama.
The theater provides several
programs for area youth.
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 25
Engineering center provides conduit to four-year degree programs
When Appalachian State University took over admin-istration of the f ledgling
North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies in December 2007, the center was a renovated building – and little else. The furniture and equipment had yet to arrive.
But in short order, the center has taken big steps to back up its lofty title, pro-viding students with hands-on training on more than $1 million worth of cutting-edge technology, such as a handheld laser scanner that reads objects to create exact 3-D duplicates.
“They have stuff there that will amaze you,” says H. DeWitt Blackwell, Jr., who is executive director of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, a regional planning organization. “It made me want to go back to school, and I already spent eight years in college and graduate school.”
The center’s variety of labs boasts some of the latest-and-greatest engineering technologies, including the laser scanner, computer-controlled metal processing, the leading PC-based CAD programs, polymer molding and a state-of-the-art distance-learning lab.
The investment means that local
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Dr. Sidney Connor is director of the North Carolina Center for Engineering Technology, a key training asset.
SuccessBlueprint
SEE VIDEO ONLINELearn more about the North Carolina Center for
Engineering Technologies at imagescatawbacounty.com.
for
26 I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M C A T A W B A C O U N T Y
technology
students now have the chance to earn four-year degrees in their own backyards from two participating public univer-sities – Appalachian State and Western Carolina University, both of whose engi-neering program offerings are expected to grow with the continued development of the center.
The technology center’s classes are typically paired with those from local community colleges, which provide gen-eral education requirements.
Previously, the closest similar degree program was at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte – too far away for many students, who are typically older than the average college student.
“For many of the students, it’s impos-sible to leave their jobs and families to head out to UNC-Charlotte to take engi-neering classes taught predominantly in the daytime,” says Dr. Sidney Connor, center director. “They can drive here in a reasonable amount of time instead.”
And while that’s a boon for local stu-dents and potential employers, it’s also a major step forward for the community, which worked hard to make it happen.
Led by such notables as former U.S. Rep. Cass Bassinger and the Future Forward Economic Al liance, the community rallied to raise the money to start the center in a former Corning research and development facility.
The aim wasn’t just to train skilled workers at the center, Blackwell says. It was part of a strategy to lure a public college to the area with the intention of it growing into its own university.
Greater Hickory is one of the biggest metro areas in North Carolina without a public university, a fact many locals want to change. The Center for Engineering Technologies can help make that happen.
“It’s probably one of the most exciting projects we have been involved in for a long time,” Blackwell says.
– Sam Scott
C A T A W B A C O U N T Y I M A G E S C A T A W B A C O U N T Y. C O M 27
Ad Index 27 CATAWBA COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
16 CATAWBA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER
25 CITY OF HICKORY
C2 & 2 CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL
28 FRYE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
17 HICKORY FURNITURE MART
20 HICKORY ORTHOPAEDIC CENTER
1 LENOIR-RHYNE UNIVERSITY
2 MANPOWER
C4 NIAGARA VENTURES LLC
C3 TOWN OF CATAWBA
ECONOMIC PROFILE
visit ouradvertisersCatawba County Economic Development Corporation www.catawbaedc.org
Catawba Valley Medical Center www.catawbavalleymc.org
City of Hickory www.hickorygov.com
Crowne Plaza Hotel www.ichotelsgroup.com
Frye Regional Medical Center www.fryemedctr.com
Hickory Furniture Mart www.hickoryfurniture.com
Hickory Orthopaedic Center www.hickoryortho.com
Lenoir-Rhyne University www.lrc.edu
Manpower www.us.manpower.com
Niagara Ventures LLC www.niagaraventures.com
Town of Catawba www.townofcatawbanc.org
TOWN OF CATAWBAA Natural Fit for Business
www.townofcatawbanc.org
BUSINESS CLIMATECatawba County is in the western part of North Carolina in the
foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and covers 405 square miles.
The county includes eight municipalities – Brookford, Catawba,
Claremont, Conover, Hickory, Long View, Maiden and Newton.
POPULATION
(2006 ESTIMATED)Catawba County,153,784
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA,
359,856
TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS (2006 ESTIMATED)Catawba County, 57,982
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA,
135,237
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
(2006)Catawba County, $42,349
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA,
$39,213
PER CAPITA INCOMECatawba County, $21,351
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA,
$19,864
LABOR FORCE
Catawba County, 74,672
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA,
170,562
MAJOR EMPLOYERS
(NONMANUFACTURING)Catawba County Schools,
Education/Health Services,
1,000+
Frye Regional Medical Center,
Education/Health Services, 1,000+
Catawba Valley Medical Center,
Education/Health Services,
1,000+
County of Catawba, Public
Administration, 1,000+
Walmart, Trade Transportation
and Utilities, 1,000+
Catawba Valley Community
College, Education/Health
Services, 500 - 999
Newton Conover City Schools,
Education/Health Services,
500 - 999
Hickory City Schools,
Education/Services, 500 - 999
Catawba Rental Co. Inc., Trade
Transportation and Utilities,
500 - 999
City of Hickory, Public
Administration, 500 - 999
MAJOR MANUFACTURERS
Commscope Inc., 1,000+
Corning Cable Systems, 1,000+
Hickory Springs Manufacturing
Co., 1,000+
Century Furniture, 1,000+
HDM Furniture Industries Inc.,
500 - 999
SOURCES:
Catawba County Chamber of
Commerce, Catawba County
Economic Development Corp.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Catawba County
Chamber of Commerce
1055 Southgate
Corporate Park S.W.
Hickory, NC 28602
Phone: (828) 328-6111
Fax: (828) 328-1175
www.catawbachamber.org
Catawba County Economic
Development Corp.
P.O. Box 3388, Hickory, NC 28603
Phone: (828) 267-1564
Fax: (828) 267-1884
www.catawbaedc.orgMORE ONLINE
imagecatawbacounty.com
More facts, stats and community
information, including links
to business resources.
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