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May 26, 2017

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Adhezion Biomedical, LLC, a research and manufacturing company offering medical adhesive products, will create 40 jobs over the next four years as it expands its facility in Caldwell County, Gov. Roy Cooper announced. The company plans to invest $3.5 million in Hudson over this period of time.

“Biotech is thriving here in North Carolina, contributing $86 billion to our economy each year,” Gov. Cooper said. “Adhezion’s decision to expand in Caldwell County underscores that North Carolina is a world leader in biomanufacturing.”

Adhezion Biomedical is a privately‐held medical device company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cyanoacrylate-based surgical, wound management and infection prevention technologies. Founded in 2001, the company maintains its corporate headquarters in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

The new positions in Caldwell County will provide an annual payroll impact of more than $1.3 million to the local economy.

“We very much appreciate the support of the N.C. Department of Commerce in making this grant available to our company,” Adhezion CEO Pete Molinaro said. “We expect to use these funds to allow us to grow our presence in Hudson by expanding our facility, its processes, capacity and workforce, as well as offering opportunities to our current employees. Furthermore, we are delighted to be able to commit to making Hudson, our home for the company’s research development, manufacturing and distribution activities.”

A performance-based grant of $100,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Adhezion’s expansion in Caldwell County. The OneNC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All OneNC grants require a matching grant from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.

Caldwell County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Deborah Murray said the grant will further efforts to continue to grow and diversify the local economy.

“We are truly excited about what this announcement will mean not only for Adhezion Biomedical, but also for Caldwell County,” Murray said. “We continue to see strong development within our biomedical cluster, and we are very pleased to know that Adhezion Biomedical intends to further its growth as a company in Caldwell County.

“When we were working on this project, we referred to it as Project Decade because of the impact it would have for the company over the next 10 years and beyond. And with this grant in place, we fully believe that Adhezion Biomedical will continue to be at the forefront of some very important surgical adhesives and wound care advances.”

Murray noted that Blue Ridge Energy played a key role in assisting Adhezion Biomedical with its expansion plans.

N.C. Sen. Deanna Ballard said, “Adhezion and its employees are making a real difference in people’s lives. We’re proud of the research and innovation that will be supported by this new expansion in our region.”

Added N.C. Rep. Destin Hall, “I’m excited about Adhezion’s decision to expand its facility in Hudson. This is another example of what a great place Caldwell County is to do business.”

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May 25, 2017

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Construction has started for an exclusive Honda motorcycle and ATV dealership in Granite Falls along U.S. 321 South adjacent to Lake Hickory Veterinary Hospital.

Expected to be open by early 2018, the 22,600-square-foot Honda of North Carolina, Inc. sales and service facility at 4625 Hickory Boulevard will be the only Honda Powerhouse Level 5 dealership in the state, a fact company officials hope to capitalize upon to expand the business’ reach from Kentucky to Tennessee and all points east of Caldwell County.

“We are happy and proud to represent Honda in this marketplace which has been under served for several years,” a company spokesperson said. “We believe that being at the base of some of the best motorcycle trails in the nation only serves to bolster the need for Honda to be properly represented.

“And with the large community of dirt and street racers in the immediate area, we hope to meet everyone’s needs.”

As part of a $3-million investment, not including inventory, current plans call for the dealership to feature 10 service bays and state-of-the-art computers to assist in repairs and service needs. The company is looking to be open six days a week, expanding to seven during peak riding months, and will offer extended hours until 8 p.m. several nights per week.

The company initially will have 15 employees, with projected growth to 30 employees within two years of opening. Along with motorcycles, ATVs, and side by sides, the business will also offer lawn equipment, generators, street and trail bikes, and a large selection of used models.

“This will be a family business, and our intention is to serve everyone with respect and courtesy and with the utmost integrity,” the company spokesperson said. “We are making a huge investment and want to treat this responsibility with care that has been entrusted in us by Honda.”

According to Matt Winters, the building project manager for David E. Looper and Company, the current target date for construction completion is December of this year. He noted that recent heavy rains have slowed the early stages of the construction process.

Officials from the Town of Granite Falls and the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission began working with company representatives in the summer of 2015 to facilitate the project’s development.

Caldwell County Board of Commissioners Chairman Randy Church, who owns a Honda Gold Wing, expressed his support for the project.

“I am very excited to have this new Honda dealership coming to Caldwell County,” Church said. “Along with the significant economic impact, this will be a huge benefit for many of us Honda motorcycle riders.

“I am excited about having this dealership so close to the scenic beauty that draws motorcycle riders from all over. This will certainly be an asset to those of us who ride and rely upon qualified mechanics to work on our motorcycles.”

Caldwell County EDC Executive Director Deborah Murray believes the dealership will make the county a prime destination for motorcycle and ATV enthusiasts.

“With its elite designation and comprehensive sales and service center, we think this operation not only will be a great fit for Caldwell County, but also for those devoted group of riders from across the region who will come here,” Murray said. “Throughout this process, we have consistently been impressed with what this company plans to do. And we are eager to formally welcome the Honda brand into our growing list of top-flight retailers.

“We also are very appreciative of the work done by Granite Falls Town Manager Jerry Church, Town Planner Greg Wilson, Mayor Barry Hayes, and the Town Council to bring this project to fruition.”

–PARTEND–

May 19, 2017

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PHOTOS BY EDWARD TERRY, CCC&TI

A long line of people dressed in everything from suits to T-shirts and jeans wrapped around the front of the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center, waiting for the doors to open for the 14th Caldwell is Hiring.

Some had brought resumes and other documents in portfolios or briefcases, and others had a folder in one hand and a child in the other.

Hundreds of attendees poured into the building when the doors opened, eager to meet as many of the 51 employers as possible at the event organized by the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, in cooperation with Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute and NCWorks. By the end of the event, nearly 550 people had showed up for a job.

Caldwell EDC Executive Director Deborah Murray said because the unemployment rate is lower than it has been since 2000, advertising was expanded for the event to include a broader area. High school seniors were also invited to attend.

“Over 9,000 people have come here since we started doing this (seven years ago),” Murray said. “It has changed a lot of lives and it’s changed a lot of companies, too. Because all of those original companies that came are still coming back. Not to support it, but because this works.”

Murray said the companies attending had a total of more than 2,700 jobs to fill.

Ben Willis, a Lenoir city councilman and the director of technology services in continuing education and workforce development at CCC&TI, said he was excited to see how many people were looking for jobs in a variety of fields.

“It’s great to see the enthusiasm and the people who are looking to better themselves,” Willis said. “You’re seeing the people dressed in suits. You’re seeing the people that are dressed to work today. So there’s something for everyone here and it’s good to see that people recognize that.”

By Briana Adhikusuma, (Lenoir) News-Topic

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May 16, 2017

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County and city representatives joined other Caldwell County business leaders to welcome Hampton Inn and Suites to Lenoir during a groundbreaking ceremony at the planned hotel site along Wilkesboro Boulevard.

The four-story hotel, along with two street-facing outparcels, are expected to provide an additional jolt to the Wilkesboro Boulevard corridor.

Participants in the ceremony included MRI Hotels Principals Arvind and Sid Maheshwari, Caldwell County Board of Commissioners Chairman Randy Church, Lenoir Mayor Joe Gibbons, and Caldwell County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Deborah Murray.

Former Broyhill Furniture President and CEO Paul Broyhill also took part in the groundbreaking ceremony. The family’s real estate arm has owned the properties for years, and Broyhill fondly recalled how the site had been used years ago as an informal runway for light aircraft.

Construction is expected to begin at the end of May or in early June.

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May 16, 2017

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Caldwell County will offer incentives to another three companies considering moving here and creating a combined 95 new jobs.

The largest of the three projects to come for the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners involved a company identified as Project Zephyr that has a facility on the West Coast and is considering multiple sites, including several of which are in Caldwell County. The company produces decorative pieces of building material from raw materials that are 100 percent recycled and will manufacture with “the most state-of-the-art processes in the world,” Caldwell County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Deborah Murray said.

The company has a five-year plan to create several divisions and products; the first phase would involve a $30 million investment in the first year and could create up to 60 full-time jobs with wages “substantially more” than the county’s average, Murray said.

A second company, Harlee Packaging has confirmed its intentions to locate in Caldwell County and create 25 full-time jobs. The company manufactures cardboard boxes and other packaging material. Harlee Packaging plans to invest several million dollars in the purchase and renovation of an existing building in the county that has been vacant for more than year.

The third company, Pec Qingdao Aluminum Industries Co., is an assembly and wholesale distribution company specializing in installation kits for high-end, glass shower doors with stainless steel hardware. The company previously operated in the Dominican Republic and Qingdao, China. It would operate under the R.C. Kindle Supply in the U.S., Murray said.

Several county sites are being considered by the company, which expects to create 10 full-time jobs.

In order for any company to receive job-creation incentive payments from the county, which amount to $2,000 for each job, the company has to document that the jobs have been created and they must be maintained for a full year.

By Briana Adhikusuma, (Lenoir) News-Topic

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May 15, 2017

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The official list for the 14th Caldwell is Hiring – scheduled for Thursday, May 18 from 8:30 a.m. until Noon at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center – has been released.

There are more than 2,750 jobs available. Here is the list of companies that will be attending:

Bemis, Manpower, Woodgrain Millwork, Heritage Home Group, Broughton, Cargo Transporters, Onin Staffing, Valdese Weavers, Lee Industries, Convergys, Bansal, MDI, N.C. Department of Public Safety, Caldwell UNC Health Care, Bernhardt Furniture, XPO Logistics, Fiserv, Sattler Corp., Maxim Healthcare, Sealed Air, Bakers Waste Equipment, Advance Pierre Foods, Fairfield Chair Company, Foothills Temporary Employment, Express Employment Professionals, Labor Connections, Chick-fil-A, Shuford Yarns, Community Alternatives/ResCare of Conover, U.S. Secret Service, Bayada Home Health  Care, Adecco, Shurtape, Continental Structural Plastics (CSP), ProStaffing, Dairy Queen/Fourteen Foods, Sherrill Furniture Company, Hanes Industries, Exela Pharma Sciences, PeopleReady, Corning, Hickory Daily Record/Morganton News Herald, JBS USA, GKN Driveline, Lowes Foods, Skill Creations, 80 Acres Urban Agriculture, Friday Staffing, City of Lenoir, ResCare Home Care of Lenoir.

Now is the time to begin making preparations to attend the event. Have plenty of resumes available to distribute and be prepared to fill out applications. Dress as if you were attending a job interview. And, as always, a smile, a handshake, and a friendly attitude can go a long way!

This is your best opportunity to meet one-on-one with area companies that have immediate job openings!

We look forward to seeing you, your family, or your friends on Thursday, May 18!!!

–PARTEND–

May 12, 2017

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A new lumber yard expected to allow expanded manufacturing at Fairfield Chair Company has officially opened.

The nearly 14,000-square-foot building on the corner of Beall Street and College Avenue in Lenoir will store Fairfield Chair’s lumber adjacent to Plant No. 1 and wipe out the need for the company’s first lumber yard at Plant No. 2 that is located on Kincaid Circle off Southwest Boulevard.

Fairfield Chair Vice President Alvin Daughtridge said the new lumber yard will create a more convenient and efficient process for the company.

“With our other lumber yard, we do all the wood processing at this plan,” Daughtridge said. “So all the wood had to brought from the other plant to this plant. It will be housed here to begin with and then literally taken across the street, rather than having a 5-mile trek up here.”

Fairfield Chair Vice President of Manufacturing Terry Smith said the first lumber yard will now be used for expanding upholstery manufacturing.

“As our upholstery business grows, we will add employees hopefully to go into that building to be able to up our production there,” Smith said, adding that there are no definite plans as of yet.

The new lumber yard is “a little bit smaller” than the old one, Smith said. “But in the first lumber yard, we used to dry our lumber. Now we buy all our lumber already dried. So we don’t have to store quite as much.”

Fairfield Chair Chief Financial Officer Jamie White said the finishing touches such as sprinklers were completed recently.

“We have a lot of investments in new machinery over here in the event that we can start building more frames here and bringing things back that we are currently sourcing in China,” White said. “This will help with the capacity that we need lumber for and keep our machine rooms full and processing 40-plus hours a week.”

By Briana Adhikusuma, (Lenoir) News-Topic

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May 10, 2017

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The 14th Caldwell is Hiring – set for Thursday, May 18 from 8:30 a.m. until Noon at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center – has reached its maximum number of employers and will have more than 2,700 jobs available.

Friday Staffing is the final entry with 98 jobs available for the companies it represents. The positions include assembly workers, general laborers, unloaders, machine operators, and forklift operators.

GKN Driveline will be hiring for 156 positions, including assembly operators, material handlers, maintenance technicians, and maintenance supervisors.

Lowes Foods has 63 openings for jobs such as deli clerks, meat clerks, assistant beef shop managers, bakery clerks, cashiers, and office clerks.

Sherrill Furniture Company has 11 jobs available, including sewers, CNC operators, inspection/quality control, and outside upholstery trimmers.

80 Acres Urban Agriculture is looking to hire a welder and an assistant grower.

Skill Creations has openings for 20 positions for direct care educators.

Corning will be seeking more than 200 manufacturing associates and another 25 maintenance technicians.

JBS USA has 102 available positions, including production superintendent, production supervisors, accountant, maintenance supervisors, maintenance mechanics, machine operators, saw/slicer operators, productions associates, and warehouse associates.

The parent company for the Hickory Daily Record has 4 jobs available, including reporter, copy editor/page design, advertising sales assistant (Morganton News Herald), and multimedia journalist reporter (Morganton News Herald).

Exela will have 19 positions available, including chemistry lab manager, aseptic production manager, chemistry data auditor/technical reviewer, process engineer, plant engineer, validation manager, compounding chemist, manufacturing associates (1st and 2nd shifts).

Hanes has approximately 20 openings for machine or forklift operators (2nd and 3rd shifts), IT support technician, and inside sales.

People Ready has 110 openings for the companies it represents, including furniture assemblers, warehouse associates, maintenance helpers, traffic flaggers, floor cleaners /refurb, and housekeepers.

Shurtape will be hiring for 45 positions, including 40 manufacturing posts, 4 maintenance technicians, and 1 truck driver.

Continental Structural Plastics has 33 openings, including 30 production operators (2nd and 3rd shifts), 2 maintenance technicians (2nd shift), and 1 materials supervisor (1st shift).

Dairy Queen/Fourteen Foods has 20 part-time openings for crew and shift leads, while ProStaffing has 104 jobs available for companies it represents. Positions include 35 textile machine operators, 16 packaging machine operators, 47 furniture jobs in all departments, and 6 maintenance technicians/supervisors.

The U.S. Secret Service will be seeking special agents and uniformed division officers. Bayada Home Health has 170 openings for positions such as CNAs, LPNs, RNs, and habilitation technicians.

Adecco will be hiring for 47 jobs for the companies it represents. Jobs include slitter operators, coater operators, and forklift operators.

Shuford Yarns is seeking to fill 30 positions, including 20 machine operators and 10 machine technicians. Chick-fil-A will have 6 team member openings for the event.

ResCare in Conover has 18 openings for direct support professionals who are at least 18, have a valid driver’s license, U.S. work eligible, and a high school diploma or GED.

Labor Connections is seeking to 187 jobs for companies it represents, including machine operators, welders, plumbers, maintenance, assemblers, warehouse general laborers, electricians, and HVAC service technicians.

Express Employment Professionals has 38 openings for its businesses, including furniture jobs, office services, HR assistant, quality control, assemblers, maintenance techs, product baggers, pallet building, welding, hosiery, and creelers.

Sealed Air will be hiring for 12 positions, including 2 maintenance technicians and 10 machine operators. The minimum age for hiring is 18.

Bakers Waste Equipment has 73 openings including 45 production MIG welders, 18 production assembly posts, and 10 CDL regional drivers.

Fairfield Chair is looking to hire 6 workers, including 4 upholsterers with 2 years experience, 1 sprayer with 1 year experience, nad 1 spring up person with 1 year experience.

Advance Pierre Foods has 88 openings, including suppliers, assemblers, toppers, packers, stackers, and handwrappers. All positions are entry level.

Foothills Temporary Employment has 200 positions to fill for companies it represents, Positions include inside/outside upholsterers, warehouse workers, machine operators, inspectors, general laborers, assemblers, customer service reps, and administrative assistants.

Maxim Healthcare Services features 7 immediate openings for positions such as CNA, LPN, RN, and HabTechs.

Plastics manufacturer Bemis will have 4 openings for machine operator, process technician, set-up technician, and maintenance technician.

Woodgrain Millwork will be hiring for 10 positions, including 5 machine operators and 5 general laborers. Manpower has 87 jobs available and includes 40 machine operators, 20 experienced furniture workers, 15 warehouse posts and 12 clerical positions.

Heritage Home Group has 9 spots, including upholsterer, upholsterer product development, 8-way hand tie string up, 2 frame assemblers, hand stain applier, sample/pattern maker, finish lead person, and edgehander operator.

Broughton is seeking 23 employees, including 20 CNA I and 13 registered nurses. Cargo Transporters is seeking to fill 75 posts for OTR truck drivers who have a Class A license with 1-year experience or a recent graduate from a truck driver training school.

Onin Staffing has 56 job openings for companies and includes 20 production operators, 5 finish furniture sprayers, 5 glaze wiper/hand sander, 5 cabinet assemblers, 5 packers/material handlers, 3 veneer glue spreaders, 3 rough mill wood machinists, and 10 machine operators.

Valdese Weavers is seeking to hire 31 individuals for positions such as 6 weaver/machine operators, 6 loom technicians, 2 WR specialists, 1 process specialist, 12 warp replacement, 2 weave room electricians, 1 backwinder, and 1 material handler.

Grocery distribution company MDI is looking to hire 80 employees, including 65 selectors and 15 drivers. The N.C. Department of Public Safety has 100 opening for 50 correctional officers and 50 nurses. Lee Industries has 30 jobs available, including 8 leather/fabric trimmers, 8 leather upholsterers, 4 8-way hand tie, 2 cost engineer manager, 2 sewing machine mechanics, 4 lectra operators, and 2 customers service reps.

Convergys has 80 posts to fill for wireless account reps.

Caldwell UNC Health Care features 124 positions available, including lab techs, CNAs, credentialed medical assistants, registered nurses, and radiology techs.

Bernhardt Furniture is set to hire for 20 positions.

XPO Logistics has 9 openings for material handlers,while Fiserv is hiring for 20 customer service assistants.

Sattler Corp is hiring for 4 positions, including 2 weavers (third shift), 1 cleaner (third shift), and 1 weaver (first shift).

This is your best opportunity for one-on-one meetings with companies that have immediate employment needs. If not for yourself, please let friends or family members know about this exciting event!

We look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday, May 18!!!