SITE SELECTION RANKS TWO N.C. PROJECTS AMONG NORTH AMERICA’S 2007 TOP DEALS
N.C. Commerce Department Ranked Nation’s 3rd Most Competitive Economic Development Agency
RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley today announced that two of North Carolina’s economic development wins are ranked among the 20 Top Deals in North America by Site Selection magazine. The two deals are the agreements that brought Google to Caldwell County and the decision by Honda Aircraft to expand its Guilford County operations and build its new HondaJet at Piedmont Triad International Airport. In a related article, Site Selection ranked the state Department of Commerce as the nation’s third most competitive state economic development agency.
“In North Carolina, we work hard to recruit jobs and offer smart, targeted incentives to businesses, but companies also benefit from our competitive tax burden, strong education system and highly skilled workforce,” said Easley. “These are the reasons why so many business leaders choose North Carolina as the place to open, relocate or expand their companies in the 21st century.”
The release of the articles in the magazine follow Wednesday’s announcement that GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC will expand its campus near Wilmington, creating 900 jobs during the next five years and investing $704 million. A day earlier, Easley announced that IBM Lender Business Process Services, a subsidiary of International Business Machines Corp., would hire 600 workers during the next four years and invest $2.4 million to open a mortgage processing center in Charlotte.
Site Selection is a leading national trade publication for executives who make site selection and facility planning decisions. In its May edition, the magazine placed the Google deal, which calls for the company to invest $600 million and create 200 jobs in Lenoir, among North America’s Top 10 Deals last year. The Honda Aircraft agreement, which calls for the company to invest $100 million and create 283 jobs, was listed with nine others in the Honorable Mention category.
The top projects were listed alphabetically and not ranked numerically. Adam Bruns, the author of the magazine’s cover story announcing the top deals said: “This year's Top Deals coverage salutes the best corporate projects in terms of investment, high-value jobs, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition and speed to market.”
In another Site Selection article, the magazine ranked the Davidson County Economic Development Commission and the Piedmont Triad Regional Partnership as two of the Top 10 Economic Development Groups of 2007. The agencies were listed in alphabetical order. The articles can be found at: www.siteselection.com.