Fourth Largest Manufacturing Region

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THOUGH MUCH HAS BEEN SAID in recent years about the decline of American manufacturing, the industry is alive and strong — and even growing — in and around Mecklenburg County. The numbers are impressive.

The Carolinas Piedmont Crescent, which arches across North Carolina and into part of South Carolina, is the nation’s fourth largest manufacturing region. The 9,435 firms here employ more than 485,000 workers, who produce more than $136 billion in goods. Only three other regions in the United States — the Great Lakes, New England and California — produce more goods than the Carolinas Piedmont Crescent. Within the Piedmont Crescent, the Charlotte region is North Carolina’s largest manufacturing region. Firms here produce $43 billion in goods, compared to Greensboro’s $34 billion and Raleigh’s $21 billion.

The Charlotte MSA has 1,857 manufacturing firms, which employ 70,489 workers and pay $3.4 billion in payroll. These firms shipped $43 billion in products in 2002, according to the latest economic census. The 2008 Employment Security Commission counted more than 34,000 manufacturing workers in Mecklenburg County producing $8.4 billion in manufactured goods. At least half of the value of those goods was value added. This industry is part of the lifeblood that keeps Mecklenburg County — and the Southeast — operating.

Charlotte Captured Manufacturing Early
North Carolina has long been a strong manufacturing state. As far back as the 1820s and ’30s, manufacturing helped this state prosper. In the early 19th century Charlotte was a bustling village rich with successful commercial and manufacturing operations. Through the decades, Charlotteans have worked looms, built Model T cars and Titan missiles, molded metals, bound books, produced snack foods and so much more. Even in recent years, as much as 14 percent of the North Carolina workforce worked in a factory, making the state one of the most industrialized states in the nation.

While many of the Mecklenburg County textile mills that once dominated manufacturing here are now jazzy lofts and open-air offices, the new age of Mecklenburg manufacturing continues to keep Charlotte strong. Today more than 1,000 firms are manufacturing in Mecklenburg County. They range from Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurial start-up operations with considerable potential for long-term success.

Welcoming a New Age of Manufacturing
Manufacturing in Mecklenburg County has grown and diversified through the decades. Once considered a leader in textiles, today the Charlotte area has countless firms specializing in sophisticated intelligent manufacturing, with precision metrology, optoelectronic and biomedical technology developing alongside such traditional manufacturing as primary and fabricated metals, machinery, chemicals, plastics, electronics, transportation equipment, food and beverages.

In fact, this county has every major type of manufacturing segment except leather and petroleum product manufacturing.
The University of North Carolina Charlotte is positioned to be a top-tier research university. The university created the Charlotte Research Institute, which focuses on applied research in intelligent manufacturing and precision metrology, eBusiness technology, optoelectronics and optical communications, biosciences and biotechnology.

Manufacturers come to Charlotte to tap our skilled and productive work force. Charlotte is home to Central Piedmont Community College, the state’s largest community college, and UNC Charlotte, the fourth largest University in the 16-campus UNC system. Both offer worker-training programs, including programs which can be customized to meet employers’ needs. CPCC has multiple campus locations around Mecklenburg and also offers companies on-site training programs.

Manufacturing is changing. Technology increases productivity and sophistication. And each year, the Carolinas become more attractive to manufacturers, both domestic and foreign. Look closely and you’ll find the Carolinas’ landscape dotted with vehicle manufacturers, an industry that has taken hold here in recent years. The industry, which planted roots in the Southeast when Nissan and Toyota built plants in Tennessee and Kentucky in the 1980s, took off in the Carolinas when BMW built its Greer, S.C. assembly plant in the 1990s. Today, the two states are home to hundreds of plants that supply the factories making trucks, cars, buses and all-terrain vehicles. The Carolinas are also home to numerous defense contractors.

Manufacturing Remains Strong Today
North Carolina is the nation’s seventh largest manufacturing state. There’s little question why. One recent University of North Carolina study calculated that North Carolina is the second most productive of the nation’s top 20 industrialized states. For every dollar of labor cost, North Carolina workers add $4.25 in value.

Beyond our productivity records and strong work ethic, North Carolina law permits individual workers to choose whether or not they wish to join a labor union. As a result, North Carolina, which has the nation’s highest percentage of manufacturing employment, also has the nation’s lowest union membership, currently just 3.1 percent (versus the 12 percent national average). Average manufacturing production wages in the Charlotte MSA are $15.61 per hour, well below the national average of $16.80.

We are a growing community that attracts quality workers from across the country and around the globe. Individuals and families seek out Charlotte’s high quality of life, reasonable cost of living, outstanding arts, major league sports and abundant educational and advancement opportunities. Since 1997, the Charlotte workforce has grown 27 percent. For the same period employment is up 25 percent compared to a national growth average of 13 percent.

Charlotte Makes Doing Business Easier
Businesses come for Charlotte’s long-standing tradition of public-private cooperation. City leaders work closely with the private sector when planning development and carrying out large projects for the good of Charlotte. They enjoy favorable tax rates, pro-business governments, strong worker training programs and much more.

Manufacturing firms in particular are attracted by the city’s huge transportation and distribution facilities. Charlotte Douglas  International (CLT) Airport, located less than 25 minutes from most Charlotte business parks, is home to US Airways’ largest hub and offers direct or non-stop service to over 179 different cities, including Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, London and Rio de Janeiro. The airport ranks 34th nationwide in air cargo. Charlotte Air Cargo Center’s 500,000 square feet of warehouse space gives manufacturers and other companies quick access to runways, railways and interstate highways.

Our interstate system is a magnet to firms looking to ship goods quickly and easily. Interstate 77 passes through Charlotte connecting Miami to Cleveland and Interstate 85 heads south to Atlanta and north to Washington, D.C. Just minutes beyond Mecklenburg’s north border, Interstate 40 links the Eastern United States to the West.

Charlotte is a powerhouse in trucking transportation. More than 735 transportation and warehousing companies and 327 trucking companies call Mecklenburg County home. Manufacturers favor our wide-ranging options for warehouse facilities. Charlotte has more than 117 million square feet of industrial space. More than 10 million square feet is available for immediate lease or purchase.

We have resources to help manufacturers excel, including the Chamber’s Manufacturing Business Alliance, which keeps manufacturers informed about local, state and federal initiatives that impact manufacturing operations and voices manufacturers’ needs and concerns. This powerful network works to improve the business environment and increase manufacturers’ competitiveness. It also helps resolve common issues and provides practical guidance on ways manufacturers can improve.

The Charlotte Foreign-Trade Zone, which allows goods to be brought in from overseas duty-free and manufactured into a product, is one of the largest in the state. The Charlotte Chapter of the North Carolina World Trade Association, which promotes international trade, is one of the largest in the nation. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a nationwide network that helps smaller manufacturers compete globally, is active in Charlotte and throughout North Carolina. And the U.S. Export Assistance Center helps many local firms navigate world trade issues.

Every day, products designed and manufactured in Charlotte are shipped to markets nationwide and around the world.
With such a strong workforce, operating and distribution infrastructure, pro-business climate and more, it’s no wonder that increasingly more manufacturers choose to call Charlotte home.