A Publication of the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation
January 2024
Long Vacant Shell Building Filled By Toyota Supplier
Toyota's jobs and investment commitments will undoubtedly have a major impact on the County. But just as impactful are the potential spillover effects from a project of that scale. We are beginning to see these spillover effects already, as illustrated by the recent announcement of Toyota Tsusho America moving into the long-vacant shell building in Liberty.
Toyota Tsusho, a warehousing and logistics company, and the property owner will invest $7 million to renovate and equip the building that has been vacant since its construction in the early 2000s. The company will also create 41 new jobs at the site.
Local News and Announcements
Thayer Coggin was recognized for 70 years of quality and excellence in this Women's Wear Daily Magazine write-up. The article highlights, among other things, the timelessness of Thayer Coggins's mid-century modern pieces. Read More
Kennametal was recently named one of Newsweek's most responsible companies.The list recognizes corporations committed to being good corporate citizens by supporting the communities in which they operate. Read More
Jowat received an ISO 14001 Certification for its environmental management system. Read More
Thomas Built Buses recently provided the first electric school bus in the State of Alabama. Read More
Braxton Culler recently debuted a showroom at the first-ever Atlanta Furniture Market. Read More
Cone Health has announced a $72 million Med Center in Asheboro. Read More
Technimark recently received Ireland's first-ever MedAccred accreditation, a benchmark of excellence in the medical device industry. Read More
Randolph Rises Mid-Year Update
With so much going on in the County, the EDC recently held a mid-year check-in for our Randolph Rises campaign investors. We had a great turnout at The Exchange in downtown Asheboro and provided some updates on office activity and new initiatives. Some highlights from the presentation include:
Investment - Halfway through this fiscal year, the EDC has facilitated $8,020,330,000 in new capital investment. Obviously, this includes the major Toyota expansion. If you remove the Toyota announcement, this number is $20,330,000 in new investment to the County, which is still a great accomplishment.
Job Creation - In the same time frame, 3,197 new jobs were announced in the county. Again, most are related to the Toyota expansion. If you remove Toyota, this number is 197 new jobs.
Key Challenges - Lack of inventory and lack of infrastructure continue to be the biggest challenges for new business recruitment and existing industry expansion opportunities. Out of the 98 project inquiries our office received so far this fiscal year, we could only respond to 38 that we had a suitable building or site. In other words, our office has not been able to compete for two-thirds of projects that are coming across our desks.
New Initiatives - The EDC is on the front end of some new initiatives to address the challenges mentioned above and more. The EDC is in the early stages of developing a workforce recruitment campaign to attract talented and skilled people to Randolph County. Additionally, the EDC is working with partners to identify future sites for industrial development.
January Industrial Council
Earlier this month, we had our January Industrial Council. This meeting focused on workforce development and our local education system. At the meeting, we had CTE Directors from Randolph County Schools, Asheboro City Schools, and Uwharrie Charter Academy, who presented information about their current CTE programs and plans for the future.
Interested in learning more about these events? Reach out to Brantley below.
Thank you to the companies below who have recently renewed their support of the EDC and the Randolph Rises campaign. We would especially like to welcome our new investors: Joseph M Bryan Foundation, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Chick-Fil-A. Listed below are the companies' annual investment levels.
If you are interested in learning more about Randolph Rises, please click the button below.
