Saturday October 4th will see the return of all the things you know and love: Crafts, food vendors, family fun, and more! The Randolph Arts Guild is an arts organization and we focus on the promotion of artists and crafters who are dedicated to making their own product.
Sunday, October 5th will see the revival of the performing arts at the Fall Festival! Live music, theater, dance, poetry, and guest speakers will pack every building in Downtown Asheboro and beyond!
The Fall Festival is the annual fundraiser of the Randolph Arts Guild, a nonprofit organization, where proceeds go towards supporting the organization, artists and our community.
INDUSTRY APPRECIATION MONTH PLANT TOURS and RODEO
Would you like to tour the Tower Components, Inc. Plant in Ramseur on October 14th at 8:30? Sign up Here.
Would you like to tour Energizer Battery in Asheboro on October 15th at 9am?
Want to send someone to compete in the Forklift Rodeo? Sign them up here.
SBA launches loan program for small manufacturers
The Small Business Administration is rolling out a new loan program specifically for small manufacturers.
The 7(a) Manufacturers' Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) loan program will offer working capital for small businesses engaged in manufacturing that the agency said in an announcement would provide “maximum flexibility and minimal red tape.”
“With 98% of American manufacturers classified as small businesses, the new MARC loans represent a powerful source of targeted capital for those who are growing our nation’s production,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler in a statement about the program's launch.
The program takes effect Oct. 1. The MARC loan limit is $5 million, with the SBA guaranteeing 85% of loans up to $150,000 and 75% for loans above that up to the maximum.
The inestimable Wayne Parker CEO and Founder of Alumiworks won the award for the amazing business he and his family has built in Randleman. There story is our story and we celebrate this accomplishment of a leader and business that gets it right. Congratulations Wayne, Family, and all of Alumiworks! Keep Building!
Local News and Announcements
Ramseur Getting A Megasite?:
The small Randolph County town of Ramseur, about equidistant from two recently opened megasite-scale industrial projects, may soon feel the effects of both as a multi-use project sketched out for 511 homes with a hotel and other commercial space takes shape.
The town council voted at its August meeting to annex a site of about 82 acres on Reed Creek Road at U.S. 64 East and heard a presentation on the project, which is still in its early stages without a site plan submitted.
Lucian Boldea, most recently with Honeywell, has been appointed president and CEO as of Sept. 1.
Boldea succeeds Richard G. Kyle, who has been serving in the role on an interim basis since March. It is a position he is very familiar with, having previously served as CEO of the Canton, Ohio-based company from 2014 to 2024. Kyle stepped back into the leadership position temporarily following the departure of Tarak B. Mehta, who left Timken after approximately seven months for personal reasons.
Aeolus Filter Corporation Acquired by Rensa Filtration:
Rensa Filtration, a company backed by Audax Private Equity, has completed the acquisition of IREMA-Filter GmbH in Germany and its U.S. subsidiary Aeolus Filter Corporation. This strategic move brings together Rensa’s extensive manufacturing and distribution network with IREMA’s half-century of expertise in advanced filter media technologies and Aeolus’s strong presence in North Carolina.
(editorial note: September was a tough month so here is some good news) A Los Angeles boy is being credited with potentially saving the life of his father by donating stem cells to help treat his dad’s leukemia.
Just nine years old at the time, Stephen Mondek is the youngest person in the history of Cedars-Sinai to donate their stem cells, officials said. It was done in hopes of helping to kickstart a new immune system for his father, who’s been battling the deadly blood cancer for several years.
What begins as scraps of fabric in Randolph County often ends in a quilt or teddy bear stitched with love — and destined for a child at Victory Junction Camp.
For years, a group of women from Cedar Square Friends and Crossover Church has gathered twice a week to sew. Some piece together colorful quilts, others stuff teddy bears. All of it is made for children with serious illnesses and disabilities who spend time at the Randleman camp.
“I think about the kids when I’m making it,” said longtime quilter Gail Paschal, who has been sewing since childhood. “You just want to hug them.”
Not everyone in the group is a skilled seamstress. Betty Carol Gray, known jokingly as the “bear stuffer,” proves that anyone can play a part.
Several Triad products, from a T-shirt dyed with hemp to train passenger cars, are among the semifinalists in this year’s Coolest Thing Made in NC competition put on by the North Carolina chamber to draw attention to the state’s manufacturing sector.
I suggest you read one of these reports every so often to keep you up to speed on macro forces impacting the US economy and thus our local economy.
“Greater clarity about US tariff hikes does not alter the fact that they are huge and will reduce global growth. And evidence of a slowdown in the US is now appearing in the hard data; it’s no longer just in the sentiment surveys.” Brian Coulton, Chief Economist, Fitch Ratings
The impact of tariff hikes on US CPI inflation has been modest so far. Core goods inflation has returned to positive territory in annual terms since April, but prices only rose by 0.2% a month in June and July. However, pass-through is likely to accelerate soon.
NC economic pipeline: 245 projects, 71,000 jobs and $59B investment
Expanding companies continue to zero in on North Carolina, but office and R&D projects appear to be taking a break.
The latest figures from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina show a pipeline of 245 projects. That pipeline, which consists of companies considering the state for relocations or expansions, represents the potential for nearly 71,000 new jobs and more than $59 billion in new investment, on track with figures released last month.
Thank you to the companies below which recently renewed their support of the EDC and the Randolph Rises campaign. Your contribution continues to make our service, reach, and impact felt across the county.
If you are interested in becoming a Randolph Rises investor, please click the button below.
