The Piedmont Triad has become a bigger player in aviation over the last decade, and it looks like our position in the industry may grow in the coming year. News from HondaJet at PTI and Piedmont Propulsion Systems at  Smith-Reynolds indicate that both are planning to expand in 2012. This is great news for the region and an affirmation of the Partnership’s strategy and focus for  meaningful job growth.

Moving forward is crucial for our region. As a community we need to support this growth, not only with public support, but also with a continued focus on preparing a skilled workforce ready to fill the jobs that will come. With this type of concentrated effort, the Piedmont Triad’s position as the superior aviation industry location will really take off.

Lexington, which has been hard hit by the recession, saw the grand opening Wednesday of a Save-A-Lot distribution center. The Save-A- Lot center will employ 50 people over the coming months, but the leaders in Lexington see it as a positive step and have hopes for expansion. The company has 1,300 food stores in 39 states now, including 30 in North Carolina, but hopes to grow to 2,400 stores by 2015. Company officials said each new store typically equals a new employee at the distribution center, so the more stores that open in the Carolinas, the more jobs that will be created in Lexington.

The opening of another distribution center in the Piedmont Triad is a testament to the strong position of the Tirad as a great choice for companies seeking sites for logisitcs and distribution.

The focus on industries like technology and manufacturing can leave out important economic drivers like the health providers in a region. This post will look at two of the Piedmont Triad’s major medical centers, Moses Cone Health Systems and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, to assess their economic impact on the region. While the numbers cover different time frames, the total economic impact for the two medical systems is estimated to run over $6 billion per year.

Last week, Cone Health officials reported the results of an economic impact study commissioned by the health system and conducted by Don Jud, a UNC-Greensboro economist. Measuring direct and indirect impact, the health system has a $2.2 billion impact on the economy. The study found that Cone Health directly and indirectly supports more than 18,000 jobs in the region and that the gross domestic product of the region is estimated to be $1.2 billion higher because of Cone Health. The study took into account the indirect effects from the medicine practiced at its facilities and construction projects like the emergency department expansion. "Cone Health creates opportunities for skilled, clinical and professional talent, and next to having good quality schools, access to top health care is the most critical predictor of employer recruitment and retention," said Cone Health President and CEO Tim Rice.
 
Based on the 2009 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has a total economic impact of an estimated 4 billion a year. The total is based on the annual budget and number of employees, and includes indirect impacts like income taxes paid by employees, and sales, income and other business taxes paid by companies that do business with the medical center.

As it did in 2004, North Carolina ranked 10th in the nation in 2008 for the economic impact of its medical colleges and teaching hospitals. That equates to more than $15 billion a year in direct and indirect benefit to the state, according to the economic impact study released by the AAMC. "U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals are substantial economic engines in terms of jobs, state tax revenues, and economic growth," said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "While the recent recession has certainly challenged every sector of our financial system, AAMC-member institutions continue to be strong economic drivers for their communities, their states, and the nation.
 

Flying into Las Vegas, the airport tarmac was a crowded line-up of planes, but none of them was ready to take off. Dozens of small, sleek jets lined the airport grounds for the National Business Aviation Association's 64th Annual Meeting & Convention. Several business leaders from the Piedmont Triad attended the conference to have meetings with key companies – both those located here and potential newcomers.

The PTP’s own David Powell attended the conference with representatives from the triad region’s economic development community, and saw benefits for the region through meetings with industry players. “It was great to be at this event and to talk about the aviation industry’s success right here in the Triad,” said David. “Like the recent expansion of HondaJet, aerospace companies are looking to the Triad as an optimal location for all aspects of the business – from manufacturing to piloting and repairs.”

The event brought more than 26,000 people together in Las Vegas. A spike in international registration, which was up more than 23 percent over that for last year’s Convention, with nearly 4,000 representatives from 88 different countries present at NBAA2011.

The PTP NEXT Business Competition Review Committee has selected ten Piedmont Triad companies and one out-of-state company with plans to relocate to the region as semifinalists from a total applicant pool of 71 companies. These promising companies are competing for grant awards of up to $50,000. Key factors for judging the grant include scalable growth, innovative products, services, processes and/or technologies, and the impact of the grant on the company’s success.

“We were impressed with the caliber, diversity and geographical spread of these young, innovative companies in the Piedmont Triad,” remarked David Worth, PTP NEXT chairman. “We want to support a culture of innovation that will drive economic development. These entrepreneurs have the creativity and skill to solve problems using a wide variety of technologies – from medicine to manufacturing and everything in between.”

“The 11 companies moving to the final round reflect the culture of entrepreneurship we need to grow in the Triad,” said David Powell of the Piedmont Triad Partnership. “We want to provide promising companies like these with access to grants and support to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship in the Piedmont Triad.”

PTP NEXT semifinalists have provided in-depth proposals; a subset will be invited to present to a review team of investors, successful entrepreneurs, and industry experts on November 11, 2011. Grant awards will be announced by mid-December. 

Check out the news stories at the Business Journal and WFDD.
 

As reported in the W-S Journal: Gayle Anderson, president and chief executive of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, said the opening of the hub is important for the entire Triad, “It's really important as we position, not just Winston-Salem, but the whole Triad region as a logistics center or a logistics hub." she said. "Having that substantial of a presence with FedEx just adds to our credibility."

Bob Leak, the president of Winston-Salem Business Inc., said the region is a great place for companies with logistics and distribution needs, as FedEx Corp. has two major operations in the region. In addition, to the new sorting hub, the company has a $300 million cargo hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Learn more about why the Triad has been selected by such logistics leaders as FedEx, UPS, and the USPS.