4/18/08 P & S Machining and Fabrication Company broke ground on a new facility for their operation and to lease to other users. The company takes raw materials and machines and fabricates products to a customer’s specifications often detailed by a blueprint. Typical products include; shafts, heat sinks, mounting plates, brackets, electrical enclosures, meter housings and work fixtures. P&S Machining and Fabrication serves companies throughout the US, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The company currently employs approximately 30 people and intends to grow; investment in this project will reach the $3 million level at completion.

4/11/08 Aetna will add 300 jobs in High Point due to Bank of America switching all its health coverage to Aetna. Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies. The company currently employees 820 people in High Point. Aetna will lease additional space at its 4050 Piedmont Parkway facility to accommodate employment growth.

4/11/08 Home Meridian International, one of the nation’s Top 20 furniture suppliers, will add 40 jobs at its High Point facility. In 2007, the company located its corporate headquarters and state-of-the-art marketing and design centers in High Point. Home Meridian International was recently formed by the merger of Pulaski Furniture and Samuel Lawrence Furniture.

2/27/08 Bodet & Horst announced that it will expand in Mount Airy. Bodet & Horst will invest between $1.2 million and $1.8 million in machinery and equipment and hire 10 employees initially. Bodet & Horst produces knitted fire barriers for mattress manufacturers. The company utilizes computerized knitting machines and state-of-the-art robotics technology for production of their product. Bodet & Horst, a German company, opened a plant in High Point in 2004 which has grown to 65 employees.

2/26/08 O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. will open an East Coast distribution facility in Greensboro. O’Reilly will invest $41.7 million over three years and create 360 new jobs paying an average wage of $27,201 per year. The company, one of the top five auto parts retailers in the United States, will locate it’s facility in a 300,000 sq ft speculative building in eastern Guilford County adjacent to I-40/85.

2/4/08 Camco Manufacturing, Inc. is expanding its manufacturing operation in Reidsville. Camco manufactures RV accessories, hardware replacement parts, RV antifreeze and windshield washer fluid and has facilities in Indiana, Massachusetts, Oregon and Greensboro. The company has acquired an 88,000 square foot facility in Reidsville and will employ 20 people initially. Additionally, the company will invest over $2 million in machinery and equipment.

1/25/08 Bonset America will expand its facility in Browns Summit, investing $20 million and adding 18-20 new employees. The expansion will accommodate a new extrusion line, the largest of its kind in the world, and expected to increase annual capacity by 20 million pounds, allowing Bonset America to address the growing global demand for PETG heat shrinkable films. Bonset America Corporation is a subsidiary of C.I. Kasei Company, Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. The company is recognized as a world leader in the production of heat shrinkable films designed for use in full body shrink sleeve labels, bundle packaging and tamper evident applications.

1/23/08 Ken Garner Manufacturing has announced its plans to locate a manufacturing facility in Rural Hall. The Chattanooga, TN based company will create over 70 new jobs and invest over $2 million in facility upgrades and equipment over the next three years. Ken Garner Manufacturing Inc. is North America’s leading supplier of counterweights for medium sized hydraulic excavators and mobile cranes.

12/20/07 TransTech Pharma and spinoff company PharmaCore will expand in High Point investing more than $23 million and creating 205 jobs during the next five years. The expansion was made possible in part by a state Job Development Investment Grant. TransTech is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drug products. PharmaCore provides manufacturing and other chemistry services for pharmaceutical and biotech drug discovery programs. TransTech plans to add 155 workers over the next five years; PharmaCore plans to add 50 workers over the same time period. The average annual salary for the new jobs is expected to be $96,000 a year, not including benefits. That is more than double the Guilford County average of $36,712 a year.

11/30/07 Wentworth Furniture will relocate to High Point from Pompano Beach, FL. The company manufactures high-end cabinetry/ furniture and plans to hire approximately 30 employees during a six month period and transfer approximately 10 people from Florida to the new High Point facility.

11/2/07 The Piedmont Triad will be the site of North Carolina’s first Center of Innovation. A consortium of Piedmont Triad institutions has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the NC Biotechnology Center to plan and establish the center, focusing on the emerging field of nanobiotechnology. The grant was made possible through the cooperation of three Piedmont Triad universities: NC A&T State University; UNC-Greensboro, and Wake Forest University. The Piedmont Triad Partnership will administer the grant. When this effort is successfully completed it will be the North Carolina Center of Innovation in Nanobiotechnology (COIN). This center is a natural fit for the region; NCA&T and UNCG have established a $60 million two-campus collaboration focusing on nanotechnology. Wake Forest and at NCA&T have established major nanotechnology research activity. COIN will bring all the activity together and become the foundation, helping the whole state in the area of nanobiotechnology.

9/28/07 TigerTek Industrial Services will expand in Rockingham County, creating 40 jobs and investing $1 million during the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $12,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. TigerTek is a re-manufacturer of electric servo motors, pumps, gearboxes and components. The company also provides specialized machine shop and electro-mechanical repair services. The average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $811 plus benefits, which is more than the Rockingham County average weekly wage of $555 not including benefits.

9/28/07 RF Micro Devices, a Greensboro-based global leader in wireless technology, will add 300 jobs during the next four years and invest $103 million to expand its Guilford County campus. RF Micro Devices (RFMD) manufactures radio frequency integrated circuits for global wireless communications industries. The expansion will bring RF Micro Devices’ total Guilford County employment to more than 2,200 workers. The majority of the new jobs will be skilled manufacturing positions. The average for the jobs will be more than $42,000 a year not including benefits.

8/21/07 X-Spooler Inc. will relocate and expand its operation from Waynesville, North Carolina to Randolph County. X-Spooler engineers, designs, and manufactures specialty machinery and products for the electronic cable industry. The company will make an initial investment of $2,000,000 to purchase and equip the 26,000 square foot facility on 43 acres on US 64. An expansion of approximately 20,000 square feet is already in the planning stage. The company expects to create 25 jobs in its first year at the new location with up to 60 additional jobs within the next three to four years; five jobs will be relocated. They expect to begin limited operations this fall. Automated Plastics East, Inc., a key supplier to X-Spooler will occupy a portion of the facility. The company supplies customized plastic injection molded parts.

8/6/07 Unilin Flooring will expand production operations in Thomasville, investing $30 million. Unilin, which makes floor tile, announced in March 2004 that it would spend $80 million on its Thomasville operations and create 330 jobs over five years. This announcement surpasses that commitment. Unilin currently has more than 200 local employees and plans to add more than 50 over the next 12 months. This expansion will focus on increasing production capacity, adding new manufacturing technology and expanding the variety of laminate flooring products manufactured locally.

7/17/07 Honda Aero, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. Ltd., will establish its corporate headquarters and a state-of-the-art jet engine manufacturing plant at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport to produce engines of the new HondaJet. The company will create 70 jobs during the next five years and invest $27 million. Honda Aero will move to Burlington from Reston, Va. The new jobs will be mainly management and production positions, and while pay will vary by job function and skill, the average yearly wage for the new jobs will exceed $62,000, not including benefits. That is nearly double the Alamance County average of $31,300.

7/3/07 The U.S. Department of Commerce Foreign-Trade Zones Board has granted approval for the expansion of Foreign Trade Zone 230 (FTZ #230). FTZ #230 is a General Purpose Zone with sites in Alamance, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, and Surry Counties in a variety of industrial settings. New sites that comprise the Zone expansion are SouthPoint Industrial Park in Davie County; properties in Piedmont Centre, Piedmont Corporate Park, and Premier Center in Guilford County; and three distribution centers owned by TST Logistics in Alamance County. Other sites in the Zone include: Lexington Business Center (Davidson County); Piedmont Triad International Airport and Kivett Drive Industrial Park (Guilford County); Salem Business Park (Forsyth County); and Westwood Industrial Park and Piedmont Triad West Corporate Park (Surry County).

7/3/07 ZINK Imaging has completed the purchase of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility from Konica Minolta Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. ZINK Imaging plans to begin manufacturing its Zero-Ink paper at the North Carolina facility this year. They will also manufacture other digital imaging materials for OEM customers. The plant, located in Whitsett, North Carolina, is a coating and chemical mix facility originally built in 1989 for the production of a variety of imaging products. ZINK Imaging plans to hire the remaining employee base of approximately 60 individuals, including the senior management team. ZINK Imaging, a privately held company, was founded to enable millions of customers to enjoy the magic of ZINK zero-ink products. ZINK Imaging is headquartered in Massachusetts.

6/28/07 Procter & Gamble will invest $19 million to expand its facilities in Greensboro. The company plans to hire approximately 25 new employees and invest in new machinery and equipment over the next year. P&G is the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturer with several well known everyday products such as Pringles, Tide, Pampers, Crest, and Old Spice. P&G currently employs over 800 people in its production facilities in the Greensboro area.

6/28/07 High Point University has completed a study titled, “The Economic Impact of the Home Furnishings Industry in the Triad Region of North Carolina,” which was designed to act as a benchmark for future research and provide valuable input to corporate and governmental decisions. The study measured the economic impact in two ways: industry output and employment. Key findings included that the economic impact of the furniture cluster upon the Triad region is $8.25 billion in industry output with more than 69,000 jobs.

6/22/07 Lenovo, the world’s third-largest computer manufacturer, announced plans to build a $10.5 million facility at Rock Creek Center. The company will bring 47 new jobs to Guilford County, earning an average of $37,500. The third-party logistics company that will co-locate with Lenovo will bring an additional 85 new jobs. The facility will serve as a fulfillment center, supplying product configuration, distribution and light assembly to American customers.

6/22/07 General Tobacco will open a manufacturing facility in Rockingham County, creating 199 jobs and investing $50 million over the next three years. The company, headquartered in Miami, FL, makes cigarettes and tobacco products. General Tobacco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Vibo Corporation, will manufacture several nationally known brands in Mayodan including, GT One, Silver, 32°, and Vaquero Little Cigars. While wages will vary by job function, the average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $750 plus benefits, which is higher than the Rockingham County average weekly wage of $555 not including benefits. The company will open a manufacturing facility in Mayodan in the former Unifi building. General Tobacco The company received a $400,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.

6/22/07 Kay Chemical, an Ecolab Company, will be making a multi- million dollar investment to expand its Capital Drive facility to accommodate an industry changing product line. The company plans to hire approximately 25 new employees and invest in new machinery and equipment over the next year. Kay is a leading supplier of cleaning and sanitizing products used in the fast food and grocery store markets. Kay also operates Research & Development, Microbiology and Engineering laboratories for the evaluation and testing of new products.

6/21/07 The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) announced that it will add approximately 150 jobs at the Company's Customer Service Center in Winston-Salem, NC. The Customer Service Center is a centralized operation for PBG that houses two primary business units, Pepsi Business Services and Pepsi Direct. Pepsi Business Services is PBG's centralized finance function that delivers world class services to both customers and employees. Pepsi Direct is a centralized telephone sales department within the Pepsi Bottling Group that focuses on selling Pepsi products to customers within North America. The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages with operations in the U.S., Canada, Greece, Mexico, Russia, Spain, and Turkey.

6/15/07 Polo Ralph Lauren announced that it will construct a “Global Data Center” at its existing High Point facility. The data center will add more than $13.7 million to the city tax base. The expansion will include the construction of a 12,000-square foot building addition. This expansion in High Point is in addition to the under-construction distribution center of Polo.com, which will open later this year. The Polo Ralph Lauren facility in High Point is the company’s primary distribution facility, with 1.2 million square feet of space. The global data center will handle all of the corporation’s technical support and help desk activities around the world.

5/30/07 Home Meridian International, a Top 20 furniture supplier, announced that it has selected High Point for its new corporate headquarters. The new 20,000 square foot facility will office Home Meridian’s senior managers and staff and serve as a world class design, sourcing and marketing center for each of the company’s strategic marketing units. Home Meridian was formed last year with the merger of Pulaski Furniture and SLF (Samuel Lawrence Furniture). Approximately 18 executives and staff will transfer to the new High Point headquarters. The company will continue its operations in Phoenix, Arizona; Pulaski, Virginia; and Madison, North Carolina, where it has more than 1 million square feet of distribution space. In addition, the company has more than 90,000 square feet of showroom space in High Point and 25,000 square feet in Las Vegas. Home Meridian’s international locations include facilities in Dongguan, China, and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

5/16/07 KobeWieland Copper Products will expand its manufacturing facility in Stokes County, creating 65 jobs and investing $71 million during the next three years. KobeWieland Copper Products is an international supplier of copper pipe and tubing for the air conditioning and plumbing industries. The company currently employs 483 workers at its facility in Pine Hall. While wages will vary by job function, the average weekly wage of the new jobs is $857 plus benefits, which is more than the Stokes County average weekly wage of $456 not including benefits. The company received a $130,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.

5/15/07 Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation [NYSE: PVH] announced plans for a major expansion of its distribution center in Jonesville, North Carolina. The Company intends to build a new 175,000 sq. ft addition to their existing facility located at I-77 and NC 67 in Jonesville. The Yadkin County facility distributes apparel, footwear and related products under PVH’s portfolio of owned and licensed brands, including Calvin Klein, Van Heusen, IZOD, Bass, Geoffrey Beene, Chaps, and Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, to stores throughout the Southeast. As a part of this expansion, the company will create 50 new jobs in the facility. Currently, the Yadkin County facility employs 340 associates operating two shifts.

4/30/07 Arneg LLC, an Italian company that makes refrigeration cases for retail and commercial outlets, will open a manufacturing facility in Davidson County. The company will create 181 jobs and invest $20 million over five years. Arneg is the third largest case manufacturer in the world. This will be the company’s second production facility in the United States. The 181 new jobs will be a mix of production, sales, distribution, management, office support and engineering positions. Individual wages will vary with job responsibilities, but the average annual salary for all the jobs will be more than $31,000 a year plus benefits. That is more than the Davidson County average of $28,750 not including benefits.

4/26/07 Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI) announced that it will close its Dillon, South Carolina facility. The Company expects to close the facility by July 31, 2007 and move the entire production to Yadkinville, North Carolina. The Company estimates that it will add approximately 120 employees to its Yadkinville, North Carolina facility to accommodate the additional volume. Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI) is a diversified producer and processor of multi-filament polyester and nylon textured yarns and related raw materials. The Company adds value to the supply chain and enhances consumer demand for its products through the development and introduction of branded yarns that provide unique performance, comfort and aesthetic advantages. Unifi's yarns and brands are readily found in home furnishings, apparel, legwear, and sewing thread, as well as industrial, automotive, military, and medical applications.

3/5/07 Glass Dynamics, Inc. announced plans to expand its production capacity and construct a new office building in Rockingham County. The company, one of the nation’s leading commercial, residential and architectural glass fabricators, plans to create 100 new jobs and make a $4.9 million investment over the next five years. The new jobs will include supervisors, machine operators and truck drivers. The company will also be investing in new, hi-tech machinery and equipment that will enable it to keep up with the rising demand for architectural and safety glass. In addition to the new jobs and increased production, Glass Dynamics will also construct a new, glass office building.

3/1/07 Autumn Creek Vineyards in Mayodan is undergoing a major expansion that includes the construction of a tasting room and winery, eight-room inn, conference center and a second cabin for overnight lodging. In addition, Autumn Creek will launch seven varieties of wine under its own label this summer, including Merlot, Chambourcin, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Viognier, Rockingham County Niagara, and Muscadine. Currently Autumn Creek’s wines are made off-site by other wineries. The expansion will enable Autumn Creek to produce all wines from its future harvests on site in Rockingham County.

2/14/07 Nypro Carolina will expand its plastics manufacturing operations in Alamance County, creating 60 jobs and investing $6.5 million during the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $150,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. Nypro Carolina, a division of Nypro Inc., is a supplier of plastics components for the consumer electronics, healthcare, packaging and automotive industries. The company currently employs 44 people at its facility in Graham and about 300 statewide. The company will relocate to a larger facility in Mebane, transferring existing workers and creating 60 new jobs. While wages will vary by job function, the average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $552 plus benefits.

2/12/07 C.P. Morgan, a residential land development and homebuilding company, has chosen the Piedmont Triad for its newest expansion market. Plans call for the company to build homes in three communities in the Piedmont Triad region: Salem Springs in Winston Salem, Corinth Village in Greensboro and Bitting Hall in Rural Hall. Floor plans for the communities will range from 1,200 to 4,500 square feet with base prices from $110,000 to $180,000. The company currently maintains operations in Charlotte as well as Indianapolis and Lafayette, IN, and, in 2006, received the National Housing Quality Silver Award for excellence in homebuilding. C.P. Morgan’s Piedmont Triad presence will include office headquarters and a 9,000 square foot New Home Showroom in Kernersville.

2/9/07 Honda Aircraft Company Inc., a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., will establish its world headquarters at the Piedmont Triad International airport. The company has also announced plans to build a manufacturing facility at the airport where it will produce its advanced, lightweight private business jet, HondaJet. The company’s headquarters facility, hangar and manufacturing plant will employ more than 300 engineering, sales and marketing, manufacturing and support personnel by the time the manufacturing plant reaches full capacity. The company will invest up to $100 million. The cities of Greensboro and High Point, along with the Winston-Salem Alliance and Guilford County, jointly supported the project which was awarded a Job Development Investment Grant from the state of North Carolina. The average wage of the new jobs created is $70,000.

12/7/06 E. Greene & Company has located its printing and manufacturing operations and headquarters in High Point. The company will initially hire10 employees. E. Greene & Company manufactures specialized items predominantly for the banking industry. The company is the country's largest manufacturer and supplier of vault key and bank security envelopes. E. Greene & Company operated in Fairfield, NJ prior to moving to High Point.

12/6/06 Brisco Apparel Company has purchased the former Ramseur Interlock Knitting facility located in Ramseur, North Carolina. Brisco Apparel will relocate and expand its operation from Brooklyn, New York to the Randolph County site. The company plans to create eighty jobs in its first year in the new location with up to two hundred jobs within five years. Approximately twenty current employees are expected to relocate to North Carolina. Brisco Apparel Company manufactures basic unprinted active wear and specializes in printed tees and fleece wear as well as other screen-printed products. The company performs embellishments, embroidery, screen-printing and heat transfers for just in time fulfillment to retail customers.

11/30/06 Malt-O-Meal Company, a Minnesota based cereal manufacturer, will open a manufacturing facility in Asheboro. The company will create 164 jobs over the next six years and invest $104 million. Malt-O-Meal plans to move into the building being vacated by Unilever Best Foods. Unilever made dried food products there until it closed in August, laying off 150 workers. More than 25 million families a year eat Malt-O-Meal cereals. The company also makes private-label cereals for supermarket chains. The new jobs, which will be mainly production positions, will pay an average yearly salary of $36,000.

11/16/06 Austin Foam Plastics, Inc. (AFP) will expand, utilizing an 84,119-square-foot facility in Union Cross Business Park as its Triad manufacturing hub to serve Dell and other North Carolina clients. The company outgrew its previous 50,000-square-foot location and has added 70 new jobs bringing their local employment total to over 100 permanent and temporary employees. AFP has been in business over 28 years and has become an industry leader in innovative packaging design and customer service for the corrugated box and cushion packaging needs of manufacturers. The company has received multiple industry awards for its outstanding service.

10/26/06 Ralph Lauren Media LLC will invest $11.8 million in the opening of a fulfillment and distribution center that will bring 200 new jobs. The new High Point facility will manage all Polo.com operations including fulfilling customer orders, altering and embroidering products and providing customer support. The facility is expected to open in the summer of 2007. The new jobs will include management, technology support and call center operators. The average yearly salary for the positions will be $33,695, plus benefits. Ralph Lauren Media is a 30-year partnership between the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, the National Broadcasting Company and ValueVision Media Inc., created to market the Ralph Lauren brand. Ralph Lauren Media's first initiative was the development and launch of Polo.com, the online store for Polo Ralph Lauren, in November 2000.

10/18/06 Exhibit Works Inc., a leader in large-scale displays and exhibits, will open a manufacturing facility in the Forsyth County, creating 100 jobs and investing $9.1 million over the next five years. The company received a $66,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. While wages will vary by job function, the average annual wage of the new jobs will be $38,428 plus benefits, which is more than the Forsyth County average of $27,600 not including benefits. Exhibit Works, headquartered in Livonia, MI, plans to build a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing center at Union Cross Business Park in Winston-Salem. The location will serve as Exhibit Works’ east coast production center. The company also has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and Shanghai. Founded in 1979, Exhibit Works designs and produces exhibits for Ford Motor Company, Porsche and other automakers. It also designs museum exhibits and other 3D tradeshow displays.

10/12/06 Carolina Precision Plastics will expand its North Carolina operations, creating 150 jobs and investing $4.5 million during the next three years. The company received a $150,000 One North Carolina Fund grant from the state of North Carolina. Carolina Precision Plastics specializes in injection molded plastics for the consumer products, cosmetics, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Headquartered in Randolph County, the company will create 150 jobs, with 65 of the new hires likely being laid-off Core Systems workers. Carolina Precision Plastics will operate from the former Core Systems building in Greensboro. While wages will vary by job function, the average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $736 plus benefits, which is more than the Guilford County average weekly wage of $659 not including benefits.

9/21/06 Global Textile Alliance Inc. will open a technology-driven textile mill to make mattress ticking in Reidsville. The company will receive a $100,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund and will create 48 jobs over the next three years and invest $12.3 million in Rockingham County. Global Textile Alliance’s primary focus is to identify innovative textile mills to produce and then market fabrics under the GTA brand. The company had been producing mattress ticking in Indonesia and China, but decided to move the operation to the United States to eliminate duties, tariffs and fabric quotas while taking advantage of North Carolina’s qualified workforce. Global Textile Alliance, headquartered in Colfax, currently employs 52 workers in the state. The 48 new positions will be mainly manufacturing jobs with an average wage of $580 a week not including benefits. That is greater than the Rockingham County average of $547 excluding benefits.

9/19/06 Continental Components, an Oregon-based company that makes hardwood moldings for use in commercial and residential construction, will open a plant in Alamance County creating 34 jobs and investing $5.2 million over the next three years. The company received a $35,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Continental Components uses high-speed manufacturing equipment and techniques to make high-end hardwood moldings for furniture, cabinets, flooring, millwork and other specialty markets. The new jobs will be mainly machine operators and other production workers, and will pay an average weekly wage of $670 plus benefits.

9/14/06 U.S. Xpress, one of the nation’s largest trucking companies, will locate a facility in Lexington, NC. The company will invest a minimum of $4,500,000 in the facility. U.S. Xpress anticipates add jobs 45 to 65 jobs to include dispatch and other support positions as well as truck maintenance personnel. In addition, U.S. Xpress will actively recruit drivers from the region; the company sees the potential to hire 300-400 drivers for its fleet. U.S. Xpress has earned a reputation as a leader in the transportation industry, providing award-winning service to its customers and innovations with the use of technology, that have set new standards of excellence for trucking. With a fleet of 7,000 trucks and 20,000 trailers, U.S. Xpress is the fifth-largest publicly-traded truckload carrier in the country, with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion since 2004.

8/17/06 Future Foam North Carolina will expand its foam manufacturing facility in High Point. With the expansion, the company will make a $3.8 million capital investment to build a 24,000-square foot addition to the existing 336,000-square foot facility and add new equipment; while creating 12 new jobs, adding to its current workforce of 105. Future Foam, Inc., was founded in 1956 and began producing foam in 1958 for the furniture industry in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The High Point facility became the company’s fifth pouring plant in 1998. In High Point, raw materials are converted into flexible polyurethane foam for use in furniture cushions, mattresses, and other applications for home and industry.

8/9/06 High Performance Coatings, a Utah-based company that uses nanotechnology to produce coatings for a variety of industries, will open a facility in Whitsett in Guilford County. The company expects to create 214 jobs and invest $3.5 million during the next three years. High Performance Coatings is a wholly owned subsidiary of nCoat Inc., a nanotechnology development, and licensing and distribution company. It uses the technology to make surface treatment materials for the aerospace, medical, automotive and diesel truck industries. Company officials said one reason they chose North Carolina as the location for the new 55,000-square-foot facility is the large demand for High Performance Coatings' products in the motorsports industry, where heat, friction and corrosion resistance can improve engine performance and speed.

8/8/06 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, named Honda Aircraft Company, which will be responsible for the further development, sales promotion and production of the innovative HondaJet. The new company will be based in a facility at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the prototype HondaJet was assembled and flight tests have been carried out for more than 3 years. The company will begin taking sales orders for HondaJet this fall, with the goal of delivering the first mass production HondaJet in 2010.

7/10/06 Amarr Company, a maker of garage doors, will open a plant in Davie County, creating 143 new jobs and investing $10.5 million over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $75,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. Amarr, plans to open a metalworking and assembly plant in Mocksville with production scheduled to start in January. With sales in excess of $300 million, Amarr is the third largest manufacturer of residential garage doors in the United States. The company employs more than 1,200 workers at more than 60 locations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Hungary, including 124 employees in North Carolina at its Winston-Salem headquarters. The expected average weekly wage of the new Mocksville jobs is $602 plus benefits, which is higher than the Davie County average weekly wage of $496 excluding benefits.

6/28/06 Legacy Paddlesports will open a facility in Guilford County, creating 244 new jobs and investing $2 million over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $100,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. Legacy Paddlesports will relocate the recently acquired Bristol, Rhode Island-based kayak company, Heritage Kayaks, to a plant near Jamestown. The company will manufacture plastic and high-end composite kayaks and canoes at the new facility. The expected average weekly wage of the new jobs is $729 plus benefits, which is higher than the Guilford County average weekly wage of $659, not including benefits.

6/27/06 TriQuint Semiconductor will open a design/research and development center in High Point. The company will invest approximately $1.8 million, over a four-year period and hire 25 employees with the average wage being in the $85,000-100,000 range. TriQuint was founded in 1985 and supplies components for the military and for communications companies. Its markets include wireless handsets, base stations, and broadband communications products. The company is headquartered in Oregon, and it currently has operations throughout the country and world.

6/12/06 Innofa USA will expand its operations in Rockingham County, creating 50 new jobs and investing $10.5 million over the next three years. The company received a $170,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Innofa manufactures circular knitted products for the mattress and furniture ticking, medical supply and auto seat industries. The company currently has 24 employees in North Carolina. The expected average weekly wage of the new jobs is $650, not including benefits, which is higher than the Rockingham County average weekly wage of $547, not including benefits.

5/25/06 Enbasa USA will open a manufacturing plant in Caswell County, creating 24 new jobs and investing $2 million over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $50,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. Enbasa USA will manufacture high-quality mattress ticking at a plant in Matkins, with anticipated production to begin in June 2006. The company is the U.S. subsidiary of Spanish-owned Enbasa Laval. The expected average weekly wage of the new jobs is $534 plus benefits, which is higher than the Caswell County average weekly wage of $421, not including benefits.

5/19/06 Russell Turner, a retail licensee of Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., will open a 60,000-square-foot distribution center in Piedmont Centre in north High Point. The distribution center will support retail fur¬niture stores planned throughout the Piedmont and southern Virginia, it is expected that one store, to open in mid-August in Greensboro, will employ about 50 workers. The company initially will hire 50 workers at the distribution center, and employment could increase as business expands. The company will initially invest more than $1 million. A second phase would add another 30,000 square feet to the distribution center as retail sales volume increases.

5/9/06 Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (USA) Inc. will open a plant in Rockingham County, creating 95 new jobs and investing $13.5 million over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $200,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. Bridgestone Aircraft Tire will move operations to Rockingham County from its current Miami, Florida facility. The company will manufacture tires for commercial jets at a new 160,000-square-foot building in Mayodan. The anticipated average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $680 plus benefits, which is more than the Rockingham County average weekly wage of $547, not including benefits.

3/6/06 RFMD (formerly known as RF Micro Devices), a Greensboro-based global leader in wireless technology, will add 300 jobs during the next three years and invest $80 million to expand its facility. The 300 new jobs will be highly-skilled manufacturing positions that will pay an average salary of $52,290 plus benefits. Construction on the expansion of the facility is scheduled to start in June 2006 with new expanded operations beginning in the fall of 2006. RFMD received a Job Development Incentive Grant (JDIG) equivalent to 70 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs; for a maximum value of $4.9 million.

3/6/06 Linwood Furniture, Inc., a partnership of Kepley-Frank Hardwood and renowned artist Bob Timberlake, announced the opening of a manufacturing facility. Linwood Furniture, Inc. will produce The World of Bob Timberlake furniture collection for Lexington Home Brands. Linwood Furniture, Inc. will add 200 jobs and invest $4,100,000 in the manufacturing facility, machinery and equipment.

2/1/06 Highwoods Properties, Inc. announced that Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company has signed a ten-year lease for 183,157 square feet at Enterprise Park. Carson-Dellosa makes books and other materials for K-12 education and has a 20 year history in the Piedmont Triad. The company will use the site as a distribution center and eventually as a headquarters. Carson-Dellosa currently employs about 135 in the Triad and expects to add another 20 to 30 people over the next two to three years.

1/30/06 Kobe Wieland Copper Products LLC, has added about 40 jobs and plans to hire more employees. The company, that currently employs about 520 in Stokes County, makes copper pipes for a variety of items, including air conditioning and refrigeration units. This expansion is being driven by increased marketshare in recent years and new federal regulations that call for more energy-efficient air conditioners.

12/29/05 Wilderness N.C. Inc., a lumber products company, has announced it will locate a lumber drying facility in the Piedmont Triad. The company will invest $2.5 million in the plant and expects to employ 15 people when it opens in January 2006. The availability of skilled workers with experience in woodworking as well as the equipment already in place in the facility influenced the decision. Wilderness N.C., Inc. plans to expand the operations at this facility to include manufacturing value added lumber products; the expansion plans include an additional 40 to 60 jobs. Wilderness N.C. Inc is part of the Turman Group, based in southwest Virginia.

12/5/05 Hubbell Industrial Controls, a leading manufacturer of industrial and logistics controls and sensors, will expand its facility in Archdale, creating 150 new jobs and $4.5 million in investment during the next three years. Hubbell Industrial Controls manufacturers a wide range of electrical components for industrial applications. Hubbell Industrial Controls first began operations in Randolph County in 1994. The company will begin the expansion in 2005 and expects to be operational by spring 2006.

11/22/05 Royal Park Uniforms, Inc. of Prospect Hill, NC has entered a partnership with Reebok to unveil a new collection of Reebok branded youth, high school, college and adult team uniforms. Royal Park will manufacture the uniform line, including uniforms for football, baseball, softball, basketball and several other sports. Royal Park Uniforms, Inc., was founded in 1973 as a children’s and women’s clothing manufacturer and is one of the nation’s leaders in school uniforms, well respected for their product quality, quick response and high level of customer service.

11/16/05 Intertractor America Corp. will locate a facility in Winston-Salem to manufacture and distribute undercarriages for excavation machines produced by Deere-Hitachi in Kernersville. Intertractor, a part of the Italy-based Passini Group, will hire approximately 25 workers and invest over $300,000 in equipment and building upfit.

11/15/05 New Breed, a distribution services and supply chain management company, acquired the building and property located at 4043 Piedmont Parkway in north High Point for its new national headquarters. The acquisition of this property brings New Breed's owned and leased Triad presence to approximately 300,000 sq ft. Globally, New Breed occupies more than 40 facilities totaling 5 million square feet. New Breed’s clients include Boeing, Siemens and Verizon Wireless.

11/11/05 Liberty Property Trust announced that it will break ground on Eagle Hill IV, a warehouse building that will be ready for occupancy in April 2006. The building is a state-of-the-art design, featuring a 30' clear ceiling height, ESFR Sprinkler system, 50’ x 50’ bay spacing and a building depth of 250 feet. The building will be constructed of tilt-up concrete panel and finished in two-toned neutral colors with distinctive black awnings. It will offer the flexibility of being sub-divided to a minimum of 25,000 square feet of space up to a maximum of 150,000 square feet of space. The building will be situated near the 16-acre Davis Lake and offer exceptional views.

11/11/05 HT Staffing, a Texas based staffing company, has been selected to provide contingent labor services to APL Logistics in Winston-Salem. APL Logistics anticipates hiring up to 50 full-time employees and nearly 100 seasonal and temporary workers in North Carolina during the coming three years. HT Staffing has opened a full-service staffing branch in Greensboro. They will service APL Logistics from that branch in addition to other clients in the area.

11/4/05 Timken Company, a leading producer of highly engineered ball bearings and specialty steel products, will expand its Timken Asheboro Plant in Randleman, creating 50 new jobs and investing $27 million over the next three years. The company, which produces ball bearings for industrial, automotive, aerospace and rail applications, as well as specialty steel products, will receive a $100,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.

11/3/05 North Carolina has been named the state with the "Top Business Climate" by Site Selection magazine. North Carolina has held the No. 1 ranking for four out of the last five years. Site Selection, one of the nation’s premier magazines for economic development, credited the state for providing needed incentives to lure top quality jobs to North Carolina. The magazine’s "Top Business Climate" rankings are based on two factors: Fifty percent comes from a survey of corporate site selection executives, with the other 50 percent based on four different measures of new plant activity as tracked by Site Selection in its New Plant database.

11/1/05 Dell has selected EGL Eagle Global Logistics to manage the supplier logistics center and fleet services at its new manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, N.C. EGL will occupy 175,000 square feet of warehouse space inside Dell’s largest manufacturing facility and will support Dell’s material supply-to-order model, overseeing inventory of internal components used in the computer assembly process. EGL has placed 20 employees in its Piedmont Triad operation and anticipates at least 30 by the end of 2006. Positions include logistics center supervisors, customer service account managers, information-technology support technicians, drivers, dispatchers, clerks and material handlers.

10/28/05 Flint Hill Vineyards celebrated its Grand Opening with tastings of their first four wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Viognier, as well as a semi sweet white wine called “Olde Yattken”. Flint Hill’s wines are already award winning; both at the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Wine Competition and the 2005 North Carolina State Fair. The wines join the past awards won by Flint Hill Vineyards for their vineyard and their grape growing practices.

10/12/05 StarPet, makers of polymer resins used in food and beverage packaging, announced that it will expand its only U.S. facility in Asheboro, creating 40 new jobs and investing $44 million. The Asheboro facility manufactures polymer resins used in beverage containers such as soda cans, water and juice bottles. The average weekly wage for the new jobs is $765 plus benefits, which is higher the average wage in Randolph County. The company has received a $75,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. StarPet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indorama Polymers PLC is based in Thailand.

10/11/05 Hayward Pool Products, manufacturer of swimming pool equipment, will create 75 new jobs and invest $10 million. The announcement was made possible in part by a $100,000 One North Carolina Fund grant. A market leader in the pool industry, Hayward Pool Products manufacturers pumps, filters, heaters, automatic pool cleaners, controls, colored lights, values, accessories and other general pool and spa equipment. The Clemmons plant, which serves as the company’s East Coast distribution center, currently employs about 700 workers. The 75 new jobs will be primarily skilled manufacturing positions. The expected average weekly wage of the new jobs will be $990.

9/27/05 Weil-McLain, a unit of SPX Corporation, celebrates the Grand Opening of its new manufacturing plant and customer training facility in Eden. The company also announces that it will expand the Eden operation and expects to create approximately 35 additional jobs with the addition of a sheet metal fabrication operation. Weil-McLain, leading supplier of residential and commercial boilers and related components for hydronic heating systems, currently employs 114 full-time employees and over 100 seasonal workers at its Eden plant.

9/26/05 Pennsylvania House Furniture Company has opened a 270,000 sq ft distribution center in Lexington and will hire 20 to 30 people. Positions include material handlers, forklift operators, shipping and receiving clerks and furniture repair workers. The company anticipates expanding the distribution center to 350,000 square feet as well as developing an outlet center near the facility.

9/16/05 Poli-Twine Inc., a Canadian rope and twine manufacturer, will open a factory in Pilot Mountain, creating 80 new jobs and investing $8 million. The company will receive a $200,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Poli-Twine is a leading manufacturer of synthetic rope and twine products for the agricultural and industrial markets. The company will operate an 188,000-square-foot factory on the site of the former Wellington Leisure Products plant. The company plans to to be operational by February 2006. The average salary for the manufacturing positions will be $510 a week plus benefits, which is greater than Surry County’s average wage.

8/16/05 Officials in Lexington and Davidson County hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Shoppes at Vineyards Crossing and the Hotel at the Vineyards located at Childress Vineyards. Greg Johns, developer and Childress Vineyards partner believes that The Shoppes at Vineyards Crossing will add a $16.5 million dollar investment while the Hotel is anticipated to add a $4.2 million dollar investment. Over 200 jobs are expected to be. The Shoppes at Vineyards Crossing will be a mixture of up scale retail entities including specialty gift shops, massage therapy and wellness center as well as art galleries and antique stores and restaurants. Leases are already signed for many of the spaces. Schedule of construction for the Hotel will be announced at the groundbreaking. The Shoppes are expected to be built and open for business in the spring of 2006.

8/29/05 Canadian-based Imaflex Inc. will open its first U.S. plastics manufacturing facility in Thomasville, investing $10 million and creating 50 new jobs over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a One North Carolina Fund grant of $125,000. Imaflex uses an extrusion process to make polyethylene films for packaging materials. The company utilizes computerized work stations and sophisticated, high-tech equipment to produce a top-quality product. The new jobs will be skilled manufacturing positions that pay higher than the county’s average wage.

8/25/05 Dell has selected World Wide Technology (WWT) for supply-chain management of components used in computer systems manufactured at Dell’s new Piedmont Triad facility. The company will lease 34,000 square feet of warehouse space in the Deep River West I Building on Pegg Road in High Point, N.C. and plans to initially hire 20 employees by early September 2005. World Wide Technology, a Dell Diversity Supplier and the largest African-American owned company in the United States, is a leading provider of technology and supply-chain solutions to customers and suppliers around the world.

8/15/05 Leggett & Platt announces the recent expansion at their Linwood plant. The company has been expanding its manufacturing production over the past several months. Approximately 100 additional employees will be added to reach full staffing at the Linwood Branch. Leggett & Platt is a Fortune 500 diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in virtually every home, office, retail store, and automobile. The Linwood branch makes a variety of bedding products including bed frames, bed rails, rollaway beds, pop up units and pedestal bed bases which are used in motels.

8/11/05 Austin Foam Plastics, Inc. has decided to lease a 55,190-square-foot facility at 5190 Indiana Ave in Winston-Salem as its Triad manufacturing hub as it serves Dell and several other North Carolina clients. AFP will hire approximately 30 permanent and temporary workers and will invest over $3 million in facility improvements and equipment. AFP has been in business over 28 years and has become an industry leader in innovative packaging design and customer service for the corrugated box and cushion packaging needs of manufacturers. The company has received multiple industry awards for its outstanding service.

8/5/05 Border Concepts, Inc. (BCI) has purchased the Energy United Shell Building located on 22 acres in the Lexington Business Center in Lexington, NC. The addition of the 101,000 sq ft facility will enable BCI to expand its manufacturing and warehousing capacity to over 200,000 sq ft. BCI purchased the facility in response to its recent acquisition of The International Pottery Alliance (IPA). BCI will invest a total in excess of $3 million. BCI anticipates hiring at least 12 new employees over the next eighteen months. BCI recently celebrated its 15th anniversary by introducing Holiday Concepts™ and a line of Tracking Trailer / Farm Wagons. BCI has built its reputation on quality products and impeccable services. BCI is proud to serve the country as “The Green Industry’s Manufacturer”.

8/4/05 APL Logistics announced that it will lease a 315,000-square-foot facility at Union Cross Business Park to operate a Supplier Logistics Center (SLC) for Dell Inc. APL Logistics, a provider of international, end-to-end logistics services, will occupy the building as of September 2005. The SLC operation will warehouse and manage computer peripherals such as monitors, speakers and computer chassis from 50 different suppliers. APL Logistics will initially occupy 75,000 square feet of the facility and plans to ramp up to full capacity within a year. APL Logistics will hire up to 50 full time employees over the course of the next three years. Additional labor of up to 100 seasonal and temporary staff is also anticipated.

7/29/05 Governor Mike Easley has signed into law House Bill 1004, "An Act to Extend the William S. Lee Quality Jobs and Business Expansion Act and the Job Development Investment Grant Program." This legislation will extend both programs through the end of 2007. Since 2003, JDIG has been responsible for more than $1.9 billion in investment and 10,000 jobs to North Carolina. Since 1996, the Lee Act has helped businesses at more than 2,000 North Carolina sites create over 130,000 new jobs, train more than 35,000 workers, and add more than $20 billion in investment. House Bill 1004 becomes effective immediately.

7/28/05 CK Technologies LLC, a manufacturer of plastic components for buses and medium to heavy-duty trucks, will create 50 new jobs and invest $19 million, locating its second production facility in Mount Airy. CK Technologies received $150,000 from the One North Carolina Fund. CK Technologies uses large injection molding machines to produce a wide range of finished and assembled parts for such major North Carolina customers as Volvo and Freightliner. The 50 new jobs will be primarily skilled manufacturing position with an average weekly wage of $540 plus benefits.

7/21/05 Alcan Inc., will open a tobacco packaging facility in the Reidsville Industrial Park, creating 170 jobs and investing $42.6 million in the state over the next three years. North Carolina will house the company’s third U.S. facility. The 170 new jobs will be highly skilled production positions and while individual pay will vary, the average weekly wage will be more than $700 a week plus benefits. The average wage for the county is $522 per week excluding benefits. The announcement was made possible in part by a $500,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

7/13/05 Dell Inc. awarded a contract for the development of its conveyor system for its Piedmont Triad plant to Ermanco Inc. The three-month project that begins this month is expected to create 110 temporary jobs and between 10 and 12 permanent engineering and technical-support positions in the Triad. Ermanco will work with subcontractors Brandt & Hill and Emit Inc. to engineer, furnish and install a fully automated production line system. Brandt & Hill is expected to employ 45 to 50 temporary workers and create between four and eight permanent positions at its new office in Winston-Salem. Emit Inc. is expected to create 60 temporary jobs and 6 full-time engineering jobs at its new Greensboro facility.

7/11/05 Kayser-Roth, will invest $7 million and create 180 manufacturing jobs, expanding its operations in Alamance County. The new jobs will pay an average salary of $710 per week, including benefits. The company has received a $200,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, and a local incentives package. Kayser-Roth manufactures and distributes branded, licensed and private-label legwear and is headquartered in Greensboro. Its brands include No Nonsense, Timberland, Calvin Klein and Prima Sport.

6/10/05 American Express Co. will extend its reach in the Triad and open a new call center in north High Point by mid-September, creating 300 jobs by December 2006. The positions will involve customer service through assisting business travel customers. American Express, which already has a credit card service operation in Greensboro near Piedmont Triad International Airport, will open a 30,000-square-foot travel-related service call center in the Aetna building in Mendenhall Business Park.

5/16/05 The Rockingham County/Shiloh Airport Authority celebrated the completion of the first phase of major improvements for the local airport. In addition to the beautiful new terminal building, other completed improvements include a new weather reporting station, a new corporate hangar, a rehabilitated ramp, upgraded runway lighting, a repaired runway, a self-service aviation fuel pump, and 16 enclosed “T” hangars. Future improvements planned for Shiloh Airport include the construction of additional “T” hangars to house general aviation aircraft, construction of corporate hangars, a taxiway to the runway, expanding the runway to 5500 feet, and installing an instrument landing system.

4/28/05 Citi Cards celebrated their ribbon cutting with Greensboro and Guilford County elected officials and community leaders at their new facility at the Carolina Corporate Center. Citi Cards became part of the community through its acquisition of the Sears Credit Card services in November 2003, and employed approximately 700 workers at its facility near Piedmont Triad International Airport. After the company’s expansion to eastern Guilford County in March 2004, Citi Cards hired an additional 600 employees and plans to add another 300 workers at the new facility.

4/21/05 Sunrise Medical HHG, Inc. will be the first tenant to move into the Eagle Hill Three industrial building located in Eagle Hill Business Park in High Point. The company, which is one of the largest manufacturers of homecare and extended care products in over 90 countries worldwide, will use the building for office space and for its distribution and warehouse facilities. Sunrise Medical’s Corporate Office is located in Longmont, CO. Approximately 7 employees will work in the new High Point location.

3/21/05 Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. will create 150 new jobs and $10 million in new capital investment at the company’s corporate headquarters in Greensboro which already employs 1,500 workers. Volvo received $400,000 from the state’s One North Carolina Fund. The company also obtained grants from the City of Greensboro and Guilford County. The 150 new jobs will pay an average salary of $60,000 per year plus benefits, the hiring process will continue through the end of 2006.

3/14/05 Avgol America Inc., an Israeli manufacturer of non-woven textiles, will expand its manufacturing facility, adding 40 jobs during the next three years and investing $27 million into the area. The company will receive a $100,000 grant from the One North Carolina fund. The 40 new manufacturing employees will receive an average salary of $560 per week plus benefits. With the addition of the new jobs, the total workforce at the Mocksville facility will be 140. Avgol America Inc. makes lightweight, non-woven materials for use in items such as disposable diapers and crop protection covers.

3/7/05 Service Logistics Inc has selected Stoneville for its new third party logistics operation. Service Logistics plans to hire 30 people by the end of 2005. The company will make a a$250,000 investment in Rockingham County through building improvements. The company provides logistics services to customers all over the world. Services include distribution, supplier integration, warehousing, contract packaging and package design.

3/3/05 Gerard's Bakery announced that it will invest $7.5 million to and create 108 jobs over the next three years in Surry County. The company will be the first n the new Piedmont Triad West Corporate Park in Mount Airy. The company bakes products for use by wholesalers, restaurants and franchises such as Quizno's Subs, Red Lobster and grocery chains. The company has other facilities in Colorado and California and chose North Carolina for their third plant to better serve the east coast market.

2/23/05 Dell celebrated the groundbreaking of its Piedmont Triad manufacturing facility on a 189-acre site in the Alliance Science and Technology Park. The groundbreaking ceremony involved local and state partners who assisted Dell with the Piedmont Triad site. Dell representatives joined North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Jim Fain and Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines at the ceremony that over 200 Piedmont Triad and North Carolina citizens attended. The 527,000-square-foot facility that will be Dell’s largest in the United States is scheduled to open this fall and employ 1,500 people within five years. The Piedmont Triad facility will produce two of Dell's market-leading desktop computers, and adds to Dell's U.S. manufacturing presence in Tennessee and Texas.

2/10/05 Ameri-Kart/Southern Division (www.amerikart.com), formerly Diakon Molding, announces plans to expand in Reidsville. The company will add 70 new jobs, primarily molding operators and management positions and make a $2 million investment in equipment over the next three years. Ameri-Kart, a national plastics molding company based in Bristol Indiana, is a comprehensive manufacturer of custom and proprietary products. Reidsville’s plant manufactures a line of carts for residential and commercial waste hauling and custom products for the automotive, consumer, and lawn and garden industries. The company also plans to develop a custom molding business in Reidsville.

2/8/05 Kao Specialties Americas LLC celebrates the start up of their recently completed $13 million expansion of their polyester resin manufacturing plant at its headquarters in High Point, North Carolina. The new19,000 square foot facility will produce polyester toner binder resins, which are formulated into toner for use in copiers, printers, and fax machines. KSA is a leading USA supplier of specialty chemicals for the reprographics, personal care, concrete additives, petrochemical, food/fermentation, and plastics markets. Kao Specialties Americas LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kao Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

1/28/05 Comair Inc. has announced that it has chosen Greensboro, for its Southeastern Maintenance Facility location. Comair is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. Comair will create 53 new jobs in Greensboro in 2005 and approximately $2.8 million investment in real property. The new facility will serve as a maintenance base for Comair regional jets. Comair and Delta combine for 34 daily flights, making Delta the largest commercial carrier at PTIA.

1/14/05 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. announced that it has selected a facility in Winston-Salem to establish a new corporate data center. Lowe’s projects the three-story 86,000 square foot building in the Madison Park office complex will have 20-25 employees. The company plans to invest $100 million in equipment and facility renovations over the next ten years. The new data center will be a hub for the company’s computer processing and information technology operations. Lowe’s, headquartered in North Carolina, is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world.

1/13/05 Transportation Systems Solutions (TSS), LLC, will begin manufacturing operations in High Point in February 2005.TSS will hire approximately 90 people over a three-year period and will invest $1.65 million in equipment and building renovations. The company will produce the CoreToughTM family of composite transportation panels, which are made of a recyclable honeycomb structure plastic that is highly resistant to damage. Their panels are both lighter and will last longer than plywood based or steel and aluminum based transportation panels.

1/12/05 Neuhofer Holz announced that it has chosen Greensboro for its first ever United States location. The 350-year-old Austria based company manufactures and supplies mouldings systems for the Flooring, Kitchen Cabinet, and Furniture markets. Neuhofer Holz will begin operations in January 2005 with 5-10 employees and plans to expand to 15-20 employees in the manufacturing sector. Neuhofer Holz supplies products to over 65 countries.

12/22/04 Dell Inc. , a leading manufacturer and distributor of computers and related products, plans to build and equip a state-of-the-art, 400,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in the Piedmont Triad, investing $100 million during the next five years. The project is expected to generate approximately 1,500 jobs at the plant within five years. Dell has chosen the Alliance Science and Technology Park in Winston-Salem as the site for the Piedmont Triad facility that will produce desktop computers for Dell's East Coast business and consumer customers.

12/14/04 RF Micro Devices , the Greensboro-based microchip manufacturer is undergoing a $75 million expansion of its wafer-fab facility. The expansion will also create 75 new jobs. The announcement marks a major expansion for RF Micro Devices, founded in 1991 is a global supplier of radio frequency components for the world’s leading wireless providers.

10/13/04 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will occupy the former Burlington Industries building in Stokesdale. Lowe’s, the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer, will utilize the 480,000-square-foot building as a distribution center for imported product and a collection and holding center for inbound freight. The project will create 70-100 new jobs and $5-6 million in new capital investment for Guilford County. The facility will consolidate imported merchandise such as lighting and lawn and garden fixtures, and distribute the products to Lowe’s Regional Distribution Centers across the U.S.

9/27/2004 Southern Film Extruders, one of the leading producers of high quality polyethylene film for the packaging industry, will be creating up to 50 new jobs and adding $1.8 million to High Point's tax base. The news comes on the heels of the company adding 25 jobs and investing $6 million over the past year. The company will have approximately 150 workers at its High Point operations once the just-announced jobs are added. The company's films are used in a broad range of manufacturing and packaging applications -- including plastic bags, shrink films, laminations, release sheets, masking films, and skin packaging. Southern Film Extruders services the automotive, food, industrial, and medical industries.

9/8/2004 TransTech Pharma, Inc., based in High Point, NC, and Merck & Co, Inc. announced a research collaboration using TransTech's proprietary TTP Translational Technology® to discover and develop novel small molecules for a therapeutic target of interest to Merck. TransTech's Translational Technology® is a highly automated and fully integrated drug discovery process including proprietary software modules. The technology already has shown promise against a wide range of biological targets including protein-protein interactions, receptor modulators and enzyme inhibitors, and delivered small-molecule-based pre-clinical and clinical drug candidates for the treatment of diabetes, cancer, inflammation, Alzheimer's disease and thrombosis.

7/29/2004 Weil-McLain, recognized as America's number one manufacturer of cast iron boilers, will locate its assembly and logistics operations to a facility in Eden, creating 103 new jobs and $6.9 million in investment for North Carolina. Weil-McLain, a unit of SPX Corporation, plans to be operational by the first quarter of 2005. The 103 new jobs will include assemblers, material handlers and production schedulers of industrial boilers, as well as support for finance and human resource positions. Workers will receive an average hourly salary of $12 to $14.