The Volvo Group invested $2.6 million into the renovation of the 210,000 square-foot Dex building located at 2016 Cornatzer Road in Advance, North Carolina and created 38 new jobs in Davie County.  The building is located on 38 acres near Interstate 40.

Automotive Industry Discovers Davie County
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory travelled to Davie County today to welcome DEX to North Carolina.  Governor McCrory was joined by executives of the Volvo Group, Dex Heavy Duty Parts LLC and local and state officials to celebrate the grand opening of the Dex facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour.

Dex, a Volvo Group subsidiary and leading supplier of recycled, renovated and surplus medium- and heavy-duty truck parts, offers new life to trucks by offering recycled and renovated parts to second- and third-generation truck owners.

Why DEX Chose Davie County
In 2009 the Mack Truck HQ was moved from Allentown, PA to Greensboro, NC – creating some 500 new jobs.

The DEX operation relocated to Davie County from Floyd, Virginia in August of 2014.  They moved to Davie County for close-in access to major Interstate Highways I-40, I-77 and I-85, access to an educated workforce, and the ability to “recycle” an existing textile manufacturing plant to a new life – which is what Dex does – “recycles” trucks and truck parts.

“The Volvo Group is pleased to open another facility in North Carolina,” said Dennis Slagle, president of Volvo Group Trucks Sales North America. “Dex Heavy Duty Parts takes old trucks and recycles them – refurbishing some parts for resale and recycling others for reuse – which is not only a natural extension of our business, but perfectly exemplifies our core value of care for the environment.”

“Since 2012, Dex has recycled more than three million pounds of material,” said Darin Redmon, director of operations for Dex Heavy Duty Parts. “We are the only OEM that has a complete lifecycle channel for its products.”

Governor McCrory Welcomes Volvo/DEX to North Carolina
“We welcome this investment by the Volvo Group and Dex Heavy Duty Parts in our state,” said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. “It’s always great to see companies move to North Carolina and we appreciate Dex Heavy Duty Parts’ commitment to our state and environment. Employers know North Carolina is a great place to invest because of our friendly business climate, infrastructure and talented workforce.”

According to Terry Bralley, President of the Davie County Economic Development Commission, “DEX came to Davie County because we had the right building available, with rail service, at the right location. We have only a couple of existing buildings still available for companies looking at a Davie County location.  We have plenty of sites available but most companies are looking for existing buildings. For additional information on doing business in Davie County, North Carolina, please visit www.daviecountyedc.com.

Download Press Release
Download a copy of the press release – Davie County Welcomes DEX Heavy Duty Parts and 38 New Jobs!

Avgol has announced plans to invest $40,000,000 and create 50 new jobs in Mocksville by expanding and adding a new production line to its plant in Mocksville.  The addition of a fifth production line will make the Mocksville plant the world’s largest single producer of non-woven fabric.

Jessi Andrade, (Avgol Human Resource Manager) mentioned that Avgol plans to hire several skill level positions in the summer of 2015 to “give them a year of training on the job.”  Avgol expects to host a job fair late in 2015 or early 2016 to hire additional positions. The average annual salary for these new jobs at Avgol will be $35,000 with benefits.

Avgol, a global leader in the production of non-woven fabric for things like diapers and feminine products has recently been eying a place to expand operations to keep up with increased product demand.   Avgol has four facilities across the globe: Tel-Aviv, Israel; Hubei, China; Tula, Russia; and Mocksville, North Carolina, USA.  With all of these options, Avgol chose Mocksville for this growth.

Transportation and Logistics:  Rail in Davie County Helps Fuel Economic Growth
The new Avgol production line in Mocksville represents the 4th expansion for Avgol in Davie County since they purchased the plant from Unifi in 2001.  At that time the plant consisted of a single production line.  The installation of a rail spur in 2005 for the delivery of inbound raw materials for manufacturing has helped make NC and Davie County a strategic location for Avgol.

Engineered Non-Woven Fabrics – Science & Industry Join Forces, Fuel Job Growth
The manufacturing of engineered fabrics is at the leading edge of a textile revival in North Carolina and advanced technology is at the heart of non-woven manufacturing.  Avgol has utilized training and support services provided by North Carolina State University’s Non-Woven Institute (NWI).

The Nonwovens Institute (NWI), based at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, is the world’s first accredited academic program for the interdisciplinary field of engineered fabrics.  The NWI is an innovative global partnership between industry, government and academe. Operating on an “Open Innovation” platform, the Nonwovens Institute engages experts from industry and higher education in building next-generation nonwoven applications while also providing training and guidance to the field’s future leaders.

Economic Development Trending Up for Davie
Add Avgol to a string of recent economic development victories like Ashley Furniture and Gildan ActiveWear and you discover a trend; furniture and textile manufacturing is coming back. Ashley furniture will have 1200 employees by year end and Gildan is on track to have 300 employees.

Andrade explained that Avgol offers “great benefits and the wages are competitive. If you or someone you know is interested in working with Avgol, the best thing to do is drop by and talk with us, and be on the lookout for our job fair later this year.”

Davie County Winning the Global Competition for Jobs
For this win, Davie County and the Town of Mocksville both approved economic development incentives that were a key piece of this victory.  Terry Bralley, President of the Davie County Economic Development Commission tells us that economic development is a team sport.  If we continue working together as a community, Davie County continue to win the global competition for jobs.

Download Press Release
Download a copy of the press release – Another Win for Davie County – Avgol to Invest $40 Million & Create 50 New Jobs in Mocksville, NC.

It takes all kinds of jobs to run a furniture company and Ashley Furniture is bringing even more of those jobs to Davie County.  It was announced today that over the next several months Ashley Furniture will add 300 jobs to the manufacturing center in Davie County bringing the total Ashley Furniture Davie County workforce to 1,200 employees.

Ashley Furniture – Under Promising and Over-Delivering
Reality rarely beats projections when it comes to initial projections on the number of jobs to be created when a new facility opens.  In Ashley Furniture’s case, the reality blows the early projections out of the water!  When Ashley first announced the opening of a new manufacturing center in Advance, NC they committed to having a workforce of 550 in place by 2017.  As of May, 2015 the facility already employs over 800 people.  With over 2,8 million square feet (65 acres under roof), the Ashley Furniture Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing and Distribution Center in Advance, North Carolina is poised to become the largest furniture manufacturing facility in the world.

Job seekers should apply in-person at the Davie County plant or online at www.ashleyfurniture.com.  Many of these jobs are also posted towww.daviecountyblog.com/jobs.

Why Ashley Furniture Selected Davie County
The decision on where to invest in a new manufacturing plant is one of the most important decisions a company makes. Long term success for the company requires the right location, the availability of a skilled workforce, strong workforce development programs, and well developed utility, energy, communication, and transportation assets.  All of these components are in place in Davie County.

Davie County’s location in central North Carolina, bisected by I-40, with I-85 and I-77 only minutes away is within a one day drive of 60% of the US market, one half of the nation’s population and one trillion dollars of industrial production. Rail freight services available through Southern and Norfolk Southern and two major airports within about an hour’s drive also make Davie County an attractive location for manufacturing.

Davie County Economic Development Commission
A key player in helping match companies in search of new opportunities with critical infrastructure and land-related resources is the Davie County Economic Development Commission.  Visit the Davie County EDC web site to learn what Davie County has to offer for businesses of all sizes in one of North Carolina’s most progressive and business friendly counties.

Ashley Furniture is a Global Company with Operations in 123 Countries
Ashley Furniture has been in business since 1945.  It began manufacturing furniture in 1970 in Arcadia, Wis.  Today Ashley, who has been showcasing its products at High Point Market for close to 40 years, is the largest manufacturer of home furnishings in the world.  The company currently operates manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and California and has a distribution warehouse facility located in Brandon, Fla.  Today Ashley employs 12,000 employees in the United States. All of Ashley’s manufacturing operations are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technology to maximize efficiencies to better serve customers’ needs.  Ashley is a global company doing business in 123 countries… AND Davie County, North Carolina!

In the News:
MyFox8 – Ashley Furniture Adding 300 Jobs in Davie County
WXII12 – Ashley Furniture plans to add 300 jobs within months in Davie County
Triad Business Journal – Ashley adding 300 jobs at Davie plant