Energy United has awarded the Davie County Economic Development Commission a $300,000 interest-free revolving loan to help build a 324,000 SF industrial space which will enable Davie County to attract larger manufacturing companies and enhance its ability to continue growing its industrial base.

“We are so fortunate in Davie County to have Energy United,” said Terry Bralley, president of DCEDC,  during a check presentation ceremony Tuesday. “They’ve been a great economic development partner for us. We’ve built water tanks, been able to pay for incentives up front, and put in water and sewer lines with their assistance and access to zero-interest money.  Those loans have helped us develop infrastructure, bring jobs to our neighborhoods, and grow our community. In fact, the loans helped bring Avgol and Gildan, now two of Energy United’s largest customers, to Davie County.”

Pictured, left to right: Bill Junker, Davie County landowner; John Reece, managing partner, Commercial Realty Advisors; Buddy Seymour, president and manager of Windsor Commercial; Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission; Keith Wingler, business development manager, Energy United; and Roy McDonald, general counsel, Energy United.

DCEDC then loaned the money to the Davie Industrial Group to support the construction of the Davie Industrial Center at Interstate Drive and Gildan Drive in Mocksville. When completed, the center will offer 920,678 SF of manufacturing/warehouse space. The first of three precast concrete industrial buildings is currently under construction and will be available as early as May.

“This $300,000, zero-interest loan is for five years or until the building is sold or leased. The idea is to do it again and again. We hope it truly is a revolving loan fund. What a great asset for us! And had we not had a successful private capital campaign we would not be in a position to leverage these dollars.”

“I say all the time that economic development is a team sport and it takes everybody at the table working hard. Since we are a small community we have to work even harder.”

Artist rendering of Davie Industrial Center phase one building

Recognizing the struggles faced by small rural communities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed the Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant (REDLG) program to promote rural economic development and job creation projects. The USDA partners with nonprofit utility organizations to distribute the funds. The funds provided by the REDLG program must be used to help finance projects such as business start-up costs, business expansion, community development, and business incubator projects. This program contains two subprograms that administer funding opportunities. They are the REDLoan program and the REDGrant program.

Under the REDGrant program, the USDA provides grant funds to local nonprofit utility organizations which are used to establish a revolving loan fund. Loans are made from the revolving loan fund to finance projects that will create or retain rural jobs. The utility applies to USDA for funding support on behalf of specified local projects.

These funds are made available for projects in rural areas or towns with a population of 50,000 or less and up to $300,000 in grants may be requested to establish the RLF. The funds can then remain in the community as part of a revolving loan program where the repaid money is loaned out again.

Under the REDLoan program, the USDA provides zero-interest loans to awardees which they, in turn, pass through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) at zero percent interest for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The ultimate recipients repay the lending utility directly and the utility repays the Agency.

Davie Industrial Center Phase One Under Construction

“Energy United is one of the co-ops in the state that has access to USDA funds. The USDA uses the co-ops as a conduit to provide funds to projects like this,” said Keith Wingler, manager for business development for Energy United, the largest energy co-op in North Carolina which serves more than 125,000 customers in 19 counties. “Davie County is one of our strongest partners with economic development projects. Terry has the unique ability to pull private investors, the community and the county together to make things happen. He has been very aggressive at tapping into those funds and we are glad to be able to offer them. We stay very busy in the Davie County area and appreciate everyone who worked together to make this project happen.”

“This is the first of two checks we plan to do on this project. This check for $300,000 is from Energy United’s revolving loan fund which was created with money from the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. There is also a REDLG loan of $1 million in process for this project.”

Bralley explained the significance to the community of a project of this magnitude. “About 18 months ago I had the opportunity to meet with the Davie Industrial Group to look at doing some more industrial projects. In today’s world, things move pretty rapidly. Within 90 days from when I get the phone call, that company needs to be up and operational. Companies have contracts to meet and business moves at an extraordinary speed. If you don’t have a building up or at least a graded site with water, sewer, electricity,  natural gas, and fiber in the ground you are playing way behind.  We are blessed in this county to have the opportunity to partner with the Davie Industrial Group.”

He shared an example of how important the project is. “Yesterday, I got a phone call from a broker in South Carolina who was meeting with a client who needed 400,000-600,000 SF and I was able to tell him I could help him with that. I was able to send the information to the broker. We are able to play for bigger projects now. You are going to see different clients looking at these type of buildings. We are excited about that.”

Davie Industrial Group partners, John Reece of Commercial Realty Advisors, Buddy Seymour, president-manager of Windsor Commercial, and Bill Junker, owner of Trailers of the East Coast, who supplied the land also shared their thoughts on the project.

“We feel very fortunate to be here in Davie County with this project,” said Reece. “I’d like to thank Terry and the economic development staff. Without these types of loans, I’m not sure we could pull off these types of projects. The effort that has gone into this on behalf of Terry and his staff is unbelievable. We’ve found that Davie County is just an awesome place to do business.”

Seymour added, “We are excited about Energy United’s participation because not only are we constructing a 324,000 SF spec building which allows us to meet the speed our clients require, this loan also help us to prepare the other sites. By the time we finish the first stage of our project, we will have a 324,000 SF spec building a 425,000 SF pad and another 175,000 SF pad ready and these funds were very important for us to be able to do that. We are very thankful for this opportunity.”

Junker praised the teamwork involved to make the project happen, saying “I’m so proud of how this partnership has come together. Every partner brings a lot of value to this deal.”

Ingersoll Rand announced today that it plans to transfer the majority of its core product line production to Mocksville from Buffalo, N.Y., by July as part of a global consolidation strategy.

The company plans to hire for approximately 40 new assembly, machinery, and technical manufacturing jobs between its Mocksville and Davidson, NC plants, according to Misty Zelent, communications leader, Industrial Businesses for Ingersoll Rand.

The Mocksville plant, which sits on 130 acres off Sanford Avenue, currently employs around 400 full-time employees and supports the Compression Technology Services Branch of Ingersoll Rand through the manufacturing of Rotary, Centrifugal, and Thermo King air compressors and the fabrication of parts for its Trane businesses.

This is the second job shift of work from another Ingersoll Rand plant to Mocksville in less than a year. Zelent said the shift of the Buffalo product line “further fulfills the company’s ‘in-region for region’ manufacturing philosophy.”

“Consolidating manufacturing continues our strategy, and previously announced plans, to expand and scale for future global growth, reduce duplicated fixed costs, and efficiently and effectively serve our customers.”

Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission, appreciates the significant role Ingersoll Rand has played in the community for more than 50 years.

“Mocksville and Davie County are proud to host Ingersoll Rand, one of the leaders in the world in advanced manufacturing,” said Bralley. “For decades Ingersoll Rand has been the crown jewel of our community, providing jobs, and developing skills in the workforce for generations. This continued growth and investment into their machining operation is great news for the future of this facility and our community.”

About Ingersoll Rand
Ingersoll Rand is a diversified industrial manufacturer with market-leading brands serving customers in global commercial, industrial and residential markets.

The Mocksville plant opened in 1965 and began machining rotary components for air compressors. Since then, the Mocksville team has manufactured assemblies and components for many products within Ingersoll Rand’s product portfolio. The plant has experienced tremendous growth over the last several years as select assembly operations for Trane and Thermo King equipment were moved to the Mocksville plant.

To apply for a job at Ingersoll Rand visit www.IngersollRand.com/Careers

“What would you say if I told you there was a way to go to college for free and to get a paycheck at the same time?” asked Ashley Kern, human resources manager at Ingersoll Rand, a member of the Davidson & Davie Apprenticeship Consortium (DDAC), as she explained apprenticeships to students at Davie County High School.

US manufacturers are facing a gap—not only in finding the skills needed but also in Americans’ interest in pursuing long-term careers in manufacturing. Apprenticeship programs have become one of the ways businesses and education systems are coming together to build a pipeline of qualified labor for the workforce.

Seven local companies have joined forces to establish the Davidson & Davie Apprenticeship Consortium (DDAC) to address national workforce challenges and to educate high school students, parents, and the public about the many benefits of pursuing a career in manufacturing. In addition to Ingersoll Rand, Consortium members include Avgol, BMK Americas, CPM Wolverine Proctor, Egger Wood Products, and Kurz. It is sponsored by Davie County Economic Development Commission, Davidson County Economic Development Commission, Davidson County Community College, and ApprenticeshipNC.

One of the Consortium’s primary goals is to change the misconceptions and dispel the myths about today’s advanced manufacturing that are preventing younger workers from entering manufacturing fields.

“Although 90% percent of Americans believe manufacturing is very important to economic prosperity, only 30% of American parents would encourage their children to pursue a career in manufacturing,” said Kern, referencing statistics from the Deloitte Perception of Manufacturing Study. “We are essentially saying that manufacturing is important, just not for my kids.”

“There is a huge branding issue for manufacturing,” she added. “I tell students all of the time that manufacturing is considered DDD–dirty, dark, and dangerous. Students don’t know about all of the cool things happening in manufacturing like automation and robotics and all of those little pieces that are part of manufacturing. And women aren’t well represented in manufacturing, so when I speak to students in high school classes all of the women tune me out because they think manufacturing isn’t for them. We are trying to rebrand manufacturing by sharing all of the wonderful things that are happening within our companies.”

As part of this rebranding effort and as a means to attract young workers, the DDAC has created an apprenticeship program that will give students the opportunity to learn a skill set or trade by combining paid on-the-job learning and classroom instruction. Students gain work experience as they build a career without accruing student debt. If the apprentice is recruited three months before graduating from high school, the state of North Carolina will pay for the tuition and books. Otherwise, the employer pays the expenses.

Apprentices are paid for 40 hours per week which includes 8 hours in class and 32 hours in on-the-job training. During the four-year program, apprentices work between 6400 to 8000 hours and attend 1600 hours of community college classes which earns them an associate’s degree. Based on North Carolina journeyman’s rates, participants earn $9 an hour the first year, $10 the second, $12 the third, and $15 an hour during the final year. They also receive company-paid benefits of health, dental and vision insurance as well as a 401K program during the entire program. Upon completing the program, apprentices have an associate’s degree, a  journeyman’s certificate from the state of North Carolina, a journeyman’s certificate from the Federal Department of Labor and a guaranteed job with a minimum salary of $36,000 per year and no educational debt.

“When we are going into classrooms, we are specifically targeting students who have decided four years of college is not for them,” Kern said. “We want to let them know there is another option. We tell students about the apprenticeship program and how they can work with their hands every day and that we will pay for all of their tuition and books. The students are getting really excited. The parents are getting even more excited because we are giving them another avenue they didn’t know existed.”

The approach is working. During a recent presentation at Davie County High School, 67 qualified students expressed an interest in the program.

Kern outlined the steps to becoming an apprentice:

Step 1: Interested?

• Like to make things happen?.
• Like to work with their hands?
• Are ready to start a career?

Consortium members will hold classroom presentations January 29 – February 6, 2019. Davidson County Community College is hosting a public information night on January 31st from 3-7 p.m. Presentations on the program will be held at 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6 p.m.

Step 2: Open House

• You must attend at least one.
• Your parent/guardian must attend too.
• Opportunity to take a tour and ask questions

This is where members of the Consortium can set themselves apart because each will host an open house between February 10 – March 3, 2019

Step 3: Application

• Deadline is March 3
• An official transcript is required.

Selection guidelines: Recommended 2.5 GPA, Math 1,2,3, preferred courses include physics, drafting, metals manufacturing. Applications will be accepted from January 29 – March 3, 2019; visit the DDAC website to see how to apply.

Step 4: Orientation

• Four nights (must be there every night).
• Projects and testing > is an apprenticeship right for you?

Orientation will be held the week of March 9, 2019. DCCC will administer an assessment and applicants will complete a number of projects like running conduit and building wire racks and welding them together. Our supervisors will assess how well they pick things up, how well they take direction as well as the final product. The assessment will be followed by a matching ceremony. Students pick the companies they are interested in working for based on their interactions with the companies and the companies choose the students they would like to work with and the Consortium tries to align the two.

Step 5: Pre-Apprenticeship

• Start earning money!
• Two college classes.
• Hands-on training.
• Paid for training and classroom hours.

Pre-Apprenticeship training will be held June 11 – July 29, 2019. During the six-week program, apprentices work a couple hours a week to get their feet wet and then take a couple of required basic classes. This is paid for. At the end of the pre-apprenticeship program, there will be a huge signing ceremony to make things exciting for the students.

After outlining the apprenticeship program, Kern also enthusiastically explained how it can benefit many different stakeholders:

Apprentices earn an associates degree and journeyman certificate(s) and the earn-as-you-learn model ensures earnings while training.

Educational institutions have the opportunity to develop closer relationships with industry partners. Members of the Consortium are partnering on the boards of the schools and helping them develop their curriculum so that what students are learning in the classroom directly ties to what they are learning on the job.

Businesses benefit through increased visibility from their recruitment efforts; expand their training and education options for their employees which can increase employee retention, loyalty, and leadership; and gain trained and educated employees which addresses pipeline concern and problem-solving capability.

State, Federal, and local government see an increase in upwardly mobile individuals who fuel economic development.

‘We are targeting kids within Davie and Davidson Counties and encouraging them to stay here by specifically hosting the apprenticeship program here and then guaranteeing them jobs post-apprenticeship,” said Kern.

“The apprenticeship program is a true win-win for everyone in the community,” said Kern. She is proud of the work the Consortium is doing and hopes that additional companies will want to join. For more information about the Davidson & Davie Apprenticeship Consortium, visit http://ddac.tech.

Davie Industrial Center – Phase One Coming May 2019

“You can’t sell cornfields anymore,” says Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission. “There’s too much red tape, hoopla, and time involved. Companies today are looking for a building shell that can be customized and up and running in 90-120 days.”

Fortunately, Davie County is in the enviable position of having a high-quality building inventory in the right location — just off of I-40, within 30 miles of four additional interstates, and centrally located between the Triad and Charlotte Metros.

And the new Davie Industrial Center located at Interstate Drive and Gildan Drive in Mocksville will soon add to that inventory. The first of its three industrial spaces, a 324,000 SF precast concrete industrial building, is currently under construction and will be available as early as May.  When completed, the Center will offer 920,678 SF of manufacturing/warehouse space.

“This is an advantage that every small community and every economic developer would love to have,” said Bralley.

Davie Industrial Center – Building for today and for the future

Private Investors Bringing New Jobs to Davie County
While some communities have taken public funds to compete with other developers, Davie County has taken the opposite approach of supporting private sector efforts and partnering with private developers rather than competing with them. For the past 22 years, the SouthPoint Industrial Park, located just north of Interstate 40 on US Highway 601, has been a shining example of this approach. Founded in 1998 by the Hollingsworth Companies, SouthPoint has brought thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of investment to Davie County.

The Park consists of 10 buildings from 72,480 to 253,180 SF and has two additional buildings planned for 2019.

Bralley believes that Davie Industrial Center’s larger industrial spaces will attract a different manufacturing clientele enhancing the County’s ability to continue to expand and grow its industrial base.

“Bigger buildings widen our potential to attract larger clients,” he said. “Larger buildings also have less competition in state-wide project searches which will increase our odds of securing a deal.”  

Building Phase 1 – Construction Underway Now – Available Spring 2019

Economic Development is a Team Sport – Building a Project Team
Davie Industrial Center is the vision of Bill Junker, owner of Trailers of the East Coast. He had often heard Bralley talk about running out of available inventory of industrial buildings and he knew that he had the perfect piece of property with a great location off of  I-40 that already had most of the necessary utilities, a road, and a stoplight. He simply needed help developing it, so he turned to Bralley for advice.

“I told Terry that if I could find some people that I could trust, that knew how to build buildings, who knew how to market them, and knew how to go through the deal, I would love to be a part of that because it’s something I’ve never done,” said Junker. “I’m sort of an entrepreneur, I love to take on new challenges.”

Together they went to Greensboro to talk with developers experienced in creating and marketing large industrial projects. Their first meeting was with John Reece of Commercial Realty Advisors who offers a wealth of commercial real estate development experience in the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Charlotte markets. He connected them with Buddy Seymour, the president-manager of Windsor Commercial which specializes in industrial development and construction. At the time, Windsor was working on the McConnell Center, a 145-acre mixed-use business park in East Greensboro at the split of I-85 and I-40.

Both Junker and Bralley liked what they saw at the McConnell Center. “We were really excited about what they could do in building such quality buildings and at a marketable price,” Junker said.

Seymour took a look at Junker’s site and agreed that it was the perfect place for the type of industrial complex he had in mind and a partnership was born. Reece joined the team as the marketing partner. Near the end of the project, a friend of Reece’s, Louis DeJoy, president of  LDJ Global Strategies, LLC, a strategic real estate investment and consulting company based in Greensboro, joined the group as an investor and provided the remaining needed capital.

“It has impressed me that they were all willing to get involved,” Junker said. “I saw the value, but I’m a rookie and this is all new to me. I continue to grow in confidence in my partners and what we are accomplishing. We are already looking at other opportunities in Davie County.”

Its all about Relationships
Bralley agreed, saying, “A speculative project of this magnitude involves a tremendous amount of risk but we have a great community here and the ability to assist with getting state and federal grants to help put deals together. They see that as an asset. Securing partners of this caliber says a lot about this project and this community’s reputation for knowing how to win big deals.He’s (Junker)  put together a winning combination of talent, capital, know-how, and marketing with the right location and the right infrastructure.”

“The ability to attract outside investors that believe in your economy and want to participate is how you develop a community. You bring outside dollars in,” he added.

Junker gave much of the credit for Davie County’s success to Bralley, calling him a “visionary who is always looking at what is coming over the horizon.” “Terry had the vision 30 some years ago that this corridor between Hwy 601 and Hwy 64 would be the lifeline future of Mocksville. What he and the Economic Development Commission are doing every day of the week is the lifeline of the citizens of Davie County to bring better-paying jobs to our county so that our children and grandchildren can come back here to live and have a better way of life. This is our future”

Embarrassed by the praise, Bralley smiled and said, “It’s all about relationships, developing relationships, and making connections. Those relationships can be worth millions”

Mocksville Mayor Will Marklin welcomes FinishWorks to Mocksville

“Everything you touch has a coating,” said Myron Miller, vice-president, and general manager of FinishWorks, holding up a Calloway golf ball and pointing to a Monroe shock, a Heritage guitar, and a display of wood-stained cabinet door samples during a tour of the company’s blending/distribution facility in Mocksville.

A leading manufacturer of wood, metal, and specialty industrial coatings, FinishWorks opened its doors in Mocksville two years ago in the old Crown Wood building at 125 John Crotts Road. Since then, the company has developed $3 million a year in new business while shifting established customers over from its facility in Hickory. Local customers include Ashley Furniture, Funder America, and Beaufurn. Its paints and stains can be found on furniture by companies like Thomasville, Bassett, Henredon, and Drexel Heritage.

Last week the company celebrated its success with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and customer appreciation event complete with hamburgers, bratwurst, and homemade ice cream.

During the ceremony, hosted by the Davie County Chamber of Commerce, Mocksville Mayor Will Marklin welcomed the company to Mocksville.

“We are really excited to be here in Davie County, you guys have been great,” replied Shane Withers, director of sales for FinishWorks. “We look forward to lots of years of growth here in Mocksville.”

FinishWorks General Manager Myron Miller at FinishWorks in Mocksville

FinishWorks is a subsidiary of RPM International, Inc., a global leader in specialty coatings that serves both the industrial and consumer markets. The company is comprised of eight regional blending/distribution facilities and two manufacturing plants. It’s known for providing color consistency as well as for developing leading-edge technology and trendsetting color design. One of the biggest breakthroughs in coatings in the last 50 years is the company’s isocyanate-free urethane coating.

“A” Players
According to Miller, FinishWorks was drawn to Mocksville because of its perfect location. It’s close to High Point and Charlotte and has a wealth of furniture and metal manufacturing companies within a 100-mile radius. In fact, a site survey revealed 1,066 companies radiating away from Mocksville like the spokes in a wheel.

Additionally, the area’s rich furniture heritage has provided a pool of highly-talented chemists for the facility’s custom blending operation.

“I like to hire “A” players, and they are definitely in this region,” Miller said. “These veterans are professionals and they are a dying breed.”

The company employees five full-time people in Mocksville in addition to sales staff.

FinishWorks – A Win-Win for Everyone
FinishWorks is like a paint store on steroids, a hybrid of both a paint store and manufacturer. The chemists in its color lab can match and custom blend paint and stain amounts ranging from one-gallon cans to 500-gallon batches.

“We are pretty nimble and can customize quickly,” said Miller. “If you brought in your grandmother’s antique desk drawer and wanted to match the color, we could do that right here in our color lab. Each of our locations has its own color lab where colors are developed every day. We probably develop between 200 to 250 colors company-wide every week.”

Although the company’s primary focus is coatings, it also sells related supplies. According to Miller, FinishWorks is the largest distributor of Kremlin spray equipment in North American. “Anyone who is going to buy our coating is also going to have to apply it.” The Mocksville facility also includes a showroom that sells paint and stain-related sundries to the public.

The facility serves as a distribution point for customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, and Alabama.

Miller envisions that the entire cavernous warehouse will be filled floor-to-ceiling with product within the next five years and serve as a larger distribution point. “We don’t have the building full yet, but it’s been a great location for us,” he said with a smile.

“FinishWorks in Mocksville is a terrific example of the local supply chain economy in which a cluster of innovative small businesses moves into an area with large manufacturing operations and becomes part of a network of local suppliers, creating even more new jobs in the area,” said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission. “This network of local suppliers, in turn, enables our local manufacturers to be nimble and responsive to market opportunities. It’s a win-win for everyone.“

To celebrate Manufacturing Day 2018, several local businesses and Davie County manufacturers provided a unique opportunity for all eighth-grade students in Davie County.

On October 5th, students from Ellis, North Davie, and South Davie Middle Schools each toured two different locations including DEX Heavy Duty Parts, Gildan,  Ingersoll Rand, Pro Refrigeration, DCCC – Davie Campus, and WFBH-Davie Medical Center – Bermuda Run. Other students from all three schools spent their tour-time experiencing many different facets of Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.

This is the second year Davie County has participated in National Manufacturing Day through the collaborative efforts of the Davie County Chamber of Commerce, Davie County Schools, Davie County Economic Development, DCCC, and the Davie business community.

Approximately 500 students and staff were exposed to the many outstanding career opportunities that exist here in the county. Business leaders provided informative tours including examples of how their employees use math, science, technology, and communication skills. Students were intrigued with the emphasis on safety, size of the facilities, variety of jobs including the educational requirements for the job, and the machinery used in the day-to-day operation of the businesses. DCCC showcased its many career paths to students who toured healthcare-related hands-on learning stations as well as the mobile manufacturing lab, an ambulance, a fire truck, and a tractor trailer used for the truck driving program.

Hosted annually, Manufacturing Day is a national event executed at the local level and typically focuses on manufacturing careers. “We expanded the types of businesses students visited to better align the many opportunities available here in Davie. By adding our state-of-the-art medical facility in Bermuda Run and expansive career path offerings at DCCC, our event was truly a “career exploration day” for our students,” said Carolyn McManamy, director of Davie CONNECT, a new workforce development initiative of Davie County Economic Development to connect businesses to resources and kids to careers.

“Middle school students are the next generation workforce and these tours are designed to expose them to career opportunities, show how their current and future curriculum ties to real-world careers and ignite interest in their future,” McManamy said. “During the tours, businesses showcased the scope of jobs available at their facilities and discussed the requisite higher education or skills training needed.”

Students were fascinated by what they experienced and appreciated the efforts of their tour guides and the employees that they had the opportunity to observe.

“I thought it was interesting learning how the business works,” said Genesis Antunez, a student from South Davie.

“I liked seeing how the robots worked. It was really cool,” added South Davie student, Cadyn Tanis.

“Everyone worked so hard to give us the chance to see what their jobs are and to give us ideas of what we might want to do in the future,” said North Davie student, Anna Johnson.

Zach Cline, also from North Davie, agreed and said, “I appreciated seeing how hard everyone worked and realized how everything had a purpose.”

The teachers were equally impressed with the experience.

“From a teacher’s perspective, it was great to see and hear how technology, automation, and teamwork are being used and developed at Ashley Furniture,” said Jamey Holt, who teaches math/social studies at North Davie. “The students were able to see that the traits teachers stress will be vital to their role in the workplace.”

Kristin Pitts, a science/social studies teacher at South Davie, commented, “It was interesting to see just how reliant each person is on the other people in their team. Without teamwork, production and higher wages would not be possible.”

“As a school district, it is our responsibility to make students aware of all educational and employment opportunities, and this collaborative effort is an excellent means to familiarize our students with the diverse careers available in Davie County,” said Anthony Davis, director of CTE and Federal Programs for Davie County High School.  “MFG Day was also a wonderful learning experience for our middle school teachers who saw first-hand the practical application of the skills they are teaching in the classroom.”

Business and industry participants appreciated the chance to showcase their facilities as well as the career opportunities they have to offer to this future workforce.

“Ingersoll Rand participated in Manufacturing Day because we want to inspire the next generation of manufacturers,” said Ashley Kern, human resources generalist.

Matt Britt, marketing manager, Davie & Lexington Medical Centers, said, “Wake Forest Baptist Health Davie Medical Center passionately supports workforce development in any way we can. The youth in our county and the surrounding areas will be our health care workers of tomorrow, and we are proud to be able to invite them to our facility and show them some of what we do. We hope it has a positive impact on their future goals and endeavors.”

“We enjoy opening our doors every year to showcase our manufacturing facility to our area students,” said Clark Bunting, senior HR manager, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.  “National Manufacturing Day is a great opportunity for Ashley Furniture to inspire and educate the future workforce about manufacturing careers and their benefits to our country.”

McManamy has been pleased with the great feedback she has received from businesses as well as the students and teachers. She and Davis appreciate everyone who helped make MFG Day 2018 a success. “This is the first in a series of programs that will directly connect our students to our businesses. The next steps will involve developing a formal program where students of various ages are exposed to a broad variety of career paths and educational opportunities. Aligning business needs with curriculum will ensure Davie County has a ready and able workforce to meet the challenges of businesses today and in the future.”

The need for additional sewer capacity in eastern Davie County has created roadblocks to commercial and residential growth for many years, but this limitation is coming to an end, thanks to the persistence of county leadership and a $2 million Economic Development Administration grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In the works for more than two years, the grant provides partial funding for an overhaul and expansion of the wastewater system increasing capacity from 750,000 gallons per day to 2,000,000 gallons per day with a contractual agreement with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County – City/County Utility Commission (CCUC) for 5,000,000 gallons per day. This will enhance the county’s ability to work with Wake Forest Baptist Health Davie Medical Center and others to grow the economy and spark future development.

The project is also expected to create at least 187 jobs, and spur $23 million in private investment.

“The purpose of this project is to expand the capacity of our wastewater treatment system in a way that protects the environment, and provides the capacity for responsible growth,” said County Manager, John Eller. “This additional infrastructure capacity will support sustainable long-term growth in the county for both residential and commercial development.”

“We are already a leader in the Piedmont Region, and in North Carolina, as it relates to job growth,” Eller said. “This project will allow us to further our strategic plan goals and to be intentional as we look to the future.”

Eller added that he appreciated the many hours of work that was put into the planning and execution by multiple partners, which ultimately led to the successful grant request.

According to the grant request, the proposed project was necessitated by several factors related to the North Eastern Davie Sewer Area (NEDSA). The eastern Davie wastewater collection system currently discharges into the Tanglewood Pump Station which is owned and operated by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County – City/County Utility Commission (CCUC).  The needs of the NEDSA are increasing as the area is poised for growth and CCUC has only approved a short-term agreement for additional capacity at which point a significant fee will be charged to Davie County for CCUC upgrade expenses. The waste flow projections for the NEDSA are projected to increase by about 9% from residential, commercial and industrial growth from 2019 to 2040. This projected growth in demand cannot be appropriately accommodated with the current system.

An agreement has been reached with CCUC whereby if Davie County constructs a pipeline to the Muddy Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, CCUC will no longer charge the county twice the rate paid by those inside the area for waste conveyance.

Furthermore, the Town of Bermuda Run currently owns and operates an aged package treatment facility that discharges into the Yadkin River.  The state is currently developing new effluent limits governing nutrient discharge for facilities upstream of High Rock Lake that will require the plant to be expanded and its processes rebuilt. The cost for the Town of Bermuda Run to either pump to CCUC or upgrade its plant was estimated to be approximately 3 times more expensive than for it to participate in the NEDSA project; therefore, the efforts can be combined, and a project has been developed to address the needs of both Davie County and the Town of Bermuda Run.

According to Davie County Utilities Director, Johnny Lambert, the estimated cost of the project is $17,625,200 and includes the following specific improvements:

• Installation of 4,700 linear feet of 8-inch force main beginning at the Yadkin River Pump Station which will travel within the right-of-way of U.S. 158 and connect to the Smith Creek force main that will be repurposed as the new Yadkin River force main.
• Pump replacement at the Yadkin River Pump Station to fit the new force main system requirements.
• Demolition of the Smith Creek Pump Station.
• Installation of 3,400 linear feet of 18-inch gravity interceptor along Smith Creek to the new Bermuda Run West Pump Station.
• Construction of the new Bermuda Run West Pump station at the end of Talwood Drive.
• Installation of 6,800 linear feet of 16-inch force main from the Bermuda Run West Pump Station to the new East Davie Transfer Pump Station.
• Construction of the new East Davie Pump Station.
• Installation of 31,000 linear feet of 20-inch force main to convey wastewater to the (Forsyth County) Muddy Creek Treatment Plant.

The county has been approved for a 20-year state revolving fund loan with an interest rate of 1.5 percent to fund the balance of the project. The expected cost saving of $4.9 million in conveyance fees over the loan period will be applied to paying off the loan.

Lambert said the new sewer collection system is slated to begin construction in February 2019 and should be completed in December 2020. The county has begun advertising the project and will begin accepting bids on October 17th, 2018.

Davie County Commissioner Chairman, Terry Renegar, noted, “The NEDSA project is a proactive step for anticipated residential and commercial growth in Davie County in the coming years. I appreciate all that our county staff, elected officials, economic development partners, the Piedmont Triad Regional Council, State of North Carolina, Federal Economic Development Administration, and other key stakeholders have done to make this vision a reality.”