Pro Refrigeration Expanding Production at Mocksville Manufacturing Plant

May 16, 2019 By Jeanna Baxter White

Teachers learn about the jobs and skill requirements at Pro Refrigeration during teacher externship presentation.

Pro Chiller Systems has announced that it will shift the production of all standard equipment from its Auburn, Washington headquarters to its east coast manufacturing facility located in Mocksville, NC effective June 30th.

Pro Refrigeration designs, manufactures and distributes state-of-the-art refrigeration systems for the dairy, winery, food processing, medical, and brewing industries. Since opening in North Carolina in 2013, the percentage of equipment produced in North Carolina versus Washington has steadily increased reaching a 75% (NC) to 25% (WA) split in 2018. Pro will continue with limited manufacturing in Auburn with a focus on product development, testing, and certification.

“From a business standpoint, it makes sense to have all of our standard products produced in a single facility,” said Jim VanderGiessen, CEO. “We’ve invested in building a world-class facility in North Carolina, adding this volume will challenge us, but the capacity is there. On a personal level, it’s really a tough call to make when decisions affect longtime members of the team.”

“Several factors were considered before making this decision. First of all, our production costs are lower in North Carolina for many reasons, primarily because we are producing more here and benefit from the economy of scale. Secondly, we have 80 percent of our suppliers within a one-day drive of our Mocksville plant which decreases inventory and transportation costs. Lastly, our facility costs are much lower. It currently costs the same to operate our 25,000 SF plant in Washington as it does to operate our 65,000 SF plant in North Carolina.”

According to VanderGiessen, the move will save the company about 15 percent in production costs of standard products.

The Mocksville facility, located on Beechtree Place, just off of Farmington Road near Interstate 40, currently employs approximately 35 people. With the consolidation, the Mocksville manufacturing facility will hire as many as five additional employees and increase production by 25 percent.
The 25,000 SF Auburn headquarters will continue to have an important role in Pro’s ongoing strategy. In addition to ongoing finance/accounting, customer service, training, and inside sales- this new shift will focus on product development and product certification. “Going forward, the priority in Auburn will be developing and testing new equipment and finding additional industries to serve,” VanderGiessen added. “We’ve spent the past 30 years disrupting some big markets and are excited about the opportunities we are working on. Having a dedicated team and facility for these opportunities is huge.”
He emphasized, “Our goal is to create some new roles in both Auburn and Mocksville and find opportunities for anyone affected, we will do everything we can to minimize the impact on the team.”

“Davie County continues to prove itself as the right location for our East Coast operation and has become home,” he said. “It has been a supportive community since day one and continues to be. That’s why we are increasing our investment here.”

Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission is pleased with that decision. “Davie County Economic Development continues to make an impact with connections across the United States. We are grateful for companies like Pro Refrigeration that believe and invest in Davie County.”

History of Pro Refrigeration in Davie County
Pro Refrigeration landed in Mocksville in 2013 after a yearlong search for a site that would fit its expansion plans. The family-owned manufacturer decided that both the Davie County facility and the community best reflected their vision. According to CEO Jim Vandergiessen, the company chose Davie County for “its skilled workforce, the business-friendly environment, and the amazing support we’ve received from everyone we’ve met.”
Two years later, the company outgrew its 40,000 square feet of space in the former Crown Wood building on John Crotts Road and expanded into its current 65,000 square feet of space in the former Renegade Tobacco warehouse. The layout of the new location doubled the amount of space dedicated to the manufacturing process and allows for the upcoming consolidation.

About Pro Refrigeration, Inc.
Pro Refrigeration, Inc. was co-founded by Jim VanderGiessen Jr., CEO, and his Father Jim Sr. in 1990. In addition to being industry leaders to the craft beverage and dairy markets, Pro designs and manufactures chiller systems for numerous industries with a complete product offering from ¾ to 300 HP serving applications that require chilled fluid from –45 F to +45 F.
Pro Refrigeration, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn, WA with a 65,000 SF East Coast manufacturing facility located in Mocksville, NC. Pro also has a network of regional salespeople serving in each corner of the US. For more information, visit www.prochiller.com.

Local Industry and Community College Join Forces at Davie County Job Fair

May 16, 2019 By Mark Schambach

Davie CONNECT and DCCC, the Community College of Davidson and Davie Counties joined forces on Wednesday, May 8^th at the Davie Campus in Mocksville for the first co-sponsored job fair.

The event brought together more than 20 employers representing a wide range of professions and industries. Career options at the job fair included positions in the areas of healthcare, advanced manufacturing, business, IT, education and more.

According to Carolyn McManamy, director of Davie CONNECT, “Our first co-hosted job fair attracted a large number of job seekers and we are thrilled with the teamwork and the support of DCCC as we strive to connect businesses to resources and kids to careers and to provide innovative workforce solutions for Davie County.”

“This job fair was open to students and to the public as well. Our employers gained access to a wide range of talent which provided wonderful direct recruiting opportunities that reached beyond the walls of the community college student body. We were very pleased that our pre-event outreach attracted both DCCC students and other job seekers from the community,” added McManamy.

A survey of job seekers attending the job fair indicated that 98% of job seekers attending the job fair were satisfied with the variety of employers represented while 97% of job seekers found the schedule of the job fair was convenient. 40% of attendees spoke with less than 5 employers, while more than half of the attendees spoke with more than 5 employers.

Employers attending the job fair included Ashley Furniture, Avgol, Blakley Landscaping, Brakebush Brothers, CPP Global, DCCC Human Resources, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, First Choice Personnel, Gildan, Home Instead Senior Care, Ingersoll Rand, Morrisofa, NCWorks, O’Callahans Publick House, PalletOne, Patterson Company, REEB, The Resource, Sabeti Wain Aerospace, Sheetz, Smith Excavating, Summershine Resort Staffing, Woodman Life, and Workforce Unlimited.

The Piedmont Triad Regional Council was also on hand with the PTRC Mobile Career Center to assist prospective employees with resume preparation and career advising.

Given the success of this first DCCC/Davie CONNECT job fair, we can expect additional job fairs to be scheduled moving forward.

About Davie CONNECT
An initiative of the Davie County Economic Commission, Davie CONNECT is designed to connect businesses to resources and kids to careers and to provide innovative workforce solutions for Davie County. For more information, contact Carolyn McManamy at 336.753.6670 or cmcmanamy@daviecounty.com.

About Davidson County Community College
Founded in 1963, Davidson County Community College is a fully accredited, multi-campus college where students of all ages and backgrounds pursue academic and career-focused education in order to build successful futures. As one of 58 institutions within the North Carolina Community College System, DCCC offers more than 40 degree and professional certificate programs to students in Davidson and Davie counties, as well as affordable college-credit coursework to students who plan to transfer to 4-year universities. With a mission to serve the changing needs of students competing in a global environment, DCCC is committed to quality education, innovative and equitable learning experiences, training, and support across a wide range of 21st-century career fields.

Davie Industry Connecting with Future Workforce through Davie County Schools CTE Programs

Apr 24, 2019 By Jeanna Baxter White

Anthony Davis, Director of Career and Technical Education and Federal Programs for Davie County Schools leads discussion during CTE/STEM Alliance Business Advisory Council meeting

“It’s all about exposure,” says Anthony Davis. “It’s exposing the students to the businesses but also exposing the businesses to the students.”

Davis, Director of CTE and Federal Programs for Davie County Schools, was referring to the Davie High CTE (Career and Technical Education) Program’s efforts to connect its students with area businesses.

“There are some communities in our state that don’t have any large businesses, others have big businesses but they don’t interact with the schools, and some places have multiple school systems within their county fighting for the same businesses. We are very blessed here to have one high school and several businesses willing to come out and work with us.”

Janet Barnes, Career Development Coordinator (CDC), agreed, adding,” We have quite a bit of interaction, but we’d always like more. We can never have too much interaction.”

“We were super pleased with the number of business and industry representatives that we had willing to reach out to our students during the Career Expo, but we want local businesses and industry to know that there are many more ways to get involved with our students throughout the year.”

“We have these amazing businesses and industries out there, wonderful places that will eventually provide wonderful opportunities for our students full time. Often the students know the names of the companies, but they don’t know what goes on there. By industries opening their doors to us I think that it will definitely open up a pipeline of potential employees.”

A student learns about career options and opportunities at Gildan during 2019 Career Expo at Davie County High School

Davis believes this could be especially beneficial to businesses in helping to recruit younger workers. “Now that it is such a competitive job market, they are having to learn what it takes to recruit a millennial. Job recruiting today is nothing like it was 20 or 30 years ago. We are having to work together to figure out how we mesh today’s workforce with the current needs of employers. Millennials sometimes get a bad rap, but they have a lot to offer. Millennials do a great job of multitasking and they were born into technology whereas we were not. We have to be able to utilize their strengths to develop the workforce businesses need.”

Job Shadowing
An easy first step for businesses to get involved is to allow a student to job shadow.

“Some businesses are limited on the amount of time they can host students and that’s fine,” said Barnes. “Job shadowing can be half a day, a full day, or even a couple hours, whatever will allow a student to get a snapshot of the type of work that is done at that particular workplace.”

Internships
“If job shadowing is successful, they might want to consider an internship which allows a student to work 135 hours over the course of a semester. Maybe they will really like the student and want to continue working with them through a pre-apprenticeship and even an apprenticeship.”

“We’d love to have businesses willing to have our students come to serve as interns throughout the year, summertime, or whenever they can do it,” said Davis. “We can do internships at any time.”

As part of an internship, students earn course credit and are required to provide several items of evidence to demonstrate what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown.

Left to Right, Makayla Smith,10th grade, Mrs. Sandra Hinkle Food and Consumer Sciences Teacher, and Samantha Perdue, 10th grade, discuss the anatomy of protein during egg dissection in Food and Nutrition class

Businesses Don’t Need to Worry about Insurance Liability
When approached about offering job shadowing or internships opportunities, some businesses have expressed concerns about having students under 18 in their buildings because of insurance liability. “We’d love for our business community to understand that our students are insured by us through state and CTE funds so it’s okay for businesses to open their doors to the students,” said Davis.

He’d also like businesses to know that there are students looking for internship opportunities in all different areas. “My daughter did an internship in a doctor’s office. It doesn’t have to be a huge corporation, small businesses can offer opportunities for students. We had a student who wanted to work with pets who completed a semester internship with a pet groomer. It can be anything.”

Barnes would like to assure businesses that in addition to insurance the school provides a confidentiality statement. “These things are in place to protect both our students and businesses.”

Pre-Apprenticeships and Apprenticeships
“If a company wants to expand beyond an internship we can go to a pre-apprenticeship,” said Davis.

“Pre-Apprenticeships and apprenticeships offer great educational and employment opportunities for our students and graduates. A student still in high school can join a cooperating business for a pre-apprenticeship or if they wait until after high school a full apprenticeship. Businesses can create their own apprenticeship programs or collaborate in a consortium of companies. In Davidson and Davie Counties, we have Davidson & Davie Apprenticeship Consortium (DDAC) which has a focus on advanced manufacturing. Consortium members include Ingersoll Rand, Avgol, BMK Americas, CPM Wolverine Proctor, Egger Wood Products, and Kurz. Consortium members and Davidson County Community College collaborated with ApprenticehipNC to set expectations for students and businesses. Eventually, we are hoping to see an expansion of this consortium to include other academic and career pathways as well.”

“In either case, through a consortium or individually, pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships are win-win situations for students and businesses. Businesses get a reliable, educated employee whom they have trained from the beginning, and our students get a quality education debt-free and are guaranteed employment.”

According to Davis, Davie High is currently in the process of developing a pre-apprenticeship program with Davie Construction and hopes to expand into other industries and with other companies.

Davie Student Landon Reynolds leads the CTE/STEM Alliance Business Advisory Council members on tour of the horticulture greenhouse at Davie County High School

Lunch & Learns, Classroom Collaborations, STEMinars, and STEM Field Trips
Barnes is always looking for business owners, industry representatives and other professionals to conduct a Lunch & Learn session during Smart Lunch, the 40-minute time slot students have to make up school work, receive tutoring, or attend lectures or club meetings.

There are also opportunities for individual class-based collaboration to occur. “For example, both Members Credit Union and the State Employees Credit Union have come into our Personal Finance classes as guest speakers.”

“STEM teachers also invite local businesses and individuals to Smart Lunch sessions,” said Davis. “In these STEMinars, businesses help students learn about their business or occupation through discussion and hands-on activities. Recently, STEM teachers have included pertinent CTE classes to share in this opportunity. Field trips are taken to area businesses and attractions, mainly during the summer, to expose students to STEM-related fields. We are always looking for partner businesses who will open their doors for tours and who would be willing to join us on our campus for STEMinars/Lunch and Learns.”

CTE/STEM Alliance Business Advisory Council
Another way businesses can be involved with the high school is to join the CTE/STEM Alliance Business Advisory Council, which is mandated by law, according to Davis. “Thankfully, ours is well attended. We have a good group of people who come and want to be involved. We certainly want to showcase to our businesses what we are doing, but we also want input from them as to what we can do better to help them.”

Externships
Equally important is the summer externship program for teachers.

“Getting our teachers exposed to what our businesses are doing is very beneficial for helping them to guide students,” said Davis. “Businesses can host the externs for as little as an hour or as long as a couple of days. Offering that type of flexibility turned out to be very successful last summer.”

New Collaboration Opportunities in the Works
Barnes and Davis are constantly brainstorming additional ways to enhance the business/student connection.

They are exploring credentialing options through state-approved modules on specific soft skills or professional skills since those are areas business advisory members have expressed concerns about. Students would receive a certificate detailing the modules and skills they had completed. Examples of available modules include balancing work and home life, proper use of technology, and teamwork.

“The certification would let potential employers know that the student has been properly vetted in that skill,” Davis said.

Teachers learn about the jobs and skill requirements at Pro Refrigeration during teacher externship presentation.

“Manufacturing Day has been a wonderful experience for our middle schoolers,” said Davis “We would like to be able to do the same thing for the high school students. We don’t know what that would look like yet because there are so many more students but getting the high school students into the businesses would also be valuable.

Barnes would like to establish a job board as well as a job link on the school’s website to assist both students and employers.

“We want all of our businesses to know that there are so many opportunities available to them,” said Davis. “You can come to a STEMinar, you can come to a Lunch & Learn, you can be involved with the business advisory council, or come participate in our Career Expo. We want to be involved with you and we want you to be involved with us”.

Barnes added, “We are so grateful for all of the business owners and industry reps who’ve chosen to be involved with our students and we look forward to continuing to expand that.”

For more information about how your business can connect with Davie High please contact:
Anthony Davis, CTE Director – davisan@davie.k12.nc.us or 336-751-5921 x1015
Janet Barnes, Career Development Coordinator – barnesj@davie.k12.nc.us or 336-751-5905

$300,000 Interest Free Loan from Energy United Helping Bring Jobs to Davie County

Feb 8, 2019 By Jeanna Baxter White

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 in Mocksville Expanding, Adding Jobs

Jan 27, 2019 By Jeanna Baxter White

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

DDAC Apprenticeship Program ~ Go to College Free and Get a Paycheck at the Same Time – a Win-Win for Everyone

Jan 27, 2019 By Jeanna Baxter White

“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.

More Jobs on the Way! Announcing Davie Industrial Center – Almost 1 Million Square Feet of New Industrial Buildings Coming to Davie County!

Jan 17, 2019 By Jeanna Baxter White

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”

Community Support of Economic Development Leads to Impressive Job and Investment Growth

Dec 18, 2018 By Jeanna Baxter White

In December 2013, the Davie County Economic Development Commision launched the “Together We Are Davie” campaign, an ambitious economic growth initiative to create over 1,200 new jobs and to raise $100 million in new corporate investments by 2018. The community was challenged to meet a capital fundraising goal of $1 MILLION DOLLARS.

Thanks to the generous support of 59 visionary companies and individuals, the initiative was a resounding success and the results have been extraordinary.

Davie County led the state in job creation from 2013-2017 with 23 percent job growth while the state of North Carolina averaged just 8.5 percent during the same time period! Recently, the North Carolina Commerce Department recognized Davie County as one of the top 20 economies in the state.

Together we have:

Created more than 1,200 jobs
Assisted local companies with acquiring $3.6 million in state/federal grants
Attracted private investment of more than $111 million
Attracted over 1,000,000 square feet of new spec industrial buildings
Dropped our unemployment rate from 13% to 3%

“All of this has been accomplished with about half of the funds raised!” said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission. “The capital fund created through this initiative will continue to help sustain job creation, growth, and beneficial economic development in the future. The success of the initiative also proves that investment in the community pays dividends. Such investment should become a continuous part of our business and economic culture going forward and not merely confined to one great effort.”

“On behalf of the Davie County Economic Development Commission, I’d like to say thank you to the companies and individuals that contributed to this extraordinarily successful campaign, you’ve demonstrated good citizenship at its best” Bralley said. “Economic development is a team sport. Together We are Davie!”

Our Generous Contributors

Allegacy Federal Credit Union
Allen Geomatics
Amarr Company
Bandy Insurance Agency
Bank of the Ozarks
BB&T
Beaufurn
BRJ Properties
Carolina Farm Credit
Christy Trucking Company
Comfort Bilt Windows & Doors
CPP Global
Davie Community Foundation
Davie Construction Company
Davie County Publishing
Davie Electrical Co.
Duke Energy
Eaton Funeral Home
Energy United
Facility Logistic Services
Fuller Welding & Fabrication
Funder America
G.L. Wilson
Hayworth Miller Funeral Home
Hillsdale Real Estate Group
Innovative Management Systems
Landmark Builders
Magnolia Construction
Martin and Van Hoy
Mebane Charitable Foundation
Meg Brown Home Furnishings
Miller Building & Remodeling
Novant Health – Clemmons Medical Center
Omega Construction
Pro Refrigeration
Quality Oil Company
Republic Waste Services
S&ME
Shelco
Sterling Events Group/WinMock at Kinderton
Stimmel Associates
Sum5 Communications/DavieLife
The Resource
Timmons Group
VF Jeanswear Mocksville
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Walmart
Wells Fargo
Yadtel Group

Individual Sponsors:
Christine/Terry Bralley
Terry Bumgarner
Darrin Hartness
William F. Junker, Sr.
George Martin
Jane/David Simpson
Chip Sisk
James J. Stockert

DavieCONNECT – Creating Innovative Workforce Solutions for Davie County

Nov 26, 2018 By Jeanna Baxter White

Carolyn McManamy, Director, DavieCONNECT

Davie County’s unprecedented 23% job growth over the past five years coupled with a low unemployment rate of 3.9% has left local employers in a quandary — how to find enough qualified workers.

Seeking to create a solution to the problem, the Davie County Economic Development Commission has kicked-off DavieCONNECT, an initiative designed to connect businesses to resources and kids to careers and to provide innovative workforce solutions for Davie County.

DavieCONNECT’s director, Carolyn McManamy, will apply the knowledge gained during eight years as president of the Davie County Chamber of Commerce to serve as a resource for local businesses, educators, and those in or entering the workforce by helping to align resources and programs and collaborating with community partners. She is excited about the opportunity to focus 100% of her attention on an issue she is passionate about — workforce development. Her eyes light up as she discusses the organization’s initiatives and shares the multitude of programs in the works and the impact they can have in Davie.

“There is a lot of attention on solving our workforce issues, yet we lack a cohesive coordination or alignment of the programs and resources available in Davie County. One aspect of my role is to serve as the centralized “core of knowledge” of workforce funding and programs available to our businesses, educators, and citizens and to communicate that information accordingly. Having served on the Piedmont Triad Workforce Development Board for many years, I have seen first-hand the impact of historic low unemployment and the misalignment of skills in the workforce. We benefit enormously by increasing awareness of local career opportunities, training and work-based programs like apprenticeships and internships as well as grant funding for on-the-job training and scholarships for college and certificate-based training.”

She believes education is key to assisting both local employers and potential employees. “We can improve the quality of our workforce through education by connecting businesses to educators to ensure graduates are career or college ready. When curriculum is aligned with business needs, we all succeed. Equally important will be connecting businesses to grants/funding for job training, apprenticeships, internships, and externships, and to help them develop such programs.”

In order for Davie County to continue to thrive, McManamy believes it is important to improve overall community awareness of local employers and local careers opportunities, especially with our students. One of her primary goals will be connecting students to career options through increased awareness at both the middle and high school level. Offering students multiple opportunities to learn about career options through business tours, career days, apprenticeships, internships, and job shadowing is key to expanding our workforce.

North Davie students visit Pro Refrigeration

“Because of low unemployment, we are at a tipping point,” McManamy said. “Our employers are struggling to fill open positions and they are learning that traditional recruiting methods are not yielding the results they are seeking. Successful employers are going out into the community to recruit their employees. They are more engaged with our schools and are onsite meeting with students and informing them about career opportunities in their companies.”

“Apprenticeships, internships, and work-based learning programs are on the rise and having a positive impact for both our employers and students. Businesses are developing their own talent pipeline and addressing the skills gap, and in most cases, students are earning while they are learning and have an established career path when they complete their training.”

Two big initiatives that are in the works that will significantly impact the Davie County Workforce are soft skills training and a college promise program. “We know we have a skills gap where potential employees lack the requisite technical skills to do the jobs employers need. But our employers are also telling us our workforce needs better soft skills. The importance of showing up to work on time, not using a phone, working in a team environment, effectively communicating with coworkers and leadership cannot be overstated. While these skills seem intuitive to some, they are not, and the absence of these skills impacts productivity and can be toxic in the workplace.”

McManamy is working with Davie County Schools CTE Director Anthony Davis and Chuck Taylor of Sage Garden Care Center to develop a soft skills training program that can be implemented in the schools. The goal is to launch a pilot program at the high school and then to introduce it at the middle schools and elementary schools as well.

The second initiative she is working on is a College Promise program which would cover the cost of tuition and books for Davie County residents to attend up to two years at DCCC for an associate degree, transfer degree, or certification/training.

“Increasing the educational attainment of our workforce contributes to increased economic prosperity in the community,” McManamy said. While at the Davie County Chamber, she initiated the discussions of a college promise with the chamber board. At the time, the community focus was on developing an early education initiative and it was decided to wait until that program was launched. DavieLEADS is up and running and McManamy believes it is time to focus on a college promise. “Several communities and states have already initiated college promise programs, so the program structure exists. We need to determine what will work best in Davie County and how to fund it. Typically, the programs are public/private initiatives.”

To better communicate those opportunities, she plans to use social media and to create a workforce portal that will become a “one-stop shop” for local career and college/training information.

“Nearly every community is dealing with workforce-related issues,” McManamy said. “It’s a big multifaceted problem that requires creating solutions at the local level. That is what the DavieCONNECT initiative is, solutions that work for Davie County.”

Comfort Bilt Growing in Mocksville, Creating New Jobs!

Oct 26, 2018 By Jeanna Baxter White

Trena Drake (foreground) and Amanda Leonard

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority has awarded the Town of Mocksville a $212,000 grant to support the renovation of a 194,000-square-foot building that is occupied by Comfort Bilt^® Windows and Doors, a subsidiary of Larson Manufacturing, which manufactures storm doors and windows. The company plans to invest over $500,000 to expand production at the facility, creating as many as 50 new jobs over the next two years.

The plant will begin producing an additional line of storm doors with retractable screens next year. To provide space for the increased production, Larson’s distribution center will move to an adjacent building and the current facility will be up-fitted and reconfigured to improve efficiency and productivity.

“Adding jobs is always exciting,” said Michael Barron, plant manager, “and this expansion allows us to lay things out the way we want them, not the way they have had to be because of space limitations. A lot has changed at the plant over the years.”

Chuck King

Over 10,000,000 Doors Since 1999
Comfort Bilt^® began operations in Mocksville in 1999 with just one product. Today, nine different product lines are manufactured by 200 dedicated employees residing in Davie and surrounding counties.

Over the past nineteen years, the Mocksville plant has manufactured more than 10 million stock and custom storm doors and windows, including many sold at Lowe’s and other home improvement stores.

Comfort Bilt became the first tenant of the SouthPoint Business Park on Hwy 601 after its parent company, headquartered in Brookings, South Dakota, began seeking an East Coast location.

According to Barron, the company desired a location in a growing area near an interstate, with competitive property prices, good utilities, and a skilled labor force where it could develop a good working relationship with city and county government. It found all of that in Davie County.

Derrick Sandamanie

Since then, Comfort Bilt and the SouthPoint Business Park have helped fuel the manufacturing boom that has provided Davie County with hundreds of needed jobs as well as an increased tax base.

Economic Development is a Team Sport in Davie County
“Comfort Bilt became the first tenant in Davie County’s first spec building and look what’s happened since!” said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission. “Bringing Comfort Bilt to Mocksville provided the beginning of a resurgence in manufacturing jobs in Davie County that continues to this day, but that resurgence didn’t begin by itself, it was the result of hard work, vision, and teamwork. It began with the vision and investment of Joe Hollingsworth and The Hollingsworth Companies as they built the SouthPoint Business Park, it continued with the help of the Rural Infrastructure Authority and the Golden Leaf Foundation to assist with infrastructure improvements. It also required the dedicated leadership and hard work of our city, county and state officials, AND the leadership and vision of the Larson Company and Comfort Bilt. As I’ve said before, economic development in Davie County, North Carolina is a team sport.”

Chris Cottrell

“It has been rewarding to watch Comfort Bilt’s growth, and we wish them continued success.”

”Comfort Bilt is Hiring
The company is currently hiring as many as 20 new employees in preparation for the new product line that debuts next year. In addition to good benefits and new performance bonuses, Barron is proud of the little extras the company offers its employees like turkeys and hams at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and fun activities for full-time employees and their families that have included trips to Carowinds and the zoo. For more information, visit www.comfortbilt.com.

About the Rural Infrastructure Authority
The Rural Infrastructure Authority was established as part of the Rural Economic Development Division at the NC Department of Commerce to assist with the review and approval of grants for rural areas in the state. The grants-making programs of the Division include assistance for building reuse and restoration, water and sewer infrastructure, and economic innovation in rural communities.

Dena McDaniel

About the Golden LEAF Foundation
The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to help transform North Carolina’s economy. The foundation receives one-half of North Carolina’s funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers and places special emphasis on assisting tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and/or rural communities across the state. The Golden LEAF Foundation works in partnership with governmental entities, educational institutions, economic development organizations and nonprofits to achieve its mission. The foundation has awarded 971 grants worth over $459 million since its inception. To learn more about applying for a grant, visit www.goldenleaf.org or call (888) 684-8404.