Randolph County EDC's 26th Annual Meeting...celebrating a year of gains

June 23, 2011

ASHEBORO – PEMMCO Manufacturing Chief Executive Officer Rick Powell acknowledged Thursday morning that he didn’t have a lot in common with his fellow business leaders at the head table for the Randolph County Economic Development Corp. annual meeting. 

His business in Asheboro makes precision machine parts used in heavy equipment such as large trucks or industrial machinery. One of his fellow speakers – Jim Huston with Americhem Inc. in Liberty – runs a business producing plastic resin coloring that gives Tide laundry detergent containers their distinct orange appearance or Mountain Dew soft drink bottles their familiar green tint. Another speaker – Dale Ducommun with Malt-O-Meal Cereal in Asheboro – operates a business that makes a variety of breakfast cereals.

But Powell said he and his fellow businessmen, both in the meeting room and across the area, share one important common characteristic – they call Randolph County home for their growing businesses.

Political and business leaders from the county gathered to celebrate a year of gains in economic development during the Randolph County EDC annual meeting at the AVS Banquet Centre.

The EDC reports that 564 new jobs were created by companies investing $206.7 million in new and expanded industrial projects during the 2010-11 fiscal year. 

The new and expanding industries have helped the county make a dent in its unemployment rate as the area and country emerge from the Great Recession. The county’s jobless rate was 9.7 percent in April, down from 10.3 percent in March and from 11.1 percent in April of last year, according to the most recent figures from the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

The EDC has secured grants to promote future growth by extending water and sewer lines to potential industrial and commercial sites in the county, said EDC President Bonnie Renfro.

Source: High Point Enterprise - Randolph economic recruiters businesses celebrate year of gains