News Articles
Ohio packaging company Axium confirms it's coming to Archdale
February 28, 2023
Axium Packaging of New Albany, Ohio, is the company planning to invest $36 million and hire 129 workers in Archdale, the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation announced Tuesday.
The maker of blow molding plastic packaging for a range of markets expects to start operations in the first quarter of 2024. Its expected investment includes $15 million in real property and $21 in other property and equipment over five years. The new jobs will pay an average of $47,938.
Archdale and Randolph County have approved incentive packages of $440,613 and $215,885 over five years out of increased tax revenues.
The company had not been named, as is common when manufacturing companies are believed to be considering more than one community.
The Randolph County EDC proposed a 35-acre site at 907 Eden Terrace, with the EDC, county, city and Greensboro developer and builder Samet Corp. had shared in having environmental and engineering preparation complete, according to the agency.
Axium produces packaging for personal care, household chemical, over-the-county pharmaceutical, and food markets. Archdale will be its 19th North American location, according to chief financial officer Ven Bhindwallam.
Axium also was approved for state incentives: $365,000 over three years from the One NC Fund, and $180,000 for customized training by the North Carolina community college system. It also will get a discount on electricity from Duke Energy. The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina also assisted.
Axium is one of central Ohio’s largest employers. It has 3.5 million square feet of manufacturing space at 18 facilities across the United States, Canada and Mexico. It employs over 3,600 people. In late 2022, it announced an expansion near its headquarters near Columbus.
It was acquired in 2020 by the food-oriented investment organization Cerea Partners, according to S&P Global.
Source: Triad Business Journal
Helping Randolph Rise
February 24, 2023
Randolph Rises
Feb 15, 2023 by Larry Penkava
ASHEBORO — With Toyota and Wolfspeed developing megasites in the area, local business leaders can’t afford to rest on their laurels.
That was the message on Feb. 7 when the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation held a kickoff campaign for a five-year effort called Randolph Rises: Alive with Opportunities.
Business, government and education officials from all over the county attended the event at Black Powder Smokehouse, 516 S. Fayetteville St., Asheboro. It was an opportunity for owners of the as-yet unopened restaurant to hold a training session, serving attendees prior to the expected March 1 opening.
But as delicious as the food was, the focus on everyone’s mind was building on recent business successes.
As Kevin Franklin, president of the RCEDC, told the assembly, “Randolph is rising, good things are happening and we’re on a lot of people’s radar. There’s a lot more we can do. We’re reliant on local governments (for revenues), but it’s difficult with just one funding source. There’s more we can do together.”
According to a brochure handed out, “Randolph Rises was developed to continue the momentum of growth, a bold new five-year economic initiative.”
The goal is to “assist existing business, grow a skilled workforce and develop new business opportunities.”
While the RCEDC is behind Randolph Rises, the campaign co-chairs are Bob Crumley, an attorney and businessman, and Dr. Robert Shackleford, retired president of Randolph Community College. Shannon Whaples is working with the RCEDC to coordinate efforts to raise $1.1 million in private business investment to advance the five-year strategic plan.
Addressing the audience, Franklin said, “Just over a decade ago, Asheboro was named a dying community by Forbes, and ’60 Minutes’ produced a segment which focused on challenges the community was facing. I’m happy to report that, based on hard work and success over the last 10 years, Asheboro and Randolph County are not dying, but thriving. Since 2013 when I joined the EDC, we have tracked project announcements totaling nearly $4.4 billion in investment and over 5,000 jobs. That doesn’t sound to me like a dying community!
“While we have seen tremendous opportunity, and more on the horizon, this is not the time to sit back and revel in our success,” Franklin continued. “There is much more to be done, and we have put a plan together to pursue some significant economic development goals here in Randolph County.
“Randolph Rises is an effort to partner with the private sector, become less reliant on public sector funding, and collectively move Randolph County forward. We invite the business community to join our efforts to ensure that Randolph County continues to grow and prosper.”
Those efforts combine preparing a diverse workforce, developing land for new industries and connecting with existing businesses to understand them and respond to their needs. Providing the workforce involves the RCEDC being a liaison between industry, educators and the public about manufacturing careers.
To attract and retain industries, Randolph Rises proposes to develop two industrial park sites and three general non-specific sites. Also, a priority is to work with the county and municipalities to identify viable sites and buildings.
As for existing businesses, the goal of Randolph Rises is to maintain connections with them to help them grow and become committed to the community. Surveys show that most new investments and job creation are represented by existing businesses.
During the five years of the project, the aim is to create 1,500 new jobs paying at or above the county average wage. Another goal is to foster $250 million in new capital investment by both existing and new companies.
Franklin said the target of the campaign is to raise $1.5 million during the five years. “We’re well on our way with $755,000,” he said. “We’re not going to fail in reaching the goal.”
Levels of giving are:
— Platinum, more than $75,000.
— Gold, $25,000-$75,000.
— Silver, $5,000-$25,000.
— Bronze, $2,500-$5,000.
Shackleford, noting that “it’s exciting to see how far we’ve come from where we’ve been,” talked about visiting the BMW automotive plant at Spartanburg, SC. He said he saw new communities, new shopping centers and new schools that have been built since the automaker arrived.
Speaking of Toyota and Wolfspeed coming to the region, Shackleford said, “It’s going to revolutionize our community. The future is bright. This county is a great place to live. With unprecedented economic opportunities, it’s a great time to be here.”
But moving forward, he said, will require funding. “We can’t get from here to there with limited money. This is for all of us. We’ll get there together.”
Crumley said, “When I came here 42 years ago, the local economy was textiles, furniture and finance.” Now most of the textile plants are gone and much of the furniture industry has gone overseas. And there is no longer a banking headquarters here.
“But we’re not dying,” Crumley said. “The EDC is reliant on government appropriations. Join us in remaking the economy of the county. Businesses will benefit by growth.”
Source: Randolph Hub
Incentives OK'd for Randolph project
February 9, 2023
RANDOLPH COUNTY — An Ohio-based packaging products manufacturer now has an incentives offer on the table as its leaders consider whether to build a plant in Archdale.
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners and the Archdale City Council on Monday authorized a total of up to $656,498 in local incentives as part of an effort to recruit the unnamed company, which is considering a site in the city and an out-of-state location for the $36 million project, which would create 129 jobs.
The company, which has multiple locations in the U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico, plans to expand to better serve its existing customer base, Crystal Gettys, business recruitment director for the Randolph County Economic Development Corp., told both boards.
"I think it will be a great project for our community — for the Archdale community, Randolph County as a whole — creating those jobs at good paying wages," she said. "I hope I can give you a positive decision from the company very soon, but we are still in competition, and their decision will be coming soon."
The new jobs would pay average annual wages of $45,969.
Gettys said the city, the county and general contractor Samet Corp. helped prepare a site that the EDC was able to market and help draw the company's attention.
All four parties in 2021 agreed to contribute $31,200 each for pre-development services for 35 acres at 907 Eden Terrace, just south of High Point off Surrett Drive.
The company plans to build a 200,000-square-foot facility to manufacture their packaging products.
Its investment would total $36 million, with $21 million of this in the form of machinery and equipment, and $15 million in real property. The local incentives, in the form of cash grants, would be split between the county ($440,613) and the city ($215,885).
The project also qualifies for more than $1.7 million in state incentives, Gettys said.
Source: High Point Enterprise