Take, for example, GKN Driveline, a global leader in all-wheel drive (AWD) technologies that is investing $179 million and adding more than 300 new jobs at its locations in Alamance, Catawba, Lee and Person counties. The state’s manufacturing tradition and workforce assets particularly appeal to automotive component manufacturers expanding or opening plants in North Carolina.
2 in the magazine’s best states list, North Carolina scores particularly well in the ranking’s measures of regulatory environment and costs of doing business (more than 10 percent below the national average). In fact, North Carolina is the only state that has ranked among Forbes Top 5 best states for business for 11 consecutive years. Thomas Built BusesAll told, those assets explain why, year after year, North Carolina places among the Top 10 or better in the nation’s most respected business rankings. The state’s diverse automotive manufacturing cluster includes heavy duty truck, body and trailer, engine and transmission, seating and interior trim, brake systems and more.Ĭompanies choose North Carolina for its quality of life, affordable costs of living and doing business, skilled manufacturing workforce, strategic Central East Coast location, highly appealing tax and regulatory environment and a strong transportation infrastructure that includes extensive rail, roadways and interstates, as well as four international airports and two deepwater ports. Thirty-four of the top 150 automotive parts manufacturers in North America have significant operations in North Carolina. In addition, North Carolina has made its high-octane business climate even more attractive to automotive and other manufacturers in recent years, through business-friendly changes to its tax structure and incentives. The state’s tally of automotive manufacturing workers should continue to climb, as cutting-edge automotive component manufacturers and their suppliers have recently announced plans to expand or locate new operations in the state. “Our growth has come through expansions in our capacity, our market share and the overall size of the school bus market – but our success really comes from a culture of quality ingrained in North Carolina workers,” company CEO and President Caley Edgerly said. America’s largest school bus manufacturer, Thomas Built Buses headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, has grown its workforce by more than 50 percent over the past six years and now employs more than 2,000 people.Automotive manufacturing is a thriving and fast-growing part of North Carolina’s diverse manufacturing industry, which employs more than 460,000 people and constitutes the largest manufacturing workforce of any state in the Southeast.Įmployment in the state’s automotive manufacturing cluster grew 22 percent between 20, and now encompasses more than 26,000 people working for 290 companies.įor example, High Point, North Carolina-based Thomas Built Buses, America’s largest school bus manufacturer producing over 16,000 vehicles a year, has grown its workforce by more than 50 percent over the past six years and now employs more than 2,000 people.
0 kommentar(er)
