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July 30, 2010: Health Care Reform Seminar

On Tuesday, August 3rd, HCPED is hosting a seminar to help Henderson County employers understand the implications, costs and deadlines associated with Health Care Reform.  David Smith, former policy advisor to Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker and Past President of the NC Association of Health Underwriters will guide attendees through the employer implementation timelines, grandfathered plans, the small business tax credit, and many other critical components to this legislation.  The seminar is ideal for small business owners as well as HR personnel at large employers.  Thanks to BB&T and Morrow Insurance for their sponsorship of this seminar!

July 26, 2010: Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research

On July 8th, a delegation of manufacturing executives from Henderson County took a short trip down I-26 to tour Clemson’s ICAR.  ICAR is an advanced-technology research campus where academia, industry and government collaborate to support the automotive industry.  Our intent was to establish an economic development relationship, and also to acquaint our local companies with their engineering and research services.  ICAR Director, Bob Geolas, expressed his interest in partnering with our organization and business community. 

July 24, 2010: Thank You Senator Apodaca, Representative Guice & Representative Justus!

We would like to formally thank our representatives in the NC General Assembly for their efforts during the recent legislative session.  On July 10th the General Assembly passed H1973, making late changes to the bill to retain a valuable tax credit tool used for job creation and machinery investment.  On July 9th, S778 was passed, amending the application of the State Environmental Policy Act that we wrote about in June.  A special thank you to Rep. Justus for 4.5 terms, many hours, and many years in service to our community.

July 15, 2010: NC Earns #4 Spot in CNBC Ranking

CNBC scored all 50 states—using publicly available data—on 40 different measures of competitiveness. States received points based on their rankings in each metric. They separated those metrics into the ten broad categories, with input from business groups including the National Association of Manufacturers. Categories were weighted based on how frequently each is cited in state economic development marketing materials.

 

North Carolina earned the 4th best overall, and earned 3rd best in workforce.  To see the full rankings and article, click here.

June 29, 2010: SEPA Court Decision Threatens Economic Development Projects

A recent decision by Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens requires that the Titan America/Carolinas Cement project be subject to the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).  Much more concerning to our efforts is that this ruling would require that private economic development projects, that are eligible for state or local incentives, could also be subject to the act.  SEPA is an intensive review process for state construction projects with a potential detrimental environmental impact, never intended to have application in the private development sector.

June 28, 2010: Blue Ridge Community College Prepares for Camp TECHhead

On July 26-30, Blue Ridge Community College will offer 29 high school students in Henderson and Transylvania Counties the opportunity to take part in the college’s first ever advanced manufacturing camp.  Camp TECHhead is focused on helping students to learn it (formulas & blueprints), design it (using cutting-edge technology) and create it (with advanced machinery).  Students will also earn their NC Career Readiness Certificates, emerging with a realistic understanding of the variety of career opportunities in advanced manufacturing.

May 27, 2010: 2010 Industrial Executives Forum Recap

In 2009, a report produced for Congress by the International Economic Development Council concluded that investments in infrastructure, and workforce training, are among the leading drivers for economic success in the U.S.  On May 6th representatives from each of the key infrastructure providers in the Henderson County area formed a panel to outline current capacity, investment trends, and projections on future demand.  The forum also facilitated direct connections between users and providers, opening critical dialog between business and infrastructure leaders.

May 26, 2010: City of Hendersonville Revises Water Shortage Plan

In response to drought conditions throughout much of the southeast during the 2006-2009 timeframe many jurisdictions throughout the state faced enormous pressures to restrict use of public water resources.  The City of Hendersonville formed a task force in late 2009 focused on revising the City’s water shortage and conservation ordinance.  The task force and City Council have approved a revised Water Shortage Response Plan that allows the City to conserve in a drought situation with minimal impact to businesses that rely on water.

May 25, 2010: Perdue Announces New Aerospace Initiative

Governor Perdue announced a new state aerospace initiative during the N.C. Aerospace Executives Forum on May 21 in New Bern.  Perdue asked N.C. Dept. of Commerce Sec. Keith Crisco to develop three working groups of aerospace professionals to focus on workforce preparedness, the supplier network and recruitment of new industry.  Establishing this initiative will help further efforts to market Ferncliff Industrial Park as one of the state’s premiere locations for aerospace business in addition to building critical infrastructure to support the sector.

May 11, 2010: CEOs rank North Carolina as 2nd Best State for Business

More than 600 CEOs rated states on a wide range of criteria from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment, in Chief Executive’s sixth annual special report.  651 CEOs across the U.S. again gave North Carolina high honors by ranking them the 2nd Best State for Business.

The business leaders were asked to draw upon their direct experience to rate each state in three general categories: taxation and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment. Within each category respondents graded states in five subcategories, as well as ranking each in terms of its importance to the respondent and how individual states measure up (Click here to see How CEOs Grade the States chart).

April 7, 2010: NC Maintains Low Tax Ratio for Business

The Council On State Taxation (COST) just released their 8th annual study of state and local business taxes.  The report, prepared by Ernst & Young LLP, shows all state and local business taxes paid in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.  These taxes include business property taxes, sales and excise taxes on business inputs, gross receipts taxes, corporate income and franchise taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, pass-through business taxes and other state and local taxes that are the statutory liability of business taxpayers.

Read the Ernst & Young LLR Report Here

April 5, 2010: Ferncliff Industrial Park Featured in Expansion Solutions Magazine

Ferncliff Industrial Park was recently featured in the March/April issue of Expansion Solutions Magazine.  The story was included in a larger feature section on North Carolina that outlined our state’s workforce, target industries, market access and other competitive assets.  The Ferncliff feature highlights the site’s recent certification by the NC Department of Commerce in December of 2009.  The article also covers participation in the Duke Energy Site Readiness program, and an on-site briefing with Commerce officials.

Read the Story at Expansion Solutions Here

March 21, 2010: 2010 Industrial Executives Forum: Infrastructure

The Board of Directors and staff of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development would like to invite all members, investors and manufacturers of Henderson County to the 3rd Annual Industrial Executives Forum.  The 2010 Forum will be focused on Infrastructure, and specifically how it relates creates opportunities for the economic development future of Henderson County, NC.  Clink the link above for more information on the speakers and how to RSVP.

March 20, 2010: “Our Kids . . . Our Future,

On April 16, 2010, The United Agenda for Children and Children & Family Resource Center will present "Our Kids...Our Future," a Town Hall Meeting designed to focus attention and action on early childhood development needs of children.

Date:  April 16, 2010
Time:  8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast 7:30 a.m.
Place:  Blue Ridge Community College, Conference Hall

Register Here

March 18, 2010: City of Hendersonville Posts RFPs, Bids & Solicitations

The City of Hendersonville's new web site has a dedicated Business section.  Within that section is a link titled "Doing Business with the City".  This link will post all active requests for proposals (or qualifications), advertisements for bids, and similar solicitations.  HCPED encourages local businesses to use this resource to their advantage.