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Wednesday, November 13, 2024
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Skanska to build $137M STEM center at N.C. State

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Artist rendering of $136.7 million science building being built on the N.C. State University campus.

N.C. State University picked multinational contractor Skanska to build the $136.7 million Integrative Sciences Building, marking one of the biggest UNC system projects of the year.

The 164,947-square foot building will be used to promote STEM teaching and research as part of the university’s efforts to expand science education. It will include classrooms, teaching and research labs, faculty spaces and a cafe.

Departments using the building will include chemistry, biochemistry and biotechnology research.

The building will “revitalize the marquee Brickyard, one of the nine hallowed places on the north campus,” said Mark Balling, Skanska’s executive vice president for North Carolina and Virginia building operations, in a release. Richmond, Virginia-based Moseley Architects is the building designer.

The project is expected to be completed in September 2026.

Skanska, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, has previously built several N.C. State structures, including Fitts-Woolard Hall; the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center; the James B. Hunt Jr. Library; and Engineering Building III at N.C. State.

Durham medical-device manufacturer expanding to Greensboro

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Durham-based Gilero, a company with a growing foothold in life sciences and health care, is expanding to Greensboro in the form of a $6.4 million investment with 37 new jobs, the company and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday. The company will move into a 60,500-square feet building and expects to begin operations next summer.

SAS acquires UK-based Hazy for data, AI expansion

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Cary-based SAS is taking over the principal software assets of Hazy, a London-based firm that specializes in synthetic data technology. SAS projects the move will bolster their data and AI portfolio with the expansion of AI occurring across multiple industries. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Washington hospital declares bankruptcy; company downplays impact

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Washington Regional Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in northeastern North Carolina, has filed for bankruptcy. The hospital in Plymouth is in debt to utility companies, health care service vendors and regional governmental bodies. CEO Frank Avignone said the Chapter 11 filing won’t impact staff or patients, adding the hospital is expanding services and hiring.

Elliott Management calls for Honeywell breakup after amassing $5B stake

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Elliott Management has accumulated a significant stake in Honeywell International Inc. and is now asking the company to consider a new structure. The investor revealed Tuesday that it has amassed a stake worth more than $5 billion in Honeywell. Elliott wrote a letter to the Charlotte-based Fortune 500 company asking it to reconsider its conglomerate structure.

Ford, DuPont vets join C-suite at Greensboro’s Camco

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Greensboro-based Camco has announced that Danielle Conner, a veteran of chemical giants DuPont and Clorox and most recently craft yarn company Spinrite, has joined as chief operating officer. Lisa Schoder, a veteran of automaker Ford who was recently with home improvement retailer Lowe’s, is the new chief marketing officer.

Stop Titan group turns attention to 4,000 acres of land poised for 4,000 units

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A campaign opposing the proposal of a 4,030-unit development in Castle Hayne is gaining traction, as the county is assessing a by-right project poised to sprawl across 4,039 acres of land. State officials designated an adjacent property as a top priority inactive hazardous waste site, which some fear could pose health and safety risks to residents.

Current, former HanesBrands employees step closer to ransomware lawsuit payout

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A federal court has given preliminary approval of a proposed HanesBrands Inc. settlement of a lawsuit tied to a May 2022 ransomware attack. The settlement proposes providing some current and former employees the option of two years’ worth of credit and identity monitoring, a Hanes store credit and shipping costs, or a cash payment of $35.

New Wilmington museum focuses on impact of 1898 massacre, coup

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The creation of the Wilmington 1898 Museum for Healing, Education and Democracy was announced in a news release on Monday. The institution is in the planning and development stage with an opening expected in the spring of 2028. The museum will explore the impacts of Wilmington’s 1898 massacre and coup, focusing on its ramifications on civil rights and democracy.

Holidays bring uncertainty for Christmas tree farmers

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Many Christmas tree farmers face hard times over damage caused by Tropical Storm Helene.

As they’ve done for many years, western North Carolina’s Christmas tree farmers are starting to ship millions of Fraser firs across the U.S. and prepare for families visiting their choose-and-cut lots in the mountains.

Beyond the holidays, however, damage from Tropical Storm Helene has created uncertainty for some of the state’s 940 tree growers. Among them are Dee Clark, a third-generation farmer in Newland.

“We’re trying to actually figure out how to carry on from here with the farm,” says Clark, 62, who raises trees on about 400 acres in Burke, Caldwell and Avery counties and, just across the Tennessee line, in Johnson County. “It’s something my family’s built up over the years, and we’re trying our hardest to figure out a way for it to survive after this.”

Farmers such as Clark, of C&G Nursery, have yet to assess the cost of damages. However, they believe them to be potentially devastating due to a lack of flood insurance to cover losses of Christmas trees, seedlings and other landscaping stock, farm equipment and buildings.

Workers in the field harvesting North Carolina Christmas trees. Photo courtesy of North Carolina Christmas Tree Association.

Damage to roads was widespread, from farm roads traversed by crews to reach Christmas trees to Interstate 40, U.S. 421 and other major thoroughfares. In some areas, motorists headed to tree farms are going to encounter delays due to detours around blocked roads.

“Helene hit a month before the start of harvest season,” said Jennifer Greene, executive director of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association, based in Boone. “That was even more stressful for farmers because they’re on a deadline to get those fixed because they’ve got to have access to their farms.”

Ranking behind Oregon, North Carolina accounts for nearly a quarter of Christmas trees produced in the U.S. That translates into a harvest of 3.2 million trees annually, producing sales of more than $144 million, based on the latest information from 2022, according to the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association. Growers raise about 53 million trees on more than 33,000 acres.

Not all farms suffered the severity of damage that hit C&G Nursery, which had to rebuild most of its gravel and dirt roads and replace drainage culverts before workers could start cutting trees. Some other farms were basically wiped out, said Clark, who serves as the association’s treasurer.

“It depends on where you were located,” he said. “For some, it was just an inconvenience. Some may have lost everything they had.”

A landslide stopped at the backdoor of one of Clark’s employees. “It swept his neighbors’ home away and killed both of them,” he said. “And one of his neighbors has yet to be found. She’s still listed under the missing.”

“Every farmer has their own story and their own set of circumstances, but overall, the industry itself and the Christmas trees fared well,” Greene said.

Many trees grow on hillsides, protecting them from flooding. In anticipation of Helene’s arrival in late September, Clark said workers moved tractors and other farm equipment about 100 yards higher than the high-water mark from previous flooding. “We still had equipment get flooded,” he said. 

This coming weekend, C&G Nursery is going to be ready for the opening of its choose-and cut stand in Pineola, Clark said. Looking ahead, he said, the survival of his family’s business is probably going to require downsizing and reorganizing, steps Clark hadn’t contemplated before Helene.

“We may have to restructure how we have always done things, which is hard when you get our age and you’ve done it a certain way your whole life and that’s how you were taught to do it,” he said. “I’m going to have to figure out a different way to do things.”

 

Belmont’s Piedmont Lithium has cut 48% of staff this year

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Belmont-based Piedmont Lithium has almost halved the number of its employees this year to cut costs. The company completed a 32% reduction in workers in October, and earlier reported it had decreased its workforce by 27% in February.

“As part of our 2024 Cost Savings Plan, we reduced our total workforce by 48% between February 2024 and October 2024. We expect to recognize $14 million in annual cost savings in 2024,” Piedmont Lithium reported in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on Tuesday. Piedmont Lithium reported it had 63 employees as of Dec. 31, 2023, all in the U.S. except for two people in Canada, according to its annual report.

Piedmont Lithium reported a quarterly loss of 86 cents per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 46 cents. This compares to earnings of 88 cents a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

Piedmont Lithium posted revenues of $27.7 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $47.1 million for the year before. The company said it had $64.4 million in cash as of Sept. 30, compared with $94.5 million a year earlier. Piedmont entered into a non-dilutive $25 million working capital facility with a trading company partner, according to the report.

Piedmont Lithium’s proposed mining project in Gaston County, called Carolina Lithium, remains the focus of its U.S. development strategy. The company received a state mining permit in the second quarter and continues to pursue a state air quality permit. It would also need a zoning change from Gaston County commissioners before it could begin operations in the northwest part of the county. The site is about 30 miles west of Charlotte.

The company expects to receive credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, passed by the Biden administration.

Piedmont Lithium shares have traded between $6.57 and $31.82 in the past year. Shares are down more than 50% this year, closing Tuesday at $12.95, up 80 cents or 6.63%.