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FRONT AND CENTER
Chatham County is at North Carolina’s heart. Workforce, shovel-ready sites and a business-friendly approach, along with some geography, put it there.
CTI Systems assembles electronics for customers, including SpaceX and Amazon, in the automotive, defense, medical and telecommunications industries. About 70 people work at its 200,000-square-foot plant in the southern Chatham County community of Goldston, the less than1-square-mile town where fiddle-wielding country musician Charlie Daniels attended high school.
Ryan Gladieux was named CTI’s CEO last year, closing his 25-year career in the plastics packaging industry. But his job description hasn’t been the only change since then. “We’ve invested about $1 million in the past 18 months, specifically on a new roof and new machinery,” he says. “We also improved the inside offices and conference rooms. We launched a social media campaign, and our followers have gone from 300 to 1,100. And we revamped our website to make it more customer-friendly.”
CTI employees commute from Sanford, Pittsboro, Siler City and Raleigh’s southern suburbs. “We love the small-town feel [of Goldston], and the people here are proud,” Gladieux says. “We aim to double sales in the coming years, launch new products, and really transform this building and land into a place where people would beg to work.”
MEETING IN THE MIDDLE
Chatham County is at the center of many success stories such as CTI, literally and figuratively. The U.S. Geological Survey determined North Carolina’s geographic center is near Gulf, about 15 miles southwest of the county seat — Pittsboro. “We are grateful for our fantastic geography that puts us in the middle of the Triangle and Triad,” says Chatham Economic Development President Michael Smith, who notes the proximity to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where more than 350 flights head to destinations near and far daily, and Research Triangle Park, home to cutting-edge companies. “One of the things that’s fascinating is that if you’re standing in the northeast corner of Chatham County, you literally are in walking distance to RTP,” he says.
Chatham Economic Development Business Development Manager Jack Pendergraph says it wasn’t long ago that driving to the state’s capital seemed like a journey. “Now, they’re right around the corner,” he says. “Travel time from downtown Raleigh to Pittsboro is about 35 minutes. A 45-minute drive in any direction enables you to do all kinds of things, like see a show or go to a ballgame.”
Chatham County is home to one of the state’s largest economic development projects, VinFast’s $4 billion electric car factory, which is expected to open in 2028 and create 7,500 jobs. Landing it took teamwork, especially locally. “TriRiver Water is the regional utility provider in Sanford, and they have the water and sewer connectivity to areas outside Sanford, like Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina,” Smith says. “We’re all connected in this part of North Carolina, and we all understand that these businesses have people who live and work in multiple communities. A win for one is a win for all, and we certainly believe that here. We have business-friendly elected officials here in Chatham County that have provided great support for our organization and the companies that are here.”
Local officials prioritize strategic planning, affordable housing and infrastructure – roads, water and sewer – says Kirk Bradley, president, CEO and chair of real-estate developer Lee-Moore Capital, which is behind several mixed-use developments in Chatham County. “One example, TriRiver Water, has created a scalable enterprise,” he says. “So, we’re positioned for regional expansion over the next 20-plus years. We’re equipped with enough power generation to support data centers and AI. Chatham has the highest growth potential in the state.”
Chatham County’s businesses, utilities and workers routinely cross its boundaries. “Chatham County has multiple addresses,” Smith says. “Some overlap into Chapel Hill and Cary. And the water-sewer lines for Triangle Innovation Point West [industrial park] and VinFast show we have excellent relationships with our neighbors.”
ADDING JOBS AND POPULATION
Earlier this year, Jacksonville, Florida-based housing component manufacturer Innovative Construction Group announced it’s building a factory on 46 acres at the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing Site. The almost $40 million investment is expected to create 157 jobs during the next five years. Their average annual salary will be $52,949, more than the county’s current average of $50,302.
CAM, which stretches across 1,350 acres, also is home to Wolfspeed, which announced a $5 billion investment in 2022. Its factory – John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide – will be the world’s largest and make materials for the automotive, telecommunications and other industries. Expected to create 1,800 jobs by 2030, it began growing silicon carbide crystals in June. “I think it’s another example of a competitive project that was looking at a major metro area in another state and selected us,” Smith says. “It’s another testament to our location and workforce, and the fact that they’re in homebuilding fits in with all our developments to come.”
A growing population is vital to a growing workforce. The N.C. Office of State Budget and Management says Chatham Countty had about 81,000 residents in 2023, up from about 66,000 a decade before. Two sources will continue adding to it. “First is nearby Fort Liberty, which has 8,000 exiting military folks every year,” Smith says. “Second, the four-year colleges have 40,000 graduates every year, and a high percentage of them, at this stage, are interested in staying in the region. You have university students and military folks, who may be from other parts of the state, and they realize this is a great place to raise a family and get a job. They want to stay.”
Smith says the county’s abundance of industries, thanks to quick access from US-64 and interstate 40, draw workers from a 10-county region. “Basically from Guilford to Johnston [counties], we’re in the middle,” he says. “We have a compelling story when it comes to workforce.”
TRAINING WORKERS
Central Carolina Community College has three campuses – Pittsboro, Sanford and Siler City. Its 22-acre E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center in Pittsboro showed off its new Industry Skills Training Lab to business partners at an open house in June. “[It]is an opportunity not only for CCCC to expand our ability to respond to the demand for a highly skilled workforce, but it is a regional resource to provide workforce solutions in advanced manufacturing,” says CCCC Vice President of Workforce Development Margaret Roberton. CCCC reports there are about 104,000 biotechnology and advanced-manufacturing jobs in the region, and it expects about 20,000 more, based on recent economic development announcements, including VinFast and Wolfspeed.
CCCC hosted its annual National Manufacturing Day in October, one more effort to address workforce needs. Roberton says more than 30 companies participated in last year’s showcase, which attracted more than 800 attendees, including 500 students. “CCCC works closely with all of our local high school partners to support Career and College Promise pathways,” she says. “We have robust [Career and Technical Education] programs that prepare students for a variety of technical paths ranging from biotechnology to robotic welding. We have several new high school CTE opportunities this year, including BioWork in Lee County and advanced manufacturing in Chatham County.”
CCCC isn’t stopping. It’s expanding to meet developing workforce needs. Its CDL program, for example, has been underway for a year, and industrial maintenance classes started this fall. “Renovation plans for the 10,000- square-foot biotechnology building are moving forward with construction targeted to begin in early 2025,” Roberton says. “This effort is parallel with the design work on Phase One of the 180,000-square-foot manufacturing building with construction beginning in the next fiscal year. Phase One is focused on the specialty training environments supporting customized- and short-term training with industrial systems, quality and robotics labs as well as a new welding lab, which will be utilized by the [Caterpillar Youth Apprenticeship] students.”
Addressing workforce needs is the start of creating a welcoming environment for businesses, Bradley says. “From school choice for K-12 to free community college, Chatham is getting its students career-ready,” he says. “Our Career and Technical Education pathway is on full display with a 50% participation rate. Businesses partner with our educational systems, which will keep and attract top talent.” But efforts go deeper. Site availability and business-friendly policies also attract businesses to Chatham County. “Close proximity to the Triangle’s urban core – but without the density and accompanying challenges – lures industry and residents alike,” he says.
Assistance continues once a business arrives. Pendergraph leads Chatham County’s existing industry program. “The program was formally started about a year-and-a-half ago,” he says. “We have major companies, such as VinFast and Wolfspeed and FedEx, and wanted to give them the ability to grow, so we hosted a number of career fairs. Wolfspeed actually has a written commitment that 7% of their contracting has to go to locally owned small and diverse businesses. So, they hosted their own ‘supplier days,’ and we served as the conduit on the county side.”
Not every big business in Chatham County is urban. Agricultural food producer and processer Mountaire Farms employs 10,000 at locations across five states, including North Carolina, where it has a processing plant and hatcheries near Siler City. Part of its mission, the website says, is to be the No. 1 veteran and first responder employer in the state through its Hiring Our Heroes Program.
Prospective businesses aren’t the only ones eyeing Chatham County. “In 2023, tourism [spending] rose 5.1% year-over-year, and visitors contributed $79.59 million to Chatham County’s tax base,” Bradley says. “The county just welcomed its first business class hotel [Hampton Inn & Suites], which will accommodate our growing visitor base. Come see it. It’s not your mother’s or father’s Chatham County. It’s a different place, and you should see it with your own eyes, because it’s different and even better than you think.” ■
— Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.