Regional Report Charlotte October 2012

REGIONALREPORT Charlotte

Chicken feed

A Google search for “North Carolina fried chicken” lists Bojangles’ Restaurants Inc. first and Price’s Chicken Coop second. Such notoriety suggests the Charlotte-based businesses would be popular venues for out-of-towners seeking signature Southern fare. They thought so. Both expected sales bumps in September during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Neither got one.

Briefs

BADIN — Alcoa Power Generating asked a judge to dismiss its appeal of a 2010 water-quality certification decision (“Water War,” January) so it can file a new application for its Yadkin River hydroelectric dams. The New York-based aluminum maker and Stanly County officials have been in a dispute over the relicensing, which the county believes benefits Alcoa disproportionately. Alcoa says a new application would include data showing water-quality improvements along the river.

SHELBY — Germany-based Schletter, a maker of solar-mounting systems, will open a production plant and distribution center here, investing $27 million and hiring 305 within four years. The site will become its U.S. headquarters. Average annual salary will be $40,660, higher than Cleveland County’s average of $32,760.

CHARLOTTE — Steven Berrard stepped down as CEO of Swisher Hygiene as the provider of sanitation services and products completes an audit of its 2011 financial reports. He will continue to serve on the board of directors.

GASTONIA — The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and Clean Air Carolina have sued the N.C. Department of Transportation over the proposed $930 million Garden Parkway toll highway, alleging that its environmental-impact study was misleading. Charlottesville, Va.-based Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing the nonprofits, successfully challenged a study of the proposed Monroe Bypass toll road earlier this year in nearby Union County.

CHARLOTTE — Manufacturer Beardow Adams will open a plant here, investing $5.1 million and creating 31 jobs over five years. The United Kingdom-based maker of hot-melt adhesives says average annual wage will be $52,984, on par with Mecklenburg County’s average of $51,792.

CHARLOTTE — Washington, D.C.-based private-equity firm The Carlyle Group will acquire Cogentrix Energy, an operator and developer of power plants, from New York-based Goldman Sachs Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.