2021-22 Greenville ENC Alliance Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT

2021-2022 www. encal l iance. com hel l o@encal l iance. com 252-751-6018

A NOTE FROM OUR INTERIM PRESIDENT As I look back upon this past year, the three words that best sum it up are passionate, adaptable, and collaborative. We have stayed focused on our mission of passionately supporting new and existing businesses while maximizing opportunities for investment, job creation and economic growth. We have adapted to the changing economic landscape, surges of COVID-19 that disrupt plans, staff changes, and other factors. We have strengthened relationships and demonstrated a spirit of collaboration with those having common interests such as Pitt County Economic Development, other economic development organizations east of I-95 as well as the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

We continue to work diligently on building the foundation for sustained economic development success in Pitt County. Foundations are never the alluring part of any project, but we all know how essential foundations are to stability and providing a platform on which to build. I have witnessed the coordinated work of Uconda, Maria, and David in creating this foundation while they have also been filling the pipeline with qualified leads, responding to inquiries and hosting interested new companies, supporting municipal economic development efforts, and working closely with existing companies to realize their growth plans. In addition, they continue to enhance our brand profile and share our message with investors, site selectors, and community members while staying in contact with our member base and working to expand this base as well as a host of other important activities. We have been short staffed for much of this year, yet they have kept us functioning at a high level due to their sacrifice and commitment.

My gratitude also to the City of Greenville, Greenville Utilities Commission, our investors, our municipal members, and our Board and Committee members. We literally could not do what we do without your support.

Little did I know how eventful this year would be for our organization and for me personally. I look forward to soon welcoming a new President to the Greenville ENC Alliance and staying involved in fostering prosperity, growth, and investment in our communities.

Kind Regards,

Tom Kulikowski

Interim President, Greenville ENC Alliance

FY 2021-22 BUDGET SUMMARY The Greenville ENC Alliance has three primary budgets that are designated for operations, programs, and site/building development.

The operations budget includes contributions from our public sector investors including the City of Greenville, Greenville Utilities Commission, and municipal members. This budget funds staff salaries and overhead.

The programming budget is funded by private sector investors and supports our primary mission through business development, marketing and communications, and investor relations.

The site and building development budget is self-funded through the sale of land. This budget will be used for future purchase of land and/or development of buildings.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A UNIFYING FORCE In June 2022, Pitt County Commissioners approved $100,000 of funding to the Greenville ENC Alliance. This contribution furthers our collaboration on economic development and business attraction in the Pitt County. It validates our belief that economic development can be a unifying force in our community. Our economic development teams have worked closely on a variety of projects over the past two years, and we look forward to enhancing that partnership.

"The contribution is consistent with our continued commitment to collaboration with the Alliance as a strong economic development partner. We look forward to continued collaboration on lead generation and marketing efforts as we work for the good of our community.”

- Janis Gallagher

Pitt County Manager

2021-22 LEADERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS, VOTING Greg Steele (Acting Chair), TowneBank Drake Brinkley (Secretary), Ward and Smith, P.A. Ray Ulmer (Treasurer), Hyster-Yale Group Will Bell, City of Greenville Appointee, Councilman Robert Cherry, City of Greenville Appointee Allison Siebel, City of Greenville Appointee Kelly L. Darden, Jr., Greenville Utilities Commission Appointee Don Mills, Greenville Utilities Commission Appointee John F. Minges III, Greenville Utilities Commission Appointee Tom Asbell II, Town of Bethel David Hodgkins, Town of Farmville Stephen Tripp, Town of Ayden, Mayor Spence Cosby, Pitt County Committee of 100 Dr. Philip Rogers, East Carolina University Scott Senatore, Vidant Health Lance Clark, Bill Clark Homes Dr. Joshua Schwartz, East Carolina Anesthesia Associates Michael Overton, The Overton Group David Philyaw, T.A. Loving Stan Armstrong, Kittrell & Armstrong E. Lynn Hudson, Hudson Brothers Construction Co. Aaron Driver, IIC Carolinas Hank Hinton, Inner Banks Media Christian E. Porter, Colombo, Kitchin, Dunn & Porter

BOARD OF DIRECTORS, EX-OFFICIO Gloristine Brown, Town of Bethel, Mayor Tony Cannon, Greenville Utilities Commission Susan Ellsworth, Village of Simpson Janis Gallagher, Pitt County Government Meredith Hawke Dzeko, Uptown Greenville Tom Kulikowski, Greenville ENC Alliance Dr. Ethan Lenker, Pitt County Schools Matt Livingston, Town of Ayden Trent McGee, Greenville - Pitt County Chamber of Commerce Kathy Parker, Town of Fountain, Mayor Terri L. Parker, Town of Winterville Dr. Lawrence Rouse, Pitt Community College Andrew Schmidt, Greenville - Pitt County Convention & Visitors Bureau Ann E. Wall, City of Greenville Mark Warren, Town of Grifton Suellen Weaver, Town of Grimesland

2022-23 LEADERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS, VOTING Greg Steele (Chair), TowneBank Drake Brinkley (Vice Chair), Greenville Utilities Commission Appointee Jon Anderson (Treasurer), Greenville Utilities Commission Appointee Aaron Driver (Secretary), IIC Carolinas Will Bell, City of Greenville Appointee, Councilman Robert Cherry, City of Greenville Appointee Allison Siebel, City of Greenville Appointee Thomas Taft, Jr., Greenville Utilities Commission Appointee Tom Asbell II, Town of Bethel Kathy Parker, Town of Fountain, Mayor Stephen Tripp, Town of Ayden, Mayor Spence Cosby, Pitt County Committee of 100 Dr. Philip Rogers, East Carolina University Scott Senatore, Vidant Health Michael Gregory, Hyster-Yale Group Lance Clark, Bill Clark Homes Dr. Joshua Schwartz, East Carolina Anesthesia Associates Michael Overton, The Overton Group David Philyaw, T.A. Loving Mallory Pickett, Blount Family Companies Stan Armstrong, Kittrell & Armstrong E. Lynn Hudson, Hudson Brothers Construction Co. Aaron Driver, IIC Carolinas TJ Sawyer, Sawyer's Fun Park Christian E. Porter, Colombo, Kitchin, Dunn & Porter

BOARD OF DIRECTORS, EX-OFFICIO Gloristine Brown, Town of Bethel, Mayor Tony Cannon, Greenville Utilities Commission Mallory Denham, Town of Ayden Susan Ellsworth, Village of Simpson Janis Gallagher, Pitt County Government David Hodgkins, Town of Farmville Tom Kulikowski, Greenville ENC Alliance Dr. Ethan Lenker, Pitt County Schools Trent McGee, Greenville - Pitt County Chamber of Commerce Katie Strickland, Town of Fountain Commissioner Terri L. Parker, Town of Winterville Dr. Lawrence Rouse, Pitt Community College Andrew Schmidt, Greenville - Pitt County Convention & Visitors Bureau Ann E. Wall, City of Greenville Mark Warren, Town of Grifton Suellen Weaver, Town of Grimesland

SITE AND LAND DEVELOPMENT Our ability to effectively respond to inquiries and be a viable location for business relocation or expansion is driven in large part by the availability of shovel ready sites and/or suitable buildings.

There were almost 50 project inquiries this past year to which we were unable to respond due to lack of suitable sites or buildings. We are actively addressing this shortcoming by:

Shell Building Our team continues to work with partners including the City of Greenville, Greenville Utilities Commission, and our Sites and Buildings Committee to develop a 100,000 square foot shell building in Indigreen Corporate Park.

In addition, we are engaging private developers in establishing shell buildings within Pitt County that we can market together with them.

Land Acquisition The Greenville ENC Alliance board established a Land Acquisition and Development Committee that is chartered with identifying sites to purchase or option and perform the necessary site certification work to advance our potential.

Funding Sources We are working with various partners to tap into resources that can help fund site identification, due diligence, and development of industrial sites.

Our outreach efforts have included the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) and the Golden LEAF Foundation.

Greenville, North Carolina is certainly on our radar for development. With phenomenal partners like the Greenville ENC Alliance, Greenville Utilities, and ECU, the MSA is preparing for success on a large scale.

The existing industry base is telling of what opportunities lie in the Greenville area. More than a quarter of Greenville’s Gross Regional Product is related to advanced and pharmaceutical manufacturing and it’s not stopping there. Greenville is also a part of the North Carolina Biopharma Crescent, a five-county region focused on attracting biotechnology and life sciences companies. Plus, the infrastructure connectivity has improved since Highway 264 from Wilson to Greenville became Interstate 587. This gives companies looking for Interstate access a new outlook on Greenville.

- Jason Vaughn, P.E. Regional Business Director, Southeast Office

PROJECT PIPELINE During this fiscal year, we worked 31 active projects and hosted three client visits that helped us showcase our community to prospective clients. We also generated nine leads, which are defined by potential companies with interest in expanding or relocating to Greenville. Of these leads, two have been converted to active projects.

PROJECT PIPELINE BY INDUSTRY: Food and Beverage 14.3%

Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical 22.9%

Information Technology 11.4%

31 PROJECTS 9 LEADS Advanced Manufacturing 51.4%

"In addition to projects and leads, our team engaged with more than 50 site selection consultants through virtual and in-person meetings. Those consultants were given information about our community including local institutions of higher education, workforce skill level and availability, and available sites and buildings. A frequent point of interest was our proximity to I-95 and the recent designation of I587, as well as our access to three major ports. As we look forward to the year ahead, we will continue to travel to target industry trade shows and conferences to tell our story and generate interest for our great community."

Uconda Dunn

Vice President of Business Development Greenville ENC Alliance

NEW INVESTMENT During the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Greenville ENC Alliance successfully closed eight projects resulting in over $172,000,000 in new capital investment. While these projects were business expansions, many were part of a competitive process with other site options globally.

$172M IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT

These two fiscal years of new capital investment contribute toward our five-year goal of $1.25B:

$557,500,000 Total capital investment remaining of overall goal

Data by Fiscal Year:

2020-21:

$520,500,000

2021-22:

$172,000,000

$692,500,000 Capital investment made toward five-year goal

JOB CREATION In addition to new capital investment, the eight projects closed by the Greenville ENC Alliance resulted in hundreds of new jobs. During the 2021-22 fiscal year, 837 new jobs were created from growth and expansions of existing industries in our community. Data shows that roughly 80% of new jobs nationwide are created by the growth of existing companies.

837

NEW JOBS CREATED IN 2021-22

3,000

2,000

Goal to create 2,750 jobs over five years

1,847 total new jobs created in FYs 2020-21 and 2021-22

1,000

0

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

JOB GROWTH Over the past year, our business development team assisted with various industry expansion and company relocation projects. We also completed 118 business retention and expansion site visits and meetings. Below are a few success stories and highlights from our efforts:

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, announced additional plans in September 2021 to expand its Greenville site for enhanced sterile liquid and lyophilized filling, pre-filled syringes, and solid dose continuous manufacturing. The $154 million investment will create 290 additional jobs with an average wage projected to be $67,397, which is more than 50 percent higher than Pitt County’s average wage of $42,801. Thermo Fisher’s Greenville site provides both sterile and oral solid dose pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging services from early development to commercial phase. To support this major investment, the Greenville ENC Alliance board voted to provide a total of $150,000 over five years. This expansion announcement follows one made in December 2020, bringing 500 new jobs and approximately $500 million in new investment.

VICTRA - VERIZON AUTHORIZED RETAILER In December 2021, Victra – the largest premium retail partner for Verizon Wireless – announced an expansion in Greenville. The company expects to invest a total of $1.45 million over the next five years as part of the project. Ownership of existing property made the Greenville site a desirable location for the new investment and jobs. The new investment will primarily be in equipment to support the new venture. Victra plans to create up to 600 jobs, which were celebrated in Site Selection Magazine as one of North Carolina’s top projects for 2021. In addition to the City of Greenville’s Job Investment Grant and Pitt Community College’s Customized Training Program Award, the Greenville ENC Alliance provided a $15,000 grant in support of the company’s new investment.

NORTH STATE STEEL North State Steel, a structural steel fabrication company, in Greenville announced 13 new jobs and more than $1M in investment in June 2022. Since 1984, the company has taken pride in quality fabrication, detailing, and engineering to provide clients with the best services available. The company’s comprehensive and versatile portfolio has been built upon the dedication and expertise of its employees. As a fast-growing steel fabrication company throughout North Carolina and Virginia, its Greenville location requested assistance in funding a sewer project and a 3,800 SF office space expansion. To complete this, the company needed to change from its current septic system to city sewer. The Greenville ENC Alliance assisted with this expansion project by providing $25,000 for infrastructure needs and offering support during the permitting process.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT The Greenville ENC Alliance is an active partner in several workforce development initiatives in the eastern North Carolina region to develop the local labor pipeline.

KOINONIA COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS In March, the Greenville ENC Alliance was proud to serve as a partner for Koinonia Community Solutions' first Level Up Series. The nonprofit hosted a three-day series for career seekers looking to 'level up' their employment.

With a variety of events including a community resource fair and interview preparation as well as a resume creation workshop. The event concluded with a job fair with dozens of employers that are actively hiring. Nearly 100 job seekers participated in the three-day series.

BETTER SKILLS, BETTER JOBS CAREER FAIR We partnered with Pitt Community College, East Carolina University, Pitt County Public Schools, Pitt County Economic Development, and our state level regional workforce development resources for the first "Better Skills, Better Jobs" career fair in October 2021. The event in eastern North Carolina brought 100 top employers and education resources together in a single event. More than 600 career seekers attended to learn about local career opportunities. The event and its concept attracted attention from other community colleges across North Carolina. The second annual "Better Skills, Better Jobs" career fair is scheduled for September 29 at the Greenville Convention Center.

FIRST IN TALENT INNOVATION COMPETITION The North Carolina Department of Commerce is committed to improving the economic well-being and quality of life for all North Carolinians. To better serve communities across the state, Commerce launched the First In Talent Innovation Competition.

The First In Talent plan outlines three goals to guide the state’s economic development strategy: 1. Prepare North Carolina’s workforce for career and entrepreneurial success 2. Prepare North Carolina’s businesses for success by growing and attracting a talented workforce 3. Prepare communities across North Carolina to be more competitive in growing and attracting a talented workforce and businesses.

The team that serves Greenville and Pitt County, including Uconda Dunn, vice president of business development for the Greenville ENC Alliance, put together a proposal entitled Career First In Talent (Career FIT). This proposal will work to provide hiring events, employer workshops, expungement clinics and job ready workshops and training.

DIGITAL REACH as of June 30, 2022

498

COMPANIES IDENTIFIED THROUGH LEAD GENERATION

23,000

IMPRESSIONS THROUGH LINKEDIN ADS

122

EARNED MEDIA PLACEMENTS IN LOCAL, STATE, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS

1,832

SITE SELECTION CONSULTANTS IN OUR E-NEWSLETTER DATABASE

4,167

COMBINED FOLLOWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Scan here to connect with us on our digital platforms

WELCOMING NEW INVESTORS The Greenville ENC Alliance is funded by the generous support of the public and private sectors.

During the 2021-22 fiscal year, we welcomed 15 new private sector investors.

Choosing to partner with the Alliance, candidly, was overdue. A contagious winning mindset and good jobs will be what makes our city sustainable, and Sound Partners can think of no better engine for job consectetur adipiscing - Wade Scales, CLU creation, growth, and telling our competitive, Partner, Sound Partners collective story than the Greenville ENC Alliance.

INVESTOR RELATIONS "Our public and private sector investors fuel our mission. We met with 118 existing and prospective investors in the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Maintaining these relationships and serving as a tangible resource contributed to 100% investor retention and an addition of 15 new private sector investors. This translates into $452,000 in new five-year commitments. All private sector investor dollars fund our programs and initiatives to market our region, develop product, and support workforce development. We are also honored to welcome Pitt County as a partner with a $100,000 investment that will help boost our marketing and lead generation tools. Business and industry, the City of Greenville, Greenville Utilities, our six member municipalities, and the County, we’re all working together to grow our communities."

David Horn

Director, Investor and Community Relations Greenville ENC Alliance

PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERS INVESTOR RECEPTION The Greenville ENC Alliance's first investor and guest reception in March 2022 featured Chief Deputy Secretary of NC Commerce, Jordan Whichard IV as our keynote speaker.

More than 110 investors, guests, and community leaders attended the event at the Hilton Greenville enjoying good food, updates from the staff, and valuable news and perspective from Chief Deputy Secretary Whichard.

PUBLIC & MUNICIPAL PARTNERS

MUNICIPALITIES Pitt County's municipalities are vital parts of our community. We are grateful for their continuous support and partnership as we work to bring economic prosperity to the area. We are proud to partner with the Towns of Ayden, Bethel, Farmville, Fountain, and Grimesland as well as the Village of Simpson on economic development efforts and projects.

MUNICIPAL GRANTS The Greenville ENC Alliance is proud to support our member municipalities through our municipal economic development grant program. A total of $28,000 was paid out in the 2021-2022 fiscal year funding marketing initiatives in both the Town of Ayden and the Town of Farmville. We also approved another $20,000 for projects in the Town of Farmville and the Town of Fountain. Farmville plans a new branding campaign and Fountain plans improvements to their community center.

$48,000

PAID AND AWARDED IN MUNICIPAL GRANTS

SPOTLIGHT ON AYDEN

A $10,000 grant was awarded and paid to the Town of Ayden

early in our fiscal year to help fund a destination branding campaign. This campaign featured the full color Ayden

Magazine highlighting the great community and recreation

attractions Ayden offers, a jingle, and radioadcamp radio ad campaign. Promotional giveaways were created for visitors. These items included the new "Q Marks the Spot" T-shirts, highlighting Ayden as one of North Carolina’s top destinations for mouthwatering barbecue.

Another grant for $8,000 was awarded and paid to Ayden in the second half of the fiscal year to extend marketing and beautification support for the initial branding efforts. This includes fresh new signage design and deployment, foliage upgrades for the Town's entrances, and an expanded marketing campaign around a 50-mile radius of Downtown Ayden. Other in-kind and matching contributions more than tripled the impact of the $8,000 grant.

SUSTAINING INVESTORS "One of the City Council’s goals is growing the economic hub of eastern North Carolina, and the Greenville ENC Alliance is essential to our success. The City of Greenville is proud to be able to support the public-private partnership that makes the Alliance a model organization for business recruitment, retention, and expansion."

- Mayor P.J. Connelly City of Greenville

“Greenville Utilities provides the utility solutions that serve as the foundation for growth in the Greenville region. But we know it takes the entire community coming together, working together to help attract new industries while helping the businesses who are already here grow. That growth is the way we are able to continue to provide safe, reliable solutions at the lowest reasonable cost well into the future. We see the Alliance as the best opportunity to make that happen.

You can already see the results.”

- Tony Cannon

General Manager/CEO, Greenville Utilities Commission

INVESTORS D I A M O N D L E V E L ($250,000+)

PLATINUM LEVEL

($100,000 - $249,999)

INVESTORS GOLD LEVEL

($50,000 - $99,999)

Hilton Greenville POMO, LLC Precision Walls, Inc. Southern Bank T.A. Loving Union Bank Ward & Smith, P.A.

BB&T Barnhill Contracting Blount Family Companies Curtis Construction Delcor, Inc. First Citizens Bank Hendrix-Barnhill Co., Inc.

SILVER LEVEL

($25,000 - $49,999)

Advance Mechanical C.A. Lewis, Inc. Children's World Learning Center Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP E.R. Lewis Construction Company ECVC, Inc. East Carolina Chryster Dodge Jeep Ram First Bank Garris Evans Lumber Company Hudson Brothers Construction Company

BRONZE LEVEL

Kittrell & Armstrong, LLC MetroNet Fiber Pecheles Automotive Group Penco Products, Inc. Pitt Electric Sentinel Risk Advisors Sound Partners United Bank University Book Exchange, Inc.

($5,000 - $24,999)

Agracel BK8 Investments BW Architecture Blount Properties Clark-Branch Realtors Colombo, Kitchin, Dunn & Porter, LLP Conterra Networks Custom Building Company David Price Construction Electricities of North Carolina First National Bank Fuji Silysia Chemical, LTD. Greenville Auto World Greenville - Pitt County Chamber of Commerce Haystack Realty Group Horne & Horne, PLLC

IIC Carolinas Inner Banks Media LBA Group, Inc. L.R. Griffin and Associates, LLC Litchfield Wealth Partners Milestone Wealth North State Steel Pair Electronics Pilot John International Red Shark Digital Roebuck Staffing Company, LLC Sawyer's Fun Park Terracon Transworld Business Advisors of Eastern NC Wesley M. Measamer, CPA, P.A.

OUR TEAM STAFF MEMBERS Tom Kulikowski

Interim President and CEO

kulikowski@encalliance.com 252-558-7465

Uconda Dunn

Vice President, Business Development dunn@encalliance.com 252-751-3416

David Horn

Director, Investor and Community Relations horn@encalliance.com 252-414-4766

Maria Satira

Director, Marketing and Communications satira@encalliance.com 252-414-2875

Shari Hampton

Executive Assistant/Office Manager hampton@encalliance.com 252-702-3722

www. encal l i ance. com hel l o@encal l i ance. com 252- 751 - 601 8