2021-2022 Rockingham County EDC Annual Report

Rockingham County Economic Development, Small Business, and Tourism

www.GoRockinghamCountyNC.com www.VisitRockinghamCountyNC.com 336-342-8138

D ee vv ee ll oo ppm I nI ndduussttrri iaal l D meenntt New County Welcome Signs Installed

Industrial Announcements & Expansions

Rockingham County Economic Development, Small Business, and Tourism is excited to announce the recent installation of signage to welcome travelers as they enter Rockingham County via the I-73 and I-785 corridors.

Lucky Strike Facility announced their $8M investment in the Lucky Strike tobacco factory in Reidsville. Their investment will bring 100 new jobs. The space will house companies such as Lucky Strike Storage, West End Toys, Warehouse Republic, and eVend.com.

Gregory Pallet & Lumbar Company announced October 26, 2021 their plans to locate to Stoneville, NC. With them, they bring 25 full-time jobs and $3.4 million in capital investment. As part of securing the project, the North Carolina Department of Commerce's Rural Infrastructure Authority approved Rockingham County's request for $100,000 to assist the company with the upfit of their new building, the former North Star Shell.

Thyssenkrupp Supply Chain Services has leased the former Karastan factory as part of their warehouse distribution.

With them, they bring 30 jobs. The space will serve as a warehouse and storage facility for the company.

Economic Development Launches New Website Rockingham County Economic Development launched their new website this year (www.gorockinghamcountync.com). This new site features newly designed maps, a more detailed property search, and an easier to navigate layout.

Southern Finishing has expanded and leased the former 496,00 square foot AC Furniture building. This new location will be one of 11 manufacturing and distribution locations in North Carolina, Virginia, and Arizona.

New Industry Updates Ontex, a Belgium-based, personal hygiene product producer, officially started production November 2021. They have already hired 100+ employees with more to come this year as they expand their production lines.

Golden Leaf Foundation Awards Development SITE Grant to County

Rockingham County Economic Development received $992 thousand to assist with clearing, grubbing, and rough grading of a 33-acre lot within the Reidsville Industrial Park. This project will create the only publicly owned shovel-ready site in Rockingham County.

Farmina, an Italian-based, scientifically-developed pet food company, broke ground on their first U.S. facility, located in Reidsville Industrial Park. Farmina is expected to be operational by 2023 and employ approximately 129 people.

Nestle Purina, the maker of some of the world's most trusted and popular pet care products, is on tract to start production in 2023. To date, Neste Purina has hired 100+ employees to operate the plant in Eden, NC.

Small Business

Business Names Registered

385

July 1, 2021 - June 30 2022

Welcomed Several Small Businesses Including...

.. . . . .. .

Reynolds Brewery

Madison Cork Supply

Yarn Dreams

Sweet Lee's BBQ LLC

Chez Lindsey

Childress Family Coffee Co.

Halo Salt

The Collective Coffee & Bakery

Lucky City Brewing

Revived Vintage

Uptown Pharmacy

Blue Bell Makers Market

Rustic Charm Boutique Three Hearts

The Black Sheep

Magnolia Long Arm Quilting

71

Small Business Clients Counceled

2021

urism T o u rTi som

Direct Tourism Impact

$304,687.25

36% from 20-21

Collected in Occupancy Tax, 2021-2022

Rockingham County, 2021 Total Visitor Spending

$77.88 Million

TDA Welcomes New Tourism Manager In December 2021, Lindsay Pegg was named Rockingham County Economic Development and Tourism's Tourism Manager. A native of Rockingham County, Pegg comes to the department with extensive experience and passion for outdoor recreation, adventure, sports, and travel. Pegg is responsible for coordinating activities and initiatives that promote Rockingham County to new and repeat visitors. In addition, she works with a variety of partner organizations to develop and distribute promotional materials pertaining to current travel and tourism attractions of the county as well as identify new tourism opportunities for the county.

Food & Drink

Transportation

Retail

$29M

$17.7M

$6.3M

Quilt Trail Adds Two New Squares

Lodging

$9.4M

$15.5M

TAX REVENUES GENERATED MILLION

$2.8 $3.4 MILLION

The Rockingham County Economic Development and Tourism office is excited to announce two new squares have recently been added to the Rockingham County Quilt Trail, for a grand total of 36 squares.

The 35th square can be found at Fine Arts Festival Association of Rockingham County (FAFARC), located at 301 Cherokee Camp Road, Reidsville (Wentworth area) and the 36th at the home of the Gunter Family, located at 308 Highland Drive, Eden.

Recreation

LOCAL TAX REVENUE

STATE TAX REVENUE

Welcome to Rockingham County Cycle NC

New RoCo Blueway Branding Unveiled The Rockingham County Center for Economic Development, Small Business, & Tourism and The Rockingham County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) are excited to announce the release of the new RoCo Blueway Branding. The branding, which includes the new RoCo Blueway logo, was put in place to give Rockingham County's blueways their own distinct identity. The branding consists of a new RoCo Blueway logo, color scheme, and taglines including "Go with the RoCo flow" and "Rock the RoCo." Phase two of the project will include the new RoCo Blueway Guide, which will be released FY 2022-2023 and new signage at river access points.

$18.3M

$20.3M

The new Jacobs Creek Batteau Landing is officially open and offers access to the Dan River, just outside of Madison between the 704 access and Settle Bridge Road access. This project has been a long standing partnership with the Dan River Basin Association, which led the land acquisition and funding efforts and beginning of the park developments. Jacobs Creek Batteau Landing offers a variety of assets for its visitors including an ADA accessible sidewalk leading to the new handicap accessible covered river observation platform, cleared walking path to the river access, as well as new galvanized steel grated steps which create safer and easier access to the Dan River.

$21.3M

New River Access Complete

TOURISM-SUPPORTED PAYROLL 2018-2021

$20.2M

On October 4, 2021, Rockingham County Tourism, along with the City of Reidsville, cohosted Cycle NC as they made their way through the county on their journey across the state. This is the 5th time Rockingham County has been included on this cross-state ride.

The 650+ cyclists stopped at various points along the way, and in Rockingham County included downtown Stoneville for a rest stop, The MARC for a rest stop, and Lake Reidsville, where they camped out for the night. Once at Lake Reidsville, cyclists could partake of the various food trucks on site or take the shuttles provided into the City of Reidsville where they could dine at one of the local restaurants.

2018

2019

2020

2021

TOURISM-SUPPORTED JOBS

592 TOURISM-SUPPORTED

JOBS

5% FROM 2020

Source: The Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties, Visit North Carolina

Employment and Economic Overview

Note from our Director This past year was another eventful and fruitful year for Rockingham County. Our office was busy continuing to grow our economy by helping previously announced companies like Ontex Global, Nestle Purina, and Farmina Pet Foods break ground, open, and hire local employees, recruiting more than $10 million in new investment and over 100 jobs to the county with Gregory Pallet and The Lucky Strike Facility, counseling over 70 small business clients, and promoting our tourism assets resulting in a record-breaking occupancy tax year.

Rockingham County continues to remain diligent and forward-thinking to meet the needs of prospective industries. We are especially excited about the completion of the new 500,000-gallon water tank in South Rockingham County Corporate Park and the site improvements at lot 11 in Reidsville Industrial Park. A huge thank you to Golden Leaf Foundation for supporting each of these projects in Rockingham County.

None of this would be possible without the hard work, teamwork, and dedication of the entire team in this office. I continue to be optimistic on the future of Rockingham County and look forward to playing a small part in the growth the county realizes over the coming year.

TOP INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYERS Company

# of Employees

Product

Country of Origin

Unifi, Inc Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc Gildan Activewear Eden Inc. Dorada Foods Formerly Keystone Foods Gildan Yarns (2 locations) Formerly Frontier Henniges Automotive Mabe Trucking Global Textile Alliance Pella Corporation Armor Express McMichael Mills Press Glass - Glass Dynamics Southern Finishing Pine Hall Brick Co. Inc. Miliken (Former Frontier) Weil-McLain Loparex, Inc Albaad Amcor Tobacco Packaging Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (USA), Inc.

794 754 553 404 395 303 300 283 246 200 192 192 187 185 180 180 150 136 130 117

Nylon & Covered Yarns Gun Manufacturer Warehouse Distribution Knitwear Processed Chicken Textile Knitting and Weaving Automotive Seals Trucking - Motor Freight Services Textiles Manufactural Window and Door Bullet Proof Body Armor Covered Yarn Fabricated Flat Glass Custom Molded Bed Rails Clay Brick Pavers Brick Textile Knitting and Weaving Industrial and Commercial Boilers Release Paper Baby Wipes Printed Tobacco Packaging Aircraft Tires

USA USA Canada USA USA China USA USA USA USA USA Poland USA USA USA USA Netherlands Israel Switzerland Japan

Average salary has increased from

Unemployment rate

6.4% June '21

Best,

4.6%

Leigh

June '22

$35,953 to $38,563

Our Team Leigh Cockram Director Kerry Taylor-Pinnix Deputy Director

$46,599

Citizens for Economic Development

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Grayson Whitt, Chairman First National Bank Bill Lester, 1st Vice Chair LKC Engineering, PLLC Don Powell, 2nd Vice Chair Powell and Associates

Lindsay Pegg Tourism Manager

Pam Cundiff, Secretary/Treasurer Travel Consultants

Tara Martin Marketing Manager

Dr. Mark Kinlaw, Executive Board Representative Rockingham Community College President

Betsy Brame Small Business & Economic Development Coordinator

Median Household Income

Leigh Cockram, Executive Board Representative Center for Economic Development, Small Business & Tourism Director

Eden Area Kelly Stultz City of Eden

Reidsville Area Angie Orth Annie Penn Hospital

Jonathan Jobe HomeTrust Bank

Jeff Garstka Reidsville Director Economic Development

Steve Elbin UNC Rockingham Health Care Western Rockingham Micky Silvers Retired Kevin Baughn Madison Town Manager Kathleen Patterson Mayodan Town Manager Bert Bennett Bennett Family Farm

Greensboro Area John Geib Duke Energy Raul Peralta ECS Carolina, LLP Adam Carroll Timmons Group

Ex-Officio Non-Voting Directors Vacant Wentworth Town Representative Perry Webster Stoneville Town Administrator Pleas McMichael Past Chair Retired John Stover Superintendent Rockingham County Schools Kevin Berger Rockingham County Board of Commissioner's