Economic Development December Recap

New & Expanding Companies:

Carolina Restoration Services, a general contractor with a focus on insurance reconstruction, hired 10 new employees in 2013 and expects to hire 15 new employees in 2014. Carolina Restoration is a licensed and insured North Carolina general contractor and provides services in fire reconstruction, emergency water extraction, water damage, smoke damage repair, mold remediation repair, storm damage repair, and emergency repairs.

d-Wise Technologies | Software/IT | Expanding

d-Wise Technologies, a clinical and healthcare systems technology and software consulting company, hired six employees in 2013 and plans to hire eight more employees in 2014. d-Wise Technologies focuses on delivering customer-centric solutions by integrating systems, helping companies leverage standards, developing customized technology strategies, and delivering SAS and other solutions across the Life Sciences and Healthcare industries.

Fast Lane Consulting and Education Services | Software/IT | Expanding

Fast Lane Consulting and Education Services, a provider of advanced IT Training courses, hired eight new employees in 2013 and expects to hire eight more employees in 2014. Fast Lane offers complete authorized training solutions for Cisco NetApp VMware and more.

The Greer Group | Employment Services | Expanding

The Greer Group, a staffing and recruiting services company, added four new employees in 2013. The Greer Group is a woman-owned and operated full service recruiting firm in the Triangle area that specializes in administrative and technical placement.

Ignite Social Media | Marketing | Expanding

Ignite Social Media, a social media company, hired 45 new employees in 2013 and plans to hire 15 more employees in 2014. The company provides social media strategy and implementation, SEO blog content creation, channel monitoring management of social identity, and sentiment monitoring and analysis to its clients.

Inserv Corporation | Contractor | Expanding

Inserv Corporation, an industrial contract service company, hired 66 employees in 2013 and expects to hire 50 more employees in 2014. InServ provides mechanical electrical and fabrication services to clients requiring the highest level of service, quality, safety, performance, and reliability.

Netsertive | Software/IT | Expanding

Netsertive, an online marketing technology company, hired 70 new employees in 2013. Netsertive is a technology company that enables businesses and brands to find local sales opportunities by using local digital marketing and channel marketing technology. Netsertive has a unique cloud-based Digital Marketing Engine, which automates localized digital advertising and channel marketing programs encompassing search display social mobile video and other platforms.

Prometheus Group | Software/IT | Expanding

Prometheus Group, an enterprise application software company, hired 25 new employees in 2013 and plans to hire 30 new employees in 2014. Prometheus specializes in improving the usability and user adoption of SAP plant maintenance.

Samanage | Software/IT | Expanding

Samanage, a business software company, recently announced it plans to have 30 employees in its Cary office by the end of 2014. The company currently has 11 employees in its Cary office. Samanage's unified software includes two components: IT asset management that involves gathering and constantly updating key information about a company's PCs and servers and a "service desk" feature that automatically logs in service requests for computer problems and monitors the actions taken.

TriMark Digital | Software/IT | Expanding

TriMark Digital, an interactive marketing agency, hired 10 new employees in 2013. TriMark Digital is a data-driven customer-focused interactive marketing agency that concentrates on search marketing strategy management and consulting services.

Marketing Initiatives: 

  The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce's Talent Attraction initiative, "Work in the Triangle, Smarter from Any Angle," continues to grow. To date, more than 170 companies have engaged with the effort, and the campaign has reached a digital audience of more than 500,000. The Chamber has received national and international awards for the talent program, reinforcing the importance of the effort as we continue to set the standard globally.

  The annual Economy & Business publication was released at the Chamber's Economic Forecast on Jan. 10. The publication includes letters from key stakeholders in Wake County about their areas of business over the course of 2013 and how they are expected to be impacted over the coming year. These areas of business include a range of interests such as the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, downtown Raleigh, commercial and residential real estate, and tourism. It also includes a listing of new and expanding businesses in Wake County over 2013 as well as forecasted data from Dr. Michael Walden, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University. Download it here. 

Recent Rankings:  

 For a full list of rankings, please download the Raleigh/Wake County Rankings Flyer.

 #3 Baby Boomer Boom Town (Raleigh, NC) SpareFoot
 #3 Best Mid-Sized City To Move To (Cary, NC) Movoto
 #4 City Where Working-Age Americans Are Moving (Raleigh, NC) Forbes
 #6 Best City in America for 2013 (Raleigh, NC) Movoto
 #6 Hottest Housing Market in 2014 (Raleigh, NC) Zillow
 #9 U.S. Region To Watch in 2014 (Raleigh, NC) Forbes

Year-to-date Metrics:

In 2013, Wake County Economic Development has had 77 new projects and 39 site visits. Wake County has had 100 announcements of companies moving or expanding to the area, creating 5,539 jobs, and investing more than $274 million. 

New and Expanding Announcements by Cluster:

Of the 100 new and expanding announcements in 2013, 67 of those (67 percent) were in Wake County Economic Development's cluster industries.

Labor Market Statistics:

Wake County

This information was compiled by Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. For more information, contact Kelly Maness at kmaness@raleighchamber.org.