Economic Development October Recap

New & Expanding Companies:  

Aloft Hotels, a hotel chain, is opening a new location at the Bell View property across from North Carolina State University's bell tower monument on Hillsborough Street. Aloft Raleigh will be a 135-room hotel with two retail storefronts and outdoor space on the second floor extending over the Hillsborough Street sidewalk. Aloft Hotels will open its Raleigh location in mid-2015. 

ATI Industrial Automation | Manufacturing | Expanding

ATI Industrial Automation, a robotic tools manufacturer, is creating up to 200 new jobs and doubling its current operations to 129,000 square feet. The expansion will occur in two phases, with the first phase construction to start immediately and the second phase in 3 to 5 years. Many of the new jobs will be engineering, operations, and manufacturing positions.

Bayer CropScience | Biotech/Pharma | Expanding

Bayer CropScience, a crop science company, is beginning a $33 million renovation to its North American headquarters and adding 100 employees over the next three years at its Research Triangle Park location. The company expects the expansion, scheduled for a 2015 completion, to push the headcount in Research Triangle Park to more than 700. The move brings the dollar total of Bayer CropScience investment in the park to $78 million in the last 18 months. 

Clintrax Global | Biotech/Pharma | New

Clintrax Global, a provider of investigator agreement negotiation services for clinical research organizations and pharmaceutical companies, was founded in January and has 10 employees in its office off Six Forks Road in Raleigh. Clintrax Global negotiates contracts with doctors' offices, hospitals, and other healthcare providers that participate in clinical trials.

General Electric | Smart Grid | New
General Electric, a multinational corporation, has announced the relocation of 60 engineers and product experts from its Energy Management group to a new office in Cary's CentreGreen Office Park. The 24,000-square-foot office space will be able to accommodate up to 100 employees for future growth. The company estimates it has invested about $1.7 million in the new office, which will serve as the global headquarters for its power components and power equipment business units supporting the GE Energy Industrial Solutions plant in Mebane. 

Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics | Biotech/Pharma | Expanding
Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, a biotechnology research and development company, announced plans to lease lab and office space at the Research Triangle Park. Novartis will relocate 30 technical development scientists from its Holly Springs facility, but eventually the Research Triangle Park site will accommodate 100 employees. The company already has nearly 800 employees at its Holly Springs facility.

Ockham Development Group, Inc. | Biotech/Pharm | Expanding
Ockham Development Group, Inc., a contract research organization, will expand its global headquarters by increasing square footage in the fall of 2014 when the company relocates to CentreGreen Two in Cary. Ockham is a global oncology CRO and full-spectrum global resourcing company that has clinical expertise, a therapeutic focus, and experience with oncology trial outcomes. 

PMC Commercial Interiors | Office Furniture & Equipment | Expanding
PMC Commercial Interiors, a design services firm catering to industrial clients, has renewed its lease at 3000 Perimeter Park Drive in Morrisville. PMC Commercial Interiors added 30,000 square feet to its existing space, bringing the firm's total occupancy at Perimeter Park to 60,000 square feet. The company specializes in office systems, architectural products, and commercial furniture.

SunTrust Bank | Financial Services | Expanding
SunTrust Bank, a financial services company, is targeting a February 2014 opening for the new, 1,900-square-foot branch at 411 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh. The new branch will be SunTrust's 58th in the Triangle.

Marketing Initiatives: 

   The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership briefed Congressional leaders on the region's cleantech cluster and how this sector has increased jobs, investment, and innovation. Michael Haley, project manager with Wake County Economic Development, Lee Anne Nance, RTRP executive vice president, and Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber, joined select chambers and cleantech business leaders from across the country to share their experiences, challenges, and opportunities in promoting business and economic growth in cleantech and clean energy. To learn more about smart grid cleantech in Raleigh and Wake County, please visit http://www.raleigh-wake.org/smartgrid.

  More than 400 job seekers came out for the Come Tech Out the Triangle career fair, which featured 25 of the area's top employers, including IPREO, LexisNexis, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Netsertive, Bronto, and more. Wake County Economic Development, through the Work in the Triangle initiative, partnered with the North Carolina Technology Association and the Council for Entrepreneurial Development to sponsor the event. Throughout the day, Work in the Triangle promoted job openings from participating employers via its Twitter account (@WorkTriangleNC), providing an opportunity for professionals who could not physically attend the career fair to gain awareness of the opportunities available in the Triangle.

  Work in the Triangle has announced Justin Miller, an area entrepreneur, as the winner of its Raleigh Ambassador Contest. As the Raleigh Ambassador, Miller will travel on a one-of-a-kind RV with some of Raleigh's top community leaders and entrepreneurs to Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest festival. Miller will post social media updates to document his trip and spread the word about what makes Raleigh special, helping to attract new talent to the area. Miller is the CEO and co-founder of deja Mi, Inc., the parent company of WedPics.

Recent Rankings:  

 #2 Metro with Highest Annual Population Growth 2009 --  2012 (Raleigh, NC) The Atlantic Cities
 #4 Best City for a Tech Job (Raleigh, NC) Forbes
 Top 5 Best Place to Retire (Raleigh, NC) Money Magazine 
 #7 City for High-Paying Jobs (Raleigh-Cary, NC) Payscale.com
 #8 High-Tech Hotspot (Wake County, NC) The Atlantic Cities
 #10 Fittest City for Baby Boomers (Raleigh, NC) American Physical Therapy Association

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

Year-to-date Metrics:

Since Jan. 1, 2013, Wake County Economic Development has had 68 new projects and 36 site visits. Wake County has had 82 announcements of companies moving or expanding to the area, creating 4,721 jobs, and investing more than $254 million. 

New and Expanding Announcements by Cluster:

Of the 82 new and expanding announcements in 2013, 53 of those (65 percent) are in Wake County Economic Development's cluster industries.

 Labor Market Statistics:

Wake County 

*Due to the federal government shutdown, local labor force data for September will 
not be released until Dec. 5.

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.