Sea-Land Services, Inc., the inventor of container shipping, is the country's largest ocean cargo carrier. The company's relocation to Charlotte in 1995 has meant employment for 1,500 and a payroll of $34 million.
Founded in Charlotte in 1913, snack food maker Lance once had the South to itself. Now operating in 37 states, the company faces competition from companies like Frito Lay and, strangely, is a wealthy company in financial trouble.
Some of the state's industries, including furniture, textiles, and tobacco, have declined in recent years, but newer industries, including biotechnology, telecommunications, and auto-parts manufacturing, are rising stars in the state's economy.
The retail industry is a large part of the state's economy, producing around ten percent of the gross state product and employing 625,000 people, or twenty percent of the workforce. In the last decade retail has created over 128,000 jobs.
Diversification is a key to economic growth in Stanly County, where businesses manufacture products ranging from space shuttle tires to down-to-earth farming and textile commodities.
Rapid changes occurring in the telecommunications industry provide products and services that help users be more productive and efficient. For example, one program can translate text to voice, page a person, and read him or her the message.
John Andrews, president of Allvac in Monroe since 1971, has seen the company go from a fledgling startup to one of the world's largest nickel-base superalloy producers. The company has1,500 employees.
Ten of the highway projects to be built from 1999 through 2008 will have a major impact on the state's economic development. Projects include outer loops for Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh, and the Manteo bypass.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is legally required to replace, acre-for-acre, any wetlands destroyed by transportation projects. Replacement sites are usually in the same watershed. Restorations since 1994 total 9,000 acres.
Its good transportation facilities, work force, and business climate make Charlotte attractive for companies seeking to relocate. In addition, over 340 foreign firms are represented in the city. Germany leads with 89.
With a large international business community, professional sports teams, and major business relocations, Charlotte is nationally recognized. Yet the city preserves a sense of community that supports changes and rapid growth.
A mode of transportation from the past has captured Charlotte's imagination. Saved from a condemned building and restored, trolley car number 85, last used in 1938, now makes one-mile runs. Three more cars will be added and the route lengthened.
By cooperating rather than competing, Memorial Mission Medical Center and St. Joseph's Hospital in Asheville will cut costs and expand services, including additional clinics and outreach programs, from the $75 million in anticipated savings.
North Carolina business relations span the globe; for example, twenty-four firms have offices in Hong Kong. Employees find foreign assignments an opportunity for career advancement, but dealing with new locales can bring loneliness and culture shock.
For a number of reasons, many high school graduates did not go to college twenty years ago. Now the 25-and-older student is the fastest growing college group, making up a third of the over 200,000 students in four-year schools.