Mike Fox: The Carolina Core: NC's new economic powerhouse (2024)

The Carolina Core is undoubtedly North Carolina’s new economic powerhouse. But we’re not stopping there. We have our sights set much higher.

With more than $20 billion of capital investment pouring into the Core over the last five years and record-breaking new job announcements for the state, the region is hot and getting hotter.

The Carolina Core consists of a 120-plus-mile swath of central North Carolina from west of Winston-Salem to Fayetteville. It includes Greensboro and High Point and extends near Charlotte and the Research Triangle, along the future Interstate 685.

In 2023, the Core was home to three of the five largest jobs announcements in the state. Importantly, these jobs are concentrated in innovative industries of the future, not legacy industries of the past. The region has diversified to a future-forward economy catalyzed by research, innovation and business partnerships generated by local colleges and universities.

Momentum in the Core

In 2018, the Piedmont Triad Partnership, our regional economic development organization, joined with business leaders and our local chamber partners to set what was a very ambitious goal: to add 50,000 new jobs to the region by 2038. Fast forward to today, and together we have surpassed that goal in just five years’ time.

Contributing to this transformational economic success were both major announcements to the tune of billions of dollars and thousands of jobs, as well as smaller, but impactful, 100- to 200-job announcements.

The streak began in 2021 when Toyota Battery Manufacturing announced the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite as home to its massive EV and hybrid battery plant in the region. Since then, Toyota’s investment in the Carolina Core continues to grow, ballooning to nearly $14 billion and 5,100 new jobs. In a matter of months, major announcements hit at each of the megasites along U.S. 421 in the region, including the announcements that Vietnamese car maker VinFast will produce both electric batteries and vehicles, Boom Supersonic will develop the next generation of supersonic passenger jets and chipmaker Wolfpeed will build the world’s largest silicon carbide materials plant, all right here in the Carolina Core.

Beyond those four game-changing projects, many other companies continue to prosper in the Carolina Core. Honda Aircraft Co., Caterpillar, Volvo Trucks, Thomas Built Buses, John Deere Kernersville, Siemens, Kontoor Brands and Hanesbrands are just a few of the big names in business that are pushing the innovation envelope in the region.

Harnessing the momentum

Now the region is moving from announcements to action. Facilities have broken ground and are well on their way to completion. Hiring is underway. Production is approaching.

But we don’t want to stop there. How can we position the Carolina Core to be the economic powerhouse of the Southeastern United States, or better yet, the country?

Now that we’ve reached our goal of adding 50,000 new jobs, we must prepare the Carolina Core to meet our new goal of adding 100,000 new jobs to the region by 2038, all while facilitating the success of new and existing companies here in the region.

To get to this point took visionary leadership and unprecedented cooperation at the local, regional and state levels. It is going to take even more of this secret sauce to move us to where we want to be.

The Piedmont Triad Partnership, in coordination with leaders in business, economic development, education and government, will double down on aggressive regional strategies in three key areas: 1) talent attraction and workforce development, 2) business recruitment, and 3) infrastructure and product development.

We’ve already made headway in many of these areas, including the launch of our national multi-channel talent attraction marketing campaign, “More in the Core,” to elevate awareness of the lifestyle offerings of this region. To date, the campaign is generating major engagement and has exceeded industry benchmarks.

Additionally, our regional approach to engaging and educating site-selection consultants across the country is paying dividends. This includes both outbound missions to visit consultants in major markets and hosting them here in the Carolina Core as we will do in a big way at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst in June.

Finally, our collective regional efforts to designate U.S. 421 as Future Interstate 685 are well underway. Thanks to support by our local, state and federal delegations, we have secured a Future Interstate designation for the portion of U.S. 421 from 1-85 to 1-95. Next, we are pursuing a second Future Interstate designation for the segment of U.S. 421 from Wilkesboro to I-40 in Winston-Salem. These efforts will further increase our region’s economic competitiveness, while improving connectivity and commerce throughout the state.

While this is a good start, we know we must do more. Working with our partners, we will continue to fine-tune our approach to leverage this success for an even greater impact for future generations.

Now that we’ve hit the 50,000 announced new jobs mark, we’re not declaring “mission accomplished.” In fact, we are far from it. We look forward to working together with our community to chart the path for the next decades-long overnight success here in the Carolina Core.