On behalf of the Duke […]

Our thanks to First Bank […]

  Marly Cifranic has had […]

We’ve said this often, and […]

Good news!  According to July […]

Perfect weather and a celebratory […]

Derrick Remer, Duke Energy District […]

The City of Jacksonville’s Industrial […]

Project Frontier’s stormwater management design, […]

Following Thursday’s JOED Executive Committee […]

JOED met with Project Frontier engineer Jason Houston, City of Jacksonville Councilman Bob Warden, and City staff Wally Hansen, Anthony Prinz, and Ron Massey this week. Jason outlined the preliminary site design, meeting the group’s approval, pending the approval of permits. The next step will be to reconvene the JOED Building Committee to create notional [...]

On Wednesday, JOED facilitated a meeting between Brian Merrion, Buxton V-P of Sales and Anthony Prinz, City of Jacksonville; Teresa Beacham, Viamark Advertising; Chris Davis, Hampton Inn; John Hunter, The Hunter Family Company; and Scott Franko, Treasure Realty. The group convened to preview Buxton’s powerful data collection and analysis tools, using multiple queries including tourism [...]

JOED hosted its annual New Directors Orientation this week for L-R: Derrick Remer, Duke Energy; Terri Ashby, Truist; and John Hunter, The Hunter Family Company, Inc. We started with the history, structure, mission, and vision of JOED as well as the JOED partnership.  We reviewed the completed projects of the past 5 years, noting how [...]

Reviewing the scope of work, timeline and budget for the design phase of Project Frontier at City Hall are L-R: Jacksonville Councilman Bob Warden and Transportation Services Director Anthony Prinz; Mark Sutherland, JOED; Jason Huston, Tidewater Engineering; and Jacksonville Interim City Manager Ron Massey Since it will yield industrial sites and the construction of speculative industrial [...]

The JOED Partnership Economic Development Fund Committee met with Sheldon Bartel last week via Zoom. L-R: Cowanda and Randy Bazile, Roy Herrick, JOEDP Chairman Scott Riggs, John Hunter, Mark Sutherland, and Ruth Christian. (Not pictured: Ed Garris, Dr. Penny Burlingame Deal, Melissa Anderson, and Chuck Uzzell) We recently introduced you to consultant Sheldon Bartel, who [...]

The Town of Holly Ridge hosted a Duke Site Readiness Project Kick Off meeting yesterday. Danny Ottaway highlights the boundaries of his property within a potential Camp Davis Industrial Park Phase III. What is the process for advancing raw land into a prepared and marketable site for industrial development? The first step is to bring [...]

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., (June 2, 2022) – Today, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $5,046,526 in funding to support projects through the second round of the SITE Program. The SITE Program supports communities in identifying potential sites for economic development and provides funds to enable completion of due diligence on sites already identified or [...]

JOED Partnership’s Development Fund Committee met last week to begin laying the framework for this fund, which will be operated through the 50(c)3 Partnership. L-R: Scott Riggs, R. S. Riggs & Associates, LLC Manager & CEO and JOEDP Development Fund Chairman; Ed Garris, First National Bank Sr. Vice President; Cowanda Bazile, Express Employment Professionals owner, [...]

CLICK HERE to view the slides from JOED's  May 19, 2022 State of our Local Economy and Annual Investors Meeting

Planning to attend the State of our Local Economy but haven’t registered yet? Kindly take a moment to register. Our printer and caterer will thank you!Read what community leaders are saying about “The State of our Local Economy” “The State of our Local Economy event is important to attend because we will hear about economic development efforts [...]

Click here to register for the JOED 2022 State of our Local Economy! JOED's State of our Local Economy delivers relevant data to inform decisions made by business, community and elected leaders.

Last Friday was a beautiful day for a Groundbreaking ceremony at Camp Davis Industrial Park Phase II in Holly Ridge! L-R: Military & Federal Construction President Ty Crowder, JOED Vice-Chairman Matt Ray, Town of Holly Ridge Mayor Jeff Wenzel, Holly Ridge Mayor Pro-Tem Pamala Hall, Cape Fear Commercial Broker Spruill Thompson, Holly Ridge Councilwoman Rena [...]

Yesterday, Camp Lejeune officials announced that they could begin the due diligence process required to approve the easement requested as a component of Project Stoney. This due diligence may take up to six months to complete and includes completion of the NEPA process, as well as operational deconfliction (if necessary) and other legal hurdles. The [...]

Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council Regular Workshop meeting ushered in a new era in local economic development activities. At the meeting, JOED Executive Director Mark Sutherland informed the Council on JOED’s challenges in responding to Project Requests that require an existing building. To remedy that shortage, the JOED Building Committee developed a recommendation for product development [...]

The Town of Holly Ridge is pleased to announce it has received a $200,000.00 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation. These funds will support the development of Camp Davis Industrial Park, Phase II, by assisting with the installation costs of public infrastructure. Phase I of the Camp Davis Industrial Park is effectively sold out and [...]

Congratulations to Onslow County on the sale of Burton Business and Industrial Park’s 30,000 sf Shell Building #2 to RQ Construction, LLC. The $1.45 million sale included the 18.8-acre site located at 723 Luther Midgett Dr. RQ Construction, a Department of Defense contractor, expects to bring about 18 jobs to Jacksonville, with an average hourly [...]

The JOED January Board of Directors meeting took place on January 20th. In addition to regular business, JOED Building Committee Chairman Bob Warden presented 3 recommendations to the Board for approval. L-R: Directors Bob Warden and Ray Evans, Chairman Jeffery T. Clark, Executive Director Mark Sutherland, Director James Maides All 3 Building Committee recommendations were [...]

Thursday morning was brisk and sunny for the Grand Opening of JOED’s new location! We extend our thanks to our Investors, Board Members, partners, and friends for joining us to celebrate our “new home.”

Gulfstream Steel employees delivered our custom-made conference tables last week. Six men were needed to get each of the two sections into the building! The tables are a demonstration of world-class craftsmanship and collaboration between Gulfstream Steel and Coastal Carolina Cutting Boards, both located at Camp Davis Industrial Park in Holly Ridge. We extend our [...]

Congratulations to Mine Safety Appliances on the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for an $11.5 million investment into modernizing the existing plant and the construction of its new 85,000 square foot Jacksonville warehousing facility! This Wednesday MSA was joined by the local community for a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting ceremony in its new state [...]

3100 Freedom Way, Hubert, North Carolina 28539 - Onslow County Click here for information

Swanspoint Marine Industrial Park Swanspoint’s beautiful 60-acre location is situated between Swansboro and Camp Lejeune on North Carolina's Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). With over 170,000 SF of marine industrial space and direct access to the ICW, this campus also offers easy car travel from both Wilmington, NC (1.5hrs) and Jacksonville, NC (25min). An additional 20,000 SF [...]

L-R: Onslow County Commissioner Royce Bennett, Holly Ridge Mayor Jeff Wenzel, Captain Jodie Gay, grandson Connor Weaver, Terry Gay, JOED Chairman Susan Edwards. In the forefront, granddaughter Taylor Weaver JOED Chairman Susan Edwards welcomed attendees, stating “This groundbreaking is a momentous next step in the story of Blue Water Candy and JOED is proud to [...]

The State of Our Local Economy was a celebration of our successes over the past year and an important step in setting a precedence for future events. Attendees were impressed with the depth and importance of the data provided and implications for the future of Onslow County. Within hours after the event, JOED had received [...]

Atlantic Seafood broke ground for the construction of a new 62,500 sf refrigerated warehousing and distribution center yesterday, at Camp Davis Industrial Park, and it was very well attended by local leaders, corporate neighbors, JOED Board members, and of course, lots of friends and family. L-R:  Onslow Commissioner Royce Bennett, Onslow Commissioner Mark Price, Alena [...]

Camp Davis Industrial Park (CDIP) is located adjacent to 301 US Hwy 17 South, Holly Ridge, NC 28445. This industrial park is located on four-lane US Hwy 17 about 36 miles from the Port of Wilmington. Travel time from the CDIP to the Port of Wilmington is less than one (1) hour by four-lane highway. CDIP [...]

With its beautiful showroom filled with well-wishers, Onslow Bay Boatworks celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning. JOED Chairman Susan Edwards kicked off the event, welcoming the guests and describing the 5-year process to reach this day of celebration. She also noted that none of this would have happened had it not been for the vision [...]

Our thanks to Waterline Systems in Hubert for hosting the September JOED Board meeting aboard the 92’ NCDOT ferry! This was the first of many adventures in board meeting locations, showcasing our industries in Onslow County. During the meeting, Winter Custom Yachts’ Katelyn Miller (VP) and Fielding Pagel (Designer) described the many yachts their company [...]

By Jannette Pippin Daily News Staff HUBERT – Just outside the bay where work is underway on a 92-foot catamaran-style passenger ferry at the Waterline Systems facility in Hubert is a view of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Aside from the beautiful view, it means direct access to the waterway that is a prime location for the [...]

The weather was perfect in Holly Ridge last Friday morning (7/24/2020) for the Crete Solutions groundbreaking ceremony! Our thanks to all who joined us in this celebration! L-R Onslow County Commissioners Mark Price and Royce Bennett, Bill West of Crete Solutions, Holly Ridge Mayor Jeff Wenzel and John Allen of Crete Solutions. Commissioner Bennett and [...]

Bringing valuable training to local businesses that export, JOED hosted an Export Controls Seminar on November 14th, 2019 in Jacksonville.JOED partnered with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and Allocca Enterprises. Allocca Enterprises, Inc is the premier provider of on-site & web based international trade compliance education and training. The seminar, facilitated by Mike [...]

Collaborating with the Jacksonville Board of Realtors, JOED hosted an Opportunity Zones workshop on December 13th, 2019. The QOZ program encourages economic growth in underserved communities through tax incentives for investors who utilize “Opportunity Funds” to invest in the Zones. During the workshop, presenter Ashley Tison, CEO and Founder of the ŌZ™ Group of Companies, provided [...]

L-R: Brent Nash, Phillip Baker (both with Nash Building Systems); Brad Knight, Robby Brown (both with Onslow Bay Boatworks), Mayor Anita Dingler, and Susan Edwards (JOED Chairman).  In early August, the Town of Holly Ridge hosted a ground breaking ceremony at Camp Davis Industrial Park for its newest business, Onslow Bay Boatworks. The construction of [...]

JOED Announces Winter Custom Yachts moves to Onslow CountyWinter Custom Yachts was launched in 2006 in Apex, NC. But Tim Winters’ passion for boats and fishing began when he was a youngster growing up in Eastern NC. His family fishing outings led to sketching boat designs and building skiffs in the family garage. In high [...]

Onslow Bay Boatworks has been manufacturing high end fishing boats since 2005 for tournament fisherman.  Founder Brad Knight is a second-generation boat builder and avid competition angler. He started Onslow Bay with a very specific goal – to build the best tournament center consoles on the water. He was successful in his design of a [...]

ContactUS Communications celebrated its new Jacksonville, NC center with a ribbon cutting on June 20th. The company brings new life to a vacated office space in West Park Shopping Center. Like its two other centers in Columbus, Ohio and Grindstone, Pennsylvania, this new center will provide ContactUS’ suite of omni-channel contact center outsourcing solutions, including [...]

When traveling on Highway 17 through Holly Ridge, it is easy to miss one of the community’s oldest employers. The town of Holly Ridge is home to J&J Snack Foods, a savory foods producer for companies including Walmart, Aldi, Burger King Puerto Rico and Mexico, and Disneyland in California--to name just a few! Their longest running [...]

Last week, gun magazine writers from around the country came to Swansboro, NC to join High Speed Gear and partner-guest Sig Sauer, to utilize and review High Speed Gear’s equipment. High Speed Gear hosted the event in Onslow County because of the community’s connection to the Marine Corps and the military. A shooting event married [...]

The JOED Board of Directors extends its thanks to guest Tom Looney for his presentation at last week’s board meeting. Mr. Looney discussed a new initiative, Driving Sustained Economic Development in Coastal NC with Oyster Mariculture. As a member of the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Board of Directors and President’s Council, Tom emphasized that oyster [...]

Omega World Travel has been providing airline and cruise booking services for over 45 years. What started out as a mom and pop office in Fredericksburg, VA has grown to an international company with offices throughout the U.S. and Europe. Back in 1972, Gloria Bohan and her husband Dan decided to take a chance on [...]

Photo: Tracy Gable of US Workboats and Harold Thomas, NCDOT Ferry  Division Director, discuss future Passenger Ferry construction phases. This month NCDOT officials gathered at US Workboats (Formerly Armstrong Marine) in Hubert to celebrate the “Keel Laying” construction phase of the first NCDOT passenger ferry. According to Wikipedia, “Laying the keel or laying down is the [...]

Onslow County reached an important goal recently, with the completion of Shell Building #2 located at 723 Luther Midgett Road, in Burton Business and Industrial Park. At yesterday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Onslow County Commissioners voiced unanimous recognition that this building will serve as an important recruitment asset for new business locations or expansions into Onslow [...]

Last week, Onslow County manufacturers hosted facility tours for Onslow County high school students. Students observed the connection between their class work and its implementation in a work setting. They also saw how new technologies are replacing some of the older, more laborious, techniques in the manufacturing sector. They were amazed to learn that many [...]

JOED co-hosted a North Carolina East Alliance (NCEA)-led event last week at the Onslow County Government Center. The program included an overview of Pollution Prevention (P2) grant activities, NC Department of Environmental Quality services, animal waste to energy and heat efforts, and services available through the Small Business & Technology Development Center. The workshop brought [...]

Nearly all manufactures big and small, from shoes to space suits, need custom tools to build their product. This is where Progressive Service Die Company on White St comes in. They make heavy duty forged, pre-hard/pre-sharp, steel rule and solid milled cutting dies and cutting die accessories, as well as thermal seal/trim tooling. Shoes for [...]

(Triangle Business Journal) Despite the controversy surrounding House Bill 2, North Carolina has been named the top spot in the country for economic development by Site Selection magazine. North Carolina tied with Texas for the first-place ranking in 2016 after having won the award in 2015. The Prosperity Cup award is based on several criteria [...]

In 1981, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. opened its doors as a private non-profit 501(c)3 organization serving the community by providing training and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. By 2001, it had expanded its operations into Wilmington, and today provides over $6 million in wages and benefits to over 600 adults with disabilities in our communities. [...]

Coastal Carolina Cutting Boards is a family business of woodworkers stretching back five generations. The family’s history with wood stretches from wood flooring to ornamental pieces on marine crafts. When the recent recession forced owner Tom Dean to look for other revenue streams, he started experimenting with the woods he had available. He soon discovered [...]

Local Company Earns Sustainability Award in Annual Industry Competition  INDIANAPOLIS – Cape Fear Precast of Jacksonville, N.C., earned a first place award in the National Precast Concrete Association’s annual Sustainability Awards competition. The award was given on March 2 in Cleveland, Ohio, during The Precast Show 2017. The award recognizes the company’s work to preserve [...]

On February 6th, Onslow County Commissioners broke ground on the second industrial shell building for Onslow County.  This industrial shell building will be located at Lot 22 on Luther Midgett Road, in Burton Business & Industrial Park.  It will be a 30,000 SF building expandable to 60,000 SF with 30ft ceilings.  The County Commissioners and [...]

On February 10th, Armstrong Marine Inc., launched their first of two passenger ferry boats they contracted for the Hampton Road Transit system located in Virginia.  The Elizabeth River Ferry IV (pictured above) is a 150 passenger ferry that will travel between Portsmouth and Norfolk, and they feel this is an economical way to offer a [...]

Metalworking is an incredibly diverse field, ranging from manufacturers of metal roofs and building components to machine shops that create precise pieces for companies in the medical, defense and advanced manufacturing industries. Even though the field is so diverse, these companies all have one significant thing in common—the medium with which they work is metal! [...]

  Mine Safety Appliances (MSA) has been one of Jacksonville’s longest serving employers. Located at 352 White Street, MSA moved into one of the community’s first publicly constructed buildings by the economic development office. Back in 1979, MSA considered Jacksonville, NC because of its location and workforce. However, it was the existing building that guaranteed [...]

JOED held an event to recognize and thank the Onslow County Commissioners for their vision and dedication to the economic growth of Onslow County.  Their proactive action to expand the road into the industrial area of Burton Park will give access to the remaining 250 acres available.   In addition, the recent awarding of the contract [...]

North Carolina’s State Budget Director Andrew Heath visited Onslow County to discuss the welfare of North Carolina’s budget and the priorities of the Office of the Governor.  He discussed four main areas of the budget: education, health and human services, justice and economic resources, and fiscal responsibilities.  Director Heath stated that NC is trying to [...]

NC State Budget Director Andrew HeathDirector Heath will be visiting Onslow County on October 18th, 3-5PM, at the Onslow County Government Center.  He will be addressing North Carolina’s economy, state budget priorities and the Connect NC bond which includes many projects in our region.Director Heath is a member of Governor Pat McCrory’s senior leadership team [...]

Pictured: Sheila Knight, Rep. Phil Shepard, Asst. Sec. Dr. Pat Mitchell, Sec. John Skvarla, Asst. Sec.Will Collins Governor McCrory's NC Competes for Jobs Tour stopped in Onslow County on April 6th. The Tour sought to inform community leaders on recently enhanced NC economic development tools available to communities: grants and loans; assistance to plan and [...]

Dennis Wicker, Rep. Jason Saine, Sheila Knight, Sen. Harry Brown, Ernest Pearson Senator Harry Brown (R-Jones, Onslow) and Representative Jason Saine (R-Lincoln)  were announced as Legislators of the Year at the 2016 NCEDA MidWinter Conference held March 8-9 in Pinehurst, N.C. The awards are given to a member of the N.C House of Representative and [...]

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that North Carolina has become the ninth state to surpass the 10 million mark in population. Estimates released by the bureau on Tuesday said that by adding an average of 281 people per day during the last year, North Carolina's population topped the 10 million threshold, making it the ninth-most populous state in the U.S. with 10,042,802 people.

Forbes – North Carolina moves up one spot to third. People have descended on North Carolina for the past decade, and it boasts one of the highest net migration rates in the U.S. Many are chasing jobs. The state’s unemployment rate was stuck above 10% for most of 2009 through 2011, but was down to a recent 6.7% and the outlook is bright. North Carolina has the smallest union workforce in the U.S. in percentage terms. The resulting benefit is labor costs that are 16% below the national average-third lowest in the country. North Carolina has ranked in the top five overall each year of our Best States study.

North Carolina moved up a spot to No. 2 on Site Selection magazine's annual ranking  of business climates. Georgia claimed top spot for the third year in a row. The list is based on a survey of corporate site selectors and an index of seven criteria, including the number of new plants, new projects and state tax burdens.

North Carolina ranked No. 10 in the categories of high-tech performance and innovation and entrepreneurship in a U.S. Chamber Foundation report.

NC Ranks #8 – Consultants to industry continue to rank North Carolina highly in crucial infrastructure areas including competitive utility rates, energy reliability and smart grid deployment, and certified sites/shovel-ready programs. North Carolina updated its Certified Sites program, which has vast digital capabilities. The state also has continued to rank highly for its labor climate, with the nation’s lowest unionization rate, and in the quality of its workforce.

NC ties for 3rd – Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina are viewed as having the best business climates among the 50 states, according to a new survey of U.S. corporate executives released on October 20, 2014 at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Annual Conference. When asked why they selected the states they did [...]

A report from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council ranked North Carolina No. 6 in economic outlook competitiveness. The state’s 2013 tax reform helped it jump sixteen spots, from No. 22 on last year’s list, which is based on trends in economic growth. First in ranking was Utah, while New York was last.