Ron Harrel & Assoc. Commercial Real Estate Services, Eastern North Carolina

Ron recognized the niche for personalized commercial real estate services and assembled a strong group of associates who have the expertise to satisfy the legal, financial, marketing, and construction needs of his clients. This creates a "One Stop Shopping" philosophy from planning through ribbon cutting in a preferred customer environment.

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Carolina Business - Regional Development, October, 2003
by Ginny Williamson

Eastern Development: Working Together
BSH Home Appliances Creates 1400 New Jobs In Recent Expansion

Pristine beaches, temperate climate and southern hospitality are characteristics often used to describe the lifestyle enjoyed by residents of the Eastern North Carolina Region. These distinctive features only begin to reveal some of the numerous benefits found in the eastern region of North Carolina for both new and existing businesses. New development in this thirteen-county region is the goal for both the Eastern Regional Partnership and for the Department of Commerce, which together are capitalizing on local quality of life assets to recruit new business and industry to the area. New job creation is a primary concern and goal for the area's economic developers, especially with the significant amount of recent layoffs and the struggling economic situation experience by the region over the past year. Despite the rather slow recovery the outlook for the area remains optimistic with the local communities pulling together to solve these obstacles encountered in the area.

BSH Home Appliances is one recent local success story contributing to both job creation and financial growth for the county. This company, located in New Bern, is currently under expansion which at completion will be a $150 million dollar investment adding approximately 1400 new jobs to the workforce in New Bern, according to Johnny Rogers, Economic Development Director for the Department of Commerce's Eastern Region. This home appliance facility currently produces dishwashers, vent hoods and cook tops and has been described as a great asset to the eastern North Carolina economic situation by community leaders. The current expansion to the company will include production of ranges, washing machines and electric and gas dryers. To help fund this expansion the Eastern Region has provided the company with $30,000 contributing to the structural improvements necessary for this industrial expansion.

As an addition to this local expansion project several German-based companies have opened up in the area to supply BSH Home Appliances with the materials that it needs to manufacture these new appliances. According to Leonard Kulik, Marketing Director for the Eastern Region, Carolina Technical Plastics Corporation is one of the facilities established to help service BSH. This new company is an $11 million investment that has created seventy new jobs for the area. "We are extremely pleased with the advantages that this company has brought to our area. It has definitely helped to combat some of the layoffs experienced locally over the past couple of years," Kulik said.

The labor force that is readily available for newly created regional jobs comes highly skilled, especially with the 13,000 people leaving the military and entering the local work force. "The military presence throughout our region is one of our key components. Industries and businesses profit a great deal from the skills and knowledge available from a military work force," Rogers said. Rogers also referred to the significant contributions made by the three colleges and universities and eleven community colleges within eastern North Carolina adding to the progressive business climate throughout the region.

Another company, Universal Leaf, recently held a grand opening of its headquarters in Nash County. The $100 million tobacco processing plant will employ over 1,000 people in the Nash County area, including between sixty to seventy management and professional level positions. North Carolina's Eastern Region helped to fund the relocation of the company headquarters by contributing $50,000 in grant funds, according to Kulik. "The advantages that Universal Leaf will bring in for Nash County are widespread and significant both in terms of employment and financial gains for the area," Kulik said.

Flaroma, a flavor extraction company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, has also acknowledged the locating of a local operation at the Pepsi Building in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. This three million-dollar investment will initially will initially create twenty-five new jobs for the area. One of the primary reasons listed from company management for this relocation was the relatively low cost of operations compared to the more expensive manufacturing environment currently found in New Jersey. Rogers indicated that the Department of Commerce was one of the primary developers in this project and he is excited and hopeful about the additional prospects that this operation will bring into the area."

Although there are several exciting new development projects on the burner for eastern North Carolina, it does continue to be plagued with economic hardships, especially in the textile and agricultural areas. These traditional North Carolina-based industries have been hard hit in recent years and the situation for persons trained in these industries does not seem to be getting better. "As these industries decrease we are doing our part to make sure that these workers can find their niche in other aspects of the community and can use their talents in other ways," Rogers said. All of the economic development partners are working to bring new development to the area that will make the best use of the local work force. Together they emphasize the importance of community spirit and cooperation in the eastern region. They take great pride in promoting the area reiterating the strong quality of life found there. Even when facing economic adversity, the people and community leaders of eastern North Carolina work together so that their residents will have opportunities to work, to prosper and to enjoy living in the area.