Drone maker wants to bring 200 jobs to Winston-Salem (Raleigh, Greensboro: 2014, technology jobs)
Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High PointThe Triad Area
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A company that develops unmanned aircraft for use by emergency responders and law enforcement officials wants to locate its headquarters and research and development operations in the Triad.
It would create about 200 high-technology jobs in its first phase.
Olaeris has asked the state Commerce Department to invest $6 million in its products rather than provide traditional incentives.
Drone-maker Olaeris has given state officials until Sept. 25 to commit to a $6 million investment in the startup company, which wants to locate a U.S. headquarters at Smith Reynolds Airport.
Im skeptical about this state funneling money to a start up company.
Per the TBJ, they're close to giving up on the site. Sounds like they're not getting the incentives they want. To be honest, I can't see $6m coming from the state in the current legislative environment, so if that's a dealbreaker, this plan is likely to be scrapped. It's too bad in a way, because UAVs are only going to become more prevalent in years to come, and it would be nice for the Triad to have another booming industry on board. Then again, if this company has a tiger by the tail like they claim, why do they need a $6m infusion from the state? Seems like venture capital or other investment streams should be footing the bill.
Per the news update I've read, Olaeris is NOT asking for incentives at all. It is asking the state to contract purchase $6 million of its equipment to monitor emergency response in North Carolina, with payments not due for the set up until a fully functioning system is delivered. That does not sound unreasonable to me, for a $128 million return in investment and 150+ jobs at Smith Reynolds Airport.
The state legislators need to get off their fat butts and make this happen. There is more money spent and/or available in funds such as the tobacco fund that is squandered yearly in order to create jobs here in North Carolina. We need more high tech companies. "The first state that gets this all aligned properly (to win this company) will become the next Silicon Valley" the article states.
Per the news update I've read, Olaeris is NOT asking for incentives at all. It is asking the state to contract purchase $6 million of its equipment to monitor emergency response in North Carolina, with payments not due for the set up until a fully functioning system is delivered. That does not sound unreasonable to me, for a $128 million return in investment and 150+ jobs at Smith Reynolds Airport.
I do think it's a slightly strange request, yeah. I think our emergency responders should make purchases of equipment of that sort as they need it and after evaluating a number of different suppliers. Committing to a $6m purchase seems like a problematic quid pro quo.
That was one of the conditions for Mercedes in AL, the state had to buy X amount of SUVs yet were already broke from the incentive deal. I would rather see a small incentive package in this scenario. This company is a start up and if the venture tanks the state would be left with 6 mil of unbacked equipment.
folks if we dont like what our "leaders" in Raleigh are doing, we need to vote them out at the polls. It would be a shame if the state sat on its hands and lost this opportunity for the Triad.
but from their point of view, they are skeptical because the drone industry is very new and there are still legal issues with drones in regards to privacy and sharing the same airspace with commercial planes.
This company first tried to locate in Greensboro. The city thought it didnt make financial sense because the company wanted the city to use their drone system for emergency responses. Our state leaders are hostile to the drone industry in general.
That's a cool video
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