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What areas in NC have higher concentration of high-tech manufacturing companies (medical device, electronics, precision machining etc.) that could offer careers in the area of:
1. Engineering (Manufacturing, Industrial, Quality) or
2. Design (ProE, SolidWorks, AutoCAD) or
3. Operations Management (shift supervisor, production manager)
The Charlotte Metro was the nation’s fourth largest manufacturing region. I'm not sure if it still is. From the Chamber of Commerce.
Quote:
To outside observers, Charlotte’s strength as a manufacturing center may come as a surprise. In fact, this city has long been a leader in manufacturing. Mecklenburg County is home to 1,373 manufacturing firms — more than any other county in the Carolinas. Charlotte ranks second only to Dallas in the number of new factories opened during the 1990s and is among the nation’s top five cities in expansions of existing facilities.
Manufacturing has long been a key element of Charlotte’s economy. Textiles led the way early this century when the cotton industry moved south from New England to establish Charlotte as a textile center. Today, Charlotte manufacturers work in many different fields, including nonelectrical and electrical machinery, metalworking and chemicals. Manufacturers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg represent every major NAICS category. Today, Charlotte has manufacturing clusters in medical and dental equipment, plastics, optical technology and the defense industry.
As we move through the 21st century, the region is placing even greater emphasis on high-tech, bio-tech and other knowledge based industries. Charlotte has several research organizations that support this changing emphasis. The Electric Power Research Institute and the Polymers Center of Excellence are headquartered here. The Charlotte Research Institute at UNC Charlotte partners with local firms to help develop innovative new products and technologies.
Manufacturing firms who locate operations in Charlotte-Mecklenburg will find a low-cost labor environment. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the MSA’s average earnings of production workers in June 2008 was $16.18 per hour — lower than the national average.
Helping keep labor costs low is North Carolina’s status as a right-to-work state. The state has the lowest unionization rate in the nation; less than four percent of Charlotte’s work force is unionized. North Carolina also has one of the nation’s lowest unemployment insurance tax rates, as well as worker’s compensation rates that rank among the lowest in the nation.
Worker productivity, however, is exceptionally high. Studies show that N.C. workers produce more output per wage dollar than their counterparts do nationally.
Quote:
The Charlotte MSA has 1,857 manufacturing firms, which employ 70,489 workers and pay $3.4 billion in payroll. These firms shipped $43 billion in products in 2002, according to the latest economic census. The 2008 Employment Security Commission counted more than 34,000 manufacturing workers in Mecklenburg County producing $8.4 billion in manufactured goods. At least half of the value of those goods was value added. This industry is part of the lifeblood that keeps Mecklenburg County — and the Southeast — operating.
Charlotte Mecklenburg's Million Dollar Corporations - 2008
Quote:
Rank Classification # of Firms
1 Services 222
2 Wholesale Trade 173
3 Manufacturing 157
4 Retail Trade 115
5 Construction 106
6 Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 92
7 Transportation, Comm., Utilities 80
8 Other 14
Total 959
Of course this is old data, I'm not sure how the economy has changed these numbers.
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