The Good News Report

[HopHead]

Fifth Third Bank has indicated that it will hire an additional 50 people in the Charlotte area. Most of these positions will be in the sales area, however they will also be hiring branch managers as they expand their branch network in the area... NoDa and off Tyvola I believe.

[HopHead]

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $49 million federal grant to a Charlotte battery-component maker, Celgard LLC. It will create 200 jobs for the Charlotte area. It will also allow them to open a new manufacturing plant.

[atlrvr]

In relation to the FBI move, their current space is only about 65,000 sq. ft so they will nearly triple in size. I also didn't realize until today that Charlotte is the HQ for all NC operations for the FBI. With the crazies that have up in Raleigh, no wonder they are growing

Another small business expansion is that Ironshore Insurance will be opening a Charlotte office. They are a re-insurer for commercial marine activities. It will be a small operation, but it will be Uptown, and currently Ironshore is only in a few major American cities. It's good to see Charlotte gaining another re-insurance firm, as it is already the HQ for Transamerica RE and Scottish RE. Business clusters are a good thing.

[JayGee]

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $49 million federal grant to a Charlotte battery-component maker, Celgard LLC. It will create 200 jobs for the Charlotte area. It will also allow them to open a new manufacturing plant.

I think some of those jobs will actually be in Aiken, but this is still great news for Charlotte. Celgard has been quietly expanding in the Southpoint Business Park for years, and their owner, Polypore, actually moved the HQ down here, I think.

This is one that is under the radar because it is not big and splashy but they have expanded steadily and dramatically here.

Also, Polypore has acquired several other battery separator manufacturers; Daramic, which then turned around and purchased Microporous Products in TN (former customer of mine).

So they are building quite a battery separator empire, not mentioned much in the Charlotte 'energy hub', but significant nonetheless.

Congratulations to them!

[HopHead]

In what could be big news for Charlotte, Premier is looking at possibly moving their HQ from San Diego to here. They are scouting out some 250,000 sqft worth of space for an office expansion. Currently some 750 employees work in Charlotte for the health care purchasing co, which is half of their work force. The CEO is also a Charlotte native and based here. Three spots are being scouted, one of which is the IJL building in uptown.

Edited August 7, 2009 by dbull75

[HopHead]

Charlotte-based Red Ventures, an Internet marketing firm, will hire 75 new employees. Mostly inside sales jobs for the company that currently has about 650 employees in its Ballantyne HQ. They also plan to have about 800 employees by year end, so look for another round of hires.

[Niner National]

I actually just started with Red Ventures 3 weeks ago. These are pretty good paying jobs. There are a lot of people that work there that make a very good living doing inside sales.

They don't have 650 employees in their Ballantyne HQ, they have 650 total with offices in Charlotte, Miami, Guatemala City, Puerto Rico, Texas, and I believe New York City.

[HopHead]

They don't have 650 employees in their Ballantyne HQ, they have 650 total with offices in Charlotte, Miami, Guatemala City, Puerto Rico, Texas, and I believe New York City.

Ah, ok... as usual the O article wasn't clear on how many were where

[HopHead]

Zenta, a business and process outsourcing company, is adding another 120 jobs by mid-September. They've already hired 200 people in Charlotte over the last several months. They also expect to grown up to 400 employees by year end. They have an uptown office and a location at Forest Point Blvd.

[atlrvr]

As previously mentioned before on here, it has now been confirmed in the press that:

1. Husqavarna is moving their US headquarters from Augusta, GA to Charlotte. Per the Augusta news, 100 people will lose their jobs in there, but it was not confirmed how many would be created in Charlotte, just that not all 100 would be offered relocation.

2. Biotage is moving is US headquarter to Charlotte from Charlottesville. They are a Swedish supplier of medical instruments. It will create 21 new jobs in Charlotte.

Both of these relocations cited Charlotte's international airport as a major decision in their relocations.

Also, a company named Teknek will be opening US operations in Charlotte. They sell machines they clean electrical equipment and other high-tech manufacturing equipment. They are headquarterd in Dublin, Ireland and have their other offices in Japan and China.

Finally, the founder of YouTube (Chad Hurley) will be the primary sponser of USF1, the new Formula 1 race team that is headquartered in Charlotte. There is speculation that he will do alot media wise to promote the team, and possibly make USF1 the most open race shop for tourists of any Formula 1 team, which could be a big boost for the local tourist industry. European F1 fans make NASCAR fans look apathetic.

[aceboogie]

I'm noticing more biotech research and manufactoring firms moving here especially if they are associated closely to the medical field. At UNCC we just finished building our BioInformatics building and the NC Kannapolis Research Campus is starting to take off. If anyone is familiar with any of Richard Florida and his economic ideas, he notes that jobs move to places that have certain people; that is people who have the work ethic/knowledge needed for employment and not necessarily that people move to jobs. If this is true I believe we in the Charlotte Region are starting to see our city transform from a banking town into a more diverse economy. This is really great for the stabilization of our economy.

[Seabreeze]

I actually just started with Red Ventures 3 weeks ago. These are pretty good paying jobs. There are a lot of people that work there that make a very good living doing inside sales.

They don't have 650 employees in their Ballantyne HQ, they have 650 total with offices in Charlotte, Miami, Guatemala City, Puerto Rico, Texas, and I believe New York City.

Welcome to RV, I have been working there over a year and must say it is a great company if you can handle the pressure !! You are correct on all of the locations.

Charlotte is mainly the headquarters for corporate and the launching pad for new businesses within Red Ventures. As the separate businesses get established, they typically move to other cities to allow for room for new programs to develop here in Charlotte.

[cltbwimob]

Alot of good news coming down the pipe for the metro area.

Just to Recap what has happened in the past couple of weeks:

1. Premier (Healthcare Services) is looking at moving there HQ to Charlotte

2. Husqvarna, Biotage, and Competition Accessories are all moving HQ's to Charlotte for a total of more than 150 jobs

3. Zenta is adding hundreds of jobs

4. Red Ventures is adding 75 jobs

5. US Airways is looking to fly nonstop to Sao Paulo from clt in addition to it's recently added/announced flights to cdg,gig, and hnl.

6. Morgan Stanley is hiring in Charlotte for their retail operation. (Who knows, maybe the Retail Banking Headquarters will be in Charlotte)

7. Walmart will be coming to Independence and is expected to play a role in helping revitalize East Charlotte. In addition it should bring some new jobs to the area

Additionally, the Riverwalk development in Rock Hill got a boost today...They say it could create up to 4,000 Jobs

Also, an article a few months back in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette said that Westinghouse may at some point move the corporate HQ to Charlotte because the new offices in Charlotte are conveniently located along the outerbelt w/in 10 minutes from the airport. Highway 228 in front of their current HQ in Cranberry, PA apparently has major issues with congestion.

[15895]

5. US Airways is looking to fly nonstop to Sao Paulo from clt in addition to it's recently added/announced flights to cdg,gig, and hnl.

No. US Airways is not flying CLT - GIG. They are flying CLT - GRU, which starts in Spring. Maybe in the future when US Airways can get some slots at GIG, but as of now, they're only going to have slots at GRU.

GIG - Rio De Janeiro

GRU - S

[cltbwimob]

No. US Airways is not flying CLT - GIG. They are flying CLT - GRU, which starts in Spring. Maybe in the future when US Airways can get some slots at GIG, but as of now, they're only going to have slots at GRU.

GIG - Rio De Janeiro

GRU - S

[Miesian Corners]

US Airways will begin CLT-GIG service December 2. This route was awarded last May. The airline's new agreement with Delta transfers a GRU slot for service between it and CLT. Although the airline wants to start service in that city pair in 2010, it is subject to review by the Brazilian gov't.

[15895]

When did US annouonce that they would not be flying to GIG?

Eh, I just read a post on A.net that US would just be flying to GRU and that thread got deleted, so, perhaps it was wrong

[HopHead]

Two more big updates for Charlotte:

1) on Thursday Humpy Wheeler will announce plans for a world-class Tire-testing facility in Charlotte. No details on the plans have been released yet, but an announcement is set to be made at the uptown Nascar Plaza. The officials are expected to announce the formation of a private consortium of automotive and motorsports companies to address tire safety, wear and energy efficiency issues.

2) NACA who recently announced plans to bring 1,000 jobs to Charlotte has now said they will double that number. Now, they plan to expand by 2,000 employees next year!

[cltbwimob]

SCR-Tech, a local pollution control firm is adding 61 jobs in Charlotte. While not a very significant number, it is always good to see companies hiring.

[krazeeboi]

Some positive economic news from a recent report coming from the Brookings Institute which analyzed the economic performance of the nation's 100 largest metro ares during 2Q09:

[HopHead]

In what may be a very positive sign for the local banking industry, a local top level Wells Fargo exec has said that the layoffs appear to be pretty much over from her standpoint. The bank may soon start hiring in Charlotte as well. Over 100 people have been hired recently for a Fort Mill mortgage processing facility. They will also start hiring business school grads for the investment banking area and additional people for retail banking... From a personal standpoint I do know that some friends of mine who worked for Wachovia that who were initially laid off earlier this year have actually been brought back on at WF to do consulting work. At the end of last year, Wachovia had over 21,000 employees in the area. Through layoffs and attrition, Wells now has about 19,500 employees here. Very positive considering a lot of us here were thinking the local WF employment base would shrink much more.

[southslider]

Besides, how many of the 1,500 fewer Wells employees have been or will be absorbed by GMAC, Morgan Stanley, US Bank, and other area financials?

[atlrvr]

As optimistic as she made it sound, things are far from over from the layoff perspective, in my opinion. She is head of retail banking, and doubt she knows much of what is going on in the other business lines. Corporate functions still will take a sizable cut as the merger continues.

All that said, they are already re-hiring in some areas were cuts occurred, and cutting in SF in other areas where they prefer the Wachovia model. As far as a net number, employment will probably remain relatively flat, but that is really because they are beefing up in some areas, and not because lay-offs are nearing and end.

The good news is that they will restart the IB Analyst program. Big dollar jobs and affirms their commitment to inv. banking, which for all intents and purposes, is really based in Charlotte.

[CHARtoSF]

Wasn't sure where to post this so I'll put it here.

If you pick up USA TODAY's weekend issue, which is good for three days, look in the LIFE weekend section and there's an entire page (p9) dedicated to Charlotte and all the new attractions getting ready to open.

I ran across it by chance and I thought wow, it's been a long time since I've seen some National recognition love given to Charlotte.

[15895]

I love this thread! Its so nice to hear all the good news! Heres a nice article on what made US Airways shares rise:

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/1060...E&cm_ite=NA

"What Lifted US Airways Shares?"

"US Airways' most valuable assets: positions at key Northeast airports and in Charlotte, N.C., the only southeastern hub besides Atlanta. "

I also read a few days ago that Parker said Charlotte would stay free from cuts as Charlotte is the "Jewel" of US Airways. I actually have a flight with US Airways tomorrow. Charlotte-Dayton.

Edited September 19, 2009 by AirNostrumMAD