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<br />
<br />BACKGROUND: Local and state government in North Carolina have the goal to promote
<br />economic development by encouraging the location of new businesses and the expansion of
<br />existing businesses. This activity serves to diversify the local tax base, increase employment
<br />opportunities and introduce desired job skills and related benefits to a community, and for the
<br />benefit of its residents. The Local Government Act, North Carolina General Statute (NCGS)
<br />158-7.1 outlines the requirements of public hearings, and NCGS 158-7.1(a) specifically
<br />addresses the requirement that economic development appropriations “must be determined by
<br />the governing body of the city or county to increase the population, taxable property, agriculture
<br />industries, employment, industrial output, or business prospects of the city or county”. This
<br />public hearing has been scheduled in compliance.
<br />
<br />Project Description:
<br />Piedmont Metalworks, LLC is a locally-owned structural and sheet metal fabrication company
<br />serving industries throughout the Southeast United States. The firm’s staff of 12 metal-working
<br />professionals has over 100 years of collective sheet metal fabrication experience and has
<br />performed custom work for many facilities around the region, including the Raleigh-Durham
<br />International Airport (ticket counters and jetway entrances), the North Carolina Museum of Art
<br />and North Carolina Museum of Natural History in Raleigh, UNC Chapel Hill (HVAC mounting
<br />platform), and the U. S. Marine Corps (tethered aerostat / blimp towing vehicles). Manufactured
<br />parts include enclosures, cabinets, housings, railroad sinks and toilets, panels, brackets, racks
<br />and recycling collection boxes. Products are made with structural steel and various sheet metal
<br />including mild steel, aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized, brass and copper.
<br />
<br />Manufacturing skills include plasma cutting, welding, design and CAD engineering, powder
<br />coating and silk screening. The average annual salary is $41,236 plus full employment benefits
<br />including medical, dental, and 401(k) match. Piedmont Metalworks currently has operations at
<br />1551 Cooper Street in Durham, but has determined to relocate to either Orange County, or,
<br />competing sites and available building options in Alamance County. Management of the firm
<br />contacted Orange County Economic Development in July of this year to inquire about potential
<br />financial incentives to consolidate operations here, and the BOCC met and discussed this
<br />project in closed session on September 3, 2019.
<br />
<br />Under the same ownership by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richie Richmond is the Orange
<br />County-based custom sheet metal fabrication company, Forma-Fab Metals, which
<br />manufactures enclosures, cabinets, housings, panels, brackets, racks, bus bars, and covers.
<br />That firm, which has two locations at 5816 U.S. Highway 70 and at 6600 E. Washington Street
<br />in Orange County (between the Cheeks community and Mebane), has 68 local employees, and
<br />75,000 square feet of manufacturing space with a total Orange County property tax valuation of
<br />$2,916,600.
<br />
<br />This region of Orange County is part of a U.S. federally designated rural census tract area. The
<br />owner and CEO of both facilities, Ritchie Richmond, proposes to relocate Piedmont Metalworks
<br />from Durham to Orange County and be adjacent to his Forma-Fab Metals operation, which is
<br />located at 5816 U.S. 70, which is near the Buckhorn Road and U.S. 70 intersection.
<br />
<br />Illustration of metalworking machinery currently in use:
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