Magazine deems North Carolina best state for business

A business magazine has selected North Carolina as the top business climate in the country" even in times of economic distress.

Site Selection Magazine recently named North Carolina as the top state for the seventh time in eight years.

The magazine makes its annual selection based on two factors: a survey taken by top executives in the country and the extent of new plant activity in the state. It credits Gov. Mike Easley's administration for playing a key role in the state's ranking.

""Corporate executives know North Carolina is listening to them and we understand what they need to succeed"" Easley said in a press release about the ranking.

Performance-based incentive programs and workforce training programs have helped attract major industries to North Carolina and created a diverse workforce.

Ken Evans, corporate communications manager for Spirit AeroSystems, which has a plant scheduled to open next year in Kinston, N.C., said that these incentives helped the company choose the site for its new plant.

After an international site search" we down selected the Southeast" he said. It then became clear that North Carolina met our needs.""

Factors that make North Carolina's business climate ideal include the state's close proximity to sea ports" its growing population and a readily available and technologically trained work force Evans said.

There are also state grants such as the Golden Leaf which uses tobacco industry revenue to provide business incentives.

Kathy Neal spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Commerce" said there has been a significant growth in the aviation industry and other knowledge-based sectors such as biotechnology and life sciences.

""There has been lots of activity in (Research Triangle Park)" the Piedmont Triad Charlotte as well as the West and southeastern parts of the state" she said.

What it shows is that North Carolina is attractive to many people for different reasons.""

She said the state's reputation for having both a strong education system that interacts with the business sector" as well as a high quality of life are attracting a talented diverse workforce. They bring knowledge-based industries to the state.

Robert Connolly UNC associate professor of finance" said North Carolina's location also gives it an edge.

""North Carolina has an advantage that it has many ports and that it's located between Richmond" Boston and Atlanta" he said.

Besides North Carolina, Site Selection Magazine also ranked Tennessee, Alabama, Texas and Indiana as other top states with healthy business climates.

The state's hope is that companies still expanding during the downturn will use these rankings to determine where to relocate.

Companies certainly pay attention to these rankings"" Neal said. It better positions us to weather the crisis in hard economic times.""



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.