Robeson County will soon be a hub for manufacturing and production after leaders gathered at the Robeson County Committee of 100 Annual Dinner event held on Jan. 26. This was the first Annual Dinner hosted by the Committee since April 7, 2019 and  government officials, business leaders and economic drivers gathered to network, eat and hear the latest on economic developments in the area. 

Following welcoming remarks by RCC100 Chairman Coble Wilson, and notes from guest speaker Scott T. Hamilton of the Golden Leaf Foundation, Economic Development Director Channing Jones with Robeson County Economic Development took to the stage to recap some of the economic achievements of the community in 2022. 

“Our state is on fire economically. We are the third fastest growing state in the nation only behind Florida and Texas respectively, We are the number one state to do business in according to Forbes magazine,” said Jones. “There are $1.2 billion projects that we're actively seeking right now. And that's just what's in the queue. Our state is doing very well.” 

Jones went on to highlight the convenience of Robeson County’s location and the workforce population makes it a prime target for incoming companies. 

“Robeson County is uniquely situated, because it's geographically we're between Miami in Maine, we like to say that. Why that's important is we touch about 68 of the US is population with an 18-hour drive. That is tremendously beneficial logistically for a lot of the companies that we try to recruit.” 

There are currently 13 fully funded projects underway in Robeson County with companies which combined total multi-million-dollar projects investing in both the workforce and area infrastructure. 

A new industrial park is scheduled to begin construction in 2023 between US Hwy 74 and I-95. 

 The City and County were awarded a$3,700,000 grant to develop the park infrastructure, $250,000 in Golden Leaf funds for water and sewer infrastructure, and$350,000 in DOT funding for ingress and egress for a park.

“We developed a 250-acre park, secure defined and started breaking ground in four months’ time. I can't tell you how remarkable that is a 215-acre park solidified an anchor tenant which is Elkay, and if you go up and down 95 Right now you will see a 500,000 square foot facility is coming out of the ground.,” said Jones. “But that whole park was logistically put together with natural gas, water, sewer to electrical providers to IPO providers, and it was done because the city and the county decided to make an investment together.”

Companies currently in process to come to Robeson County include:

• Zurn/ Elkay Manufacturing, a leading sink, and water delivery product producer, will build a new distribution and manufacturing facility in Lumberton. The company’s decision means it will be the first tenant in a new industrial park in Lumberton, the I74/I95Industrial Park.A $42.5 million investment expected to create 48 new jobs.
• Champion Home Builders, Inc. has selected Robeson County as the location of manufactured housing production facility that plans to employ approximately 385workers at an average wage of 43,000 (18% higher than the county's median wage) in the Town of Pembroke. The company, a subsidiary of Skyline Champion Corporation, one of the largest homebuilders in North America, plans to invest up to$13.2 million at the location of the former Fleetwood Building in Pembroke. Expected to bring 385 new jobs to the area.
• Repac Foam: The Rural Infrastructure Authority board approved Robeson County for a $400,000 Rural Center Building Re-use grant designed to help expand Rempac Foam, Lumberton, NC. The County will manage the grant in concert with NC Commerce and Rempac. Rempac will retain200 jobs and be positioned to meet its growing customer demands. This expansion creates 40 jobs and will increase base pay for many employees, a $3.9 million investment.
• Air Production & Service Inc.: Created by a Robeson County local, APS is a dedicated service, part & equipment group providing facility solutions & maintenance support to the industrial railroad, Port/ inland Terminals & Department of Defense. They have been in business since October 2013 and have experienced consistent growth. They have locations in 3 other states for efficiency and access purposes. $2.75 million investment expected to create at least 14 new jobs.
• Briarwood Custom Meats LLC : Briarwood will be a USDA-inspected fee-based livestock processing facility that acts as a slaughterhouse for cattle and swine. Livestock producers can use the slaughter and meat processing service offered for sale to wholesale or retail customers. The business will operate as a USDA-inspected livestock processing plant located at 2128 Marion Stage Rd., Fairmont, NC 28340. A $1.5 million investment expected to create 30 new jobs.

And many more. 

Featured guest speaker President/ CEO Scott T. Hamilton of the Golden Leaf Foundation also spoke about highlights of the Foundation throughout 2022, goals for 2023 and the impact the foundation has had partnering with those in Robeson County. 

Highlights included: 

• $480,000 to UNC Pembroke to expand the business services offered through the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub.
• $201,496 to Robeson Community College for HVAC/R training equipment.
• $585,556 to the Lumbee Tribe to support extension of water and sewer infrastructure to support new housing development following Hurricane Matthew.
• $5,149,928 to the Public Schools of Robeson County for equipment replacement and to support repairs to two elementary schools and the school system’s transportation department due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew.
• For the 2021-2022 school year $25,334 was awarded to 66 students at Robeson Community College.