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Bladen County: Area continues to see large investments, job creations and new opportunities for business

By Jenna Shackelford, posted Mar 23, 2022 on BizFayetteville.com

At first glance, from the outside looking in, the business community could look at Bladen County and be tempted to say the area is small. And as far as population goes, it is. According to U.S. Census data from 2020, Bladen County has 29,606 residents compared to Cumberland County’s 334,728 residents. 

Nevertheless, business is booming in Bladen County – or should we say “blooming?”

With a mission of “promoting economic development in Bladen County while also reducing burden on the government,” Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial Inc., headquartered in Elizabethtown, N.C., attracts grants and industry to the community. In fact, in the years that Chuck Heustess, executive director of the Bladen County’s economic development nonprofit, has been at the helm, the organization has created 2,500 jobs

with numerous programs and projects, he told Business North Carolina

last year. (Editor’s note: Heustess is set to retire from the role in November of this year.)

The hard work has paid off. Last year, the U.S. Economic Development Association awarded Bladen’s Bloomin’ with a $900,000 grant to
revitalize the downtown Bladenboro business district, which was hit hard

by Hurricanes Florence and Matthew.

The USEDA announced that the grant would be matched with $600,000 in local investment, and that the money would help to create 44 new jobs in the town. Additionally, the money was to be used to build a “small business center that will house retail and other businesses and help revitalize an area economically impacted by multiple hurricanes and the coronavirus pandemic,” according to Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.
North Carolina’s Southeast also selected Bladen County for its headquarters. The organization works to encourage economic growth across the state’s southeastern region and has seen significant returns on investment in Bladen. Some of the many returns include: Anthem Displays LLC, a digital billboard manufacturer, which created 17 jobs with a $3.6 million investment; Integra Foods, a leader in smoked meat production, which created 35 jobs with a $1.5 million investment; New Generation Yarn Corp., which created 100 jobs with a $4 million investment; Carrol Poultry; which created 73 jobs with a $6.5 million investment; Military Environmental, which created 12 jobs with a $1.5 million investment; Kuraray, which created 25 jobs with a $5 million investment.

The county is riddled with nationally and internationally-known businesses, like Smithfield Foods Inc., Gildan Yarns LLC, and Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., to name a few. And on the list of largest employers

(see p. 7), locally-owned and operated businesses also make the ranking for largest employers alongside those industry powerhouses, such as First Source Staffing Services LLC, Campbell Oil & Gas Co. and Bladen

East Health and Rehab LLC, further emphasizing the economic successes in the region.
To encourage continuous growth of smaller businesses, Bladen Community College is part of the Small Business Administration and offers free resources, including counseling and assistance, seminars, and workshops, for business owners and entrepreneurs.
The Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce helps promote economic growth through business and tourism promotion, business and employee recruitment, business advocacy, and community leadership.
Bladen County is a success story that speaks for itself. Through the
years, it has proven to be a perfect environment for new businesses and
expansions alike.

Needless to say, thanks to the success of existing businesses and the hard work of an abundance of organizations that prioritize bringing industry to the area, the future of Bladen County is looking bright.

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