The electric vehicle movement is here with many automakers having shared their plans to electrify their fleets over the next five to ten years. Within the last 15 months, at least four companies in the electric vehicle market have announced they are coming to the central North Carolina region with plants in Chatham, Durham, and Randolph Counties. These include Kempower, Toyota, VinFast, and Wolfspeed. Just southwest of their future locations lies Rowan County, a semi-rural part of the growing Charlotte metro area that’s been on a hot streak over the past year.
So, what makes Rowan County an ideal location for suppliers to the newly announced electric vehicle facilities in North Carolina?
Available Sites and Buildings
Speed to market is not a concern in Rowan County with 23 million square feet of new industrial space currently under development and set to come online in the next 6 to 24 months allowing suppliers to get their production capacity online quickly.
Transportation Accessibility
Rowan County is situated in the heart of the eastern U.S., one of the largest and fastest-growing consumer markets in the nation. Its abundance of transportation options provides superior logistics, as well as supply-chain flexibility.
Highway access is the greatest transportation asset with same-day access to all Eastern U.S. markets via three interstates—I-85, I-77, and I-40. Rowan County is just 45 minutes from two major international airports and home to the general aviation Mid-Carolina Regional Airport. An intermodal facility located in nearby Charlotte, and other shipping and rail options are easily accessible.
The Winning Powerball Components
For companies that are looking to relocate in the Charlotte metro area, Rowan County offers several business cost advantages, including low-cost electricity, lower construction costs, competitive labor costs and an affordable cost of living. Combine this with North Carolina being Forbes magazine’s “Best State for Business” three years running, and you have the No. 1 state for doing business.
Didi Caldwell, of Global Location Strategies and a leading global site selection authority, recently said that Rowan County has won the industrial site Powerball with its good quality roads and interstates, high voltage electric transmission lines, interstate natural gas transmission lines, water, and wastewater treatment capabilities. “The Powerball is the workforce that you have available from the larger population centers that are so close by,” said Caldwell.
As a state, North Carolina received top-10 rankings for best business climate (No. 2), installed solar power capacity (3), tech talent pipeline (4), biotechnology (5), customized training (6), food processing (8), best business tax climate (10) and fastest-growing states (10).
Training Resources
Rowan County is home to one of the premier community colleges in the nation. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) has five campuses and more than 18,000 students. RCCC was the first community college in the state to offer ISO 9000 training and it has earned two awards for its industry training partnerships and custom-made programs for local industries.
RCCC operates the North Carolina Manufacturing Institute, an innovative collaboration between private and public sector partners and investors to link and leverage assets and resources in order to:
- Close the manufacturing skills gap through workforce training and certification
- Improve the image of manufacturing employment opportunities among job seekers
- Assist manufacturing firms in improving recruitment, selection and retention of talent
It offers an 8-week training program leading to the nationally recognized Certified Production Technician Certificate. Scholarships are available and students are experiencing a 94% placement rate upon completion.
The programs provided by RCCC customize training assistance in support of full-time production and direct customer service positions. This program enhances the growth potential of companies located in the area, while simultaneously preparing Rowan County’s workforce with the skills essential to successful employment in emerging industries.
Further supporting the electric vehicle industry is the Manufacturing Academy at Salisbury High School which was established in 2017. Students choose from over 20 Advanced Placement courses to prepare for a college S.T.E.M. degree and learn to use specialized robotics equipment for engineering design. Successful students are immediately employable or well-prepared for a two-year or four-year program in mechanical engineering, computer integrated machining, or welding. They also will receive industry credentials including OSHA 10-hour Industry and Certified Production Technician.
Availability of Skilled Labor & Proximity
Most importantly, Rowan County has access to a 1.6-million-person labor force—one of the largest pools of potential workers in the U.S. Southeast. It’s large because Rowan County is situated between North Carolina’s Charlotte region and the Piedmont Triad region—two of the fastest growing population centers in the U.S. This continuing influx of talented professionals to the region provides businesses and companies access to a robust pool of highly skilled and educated workforce.
Not long ago a supplier within the electric vehicle industry shared with the Rowan Economic Development Council (EDC) team that Toyota, who is building a battery manufacturing plant in Liberty, North Carolina, has requested that their suppliers not locate within 45-miles of their new facility so that they are not competing for labor. The fact that Rowan sits within 60-miles of this future facility, set to come online in 2025, and its access to one of the largest pools of potential workers in North Carolina, is exactly why Rowan County is an ideal location for future electric vehicle manufacturing locations.
Rowan County is primed for growth and electric vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers will get a boost from locating their future facilities here.
