Im Rampenlicht: North Carolina gewinnt den nationalen Preis für wirtschaftliche Entwicklung

North Carolinas Erfolg bei der Gewinnung wirkungsvoller wirtschaftlicher Entwicklungsprojekte wurde mit dem begehrten Gold Shovel Award von gewürdigt Gebietsentwicklung magazine, a leading industry trade publication covering corporate site selection and economic development.

“We’re honored to receive this national recognition for our success bringing good jobs to North Carolina,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “We have momentum and we’re letting the world know that North Carolina is open for business with the best workforce, business environment and quality of life you and your company can find anywhere.

“The national media outlet announced five overall Gold Shovel Award winners for 2021 in five population categories — Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Utah, and Kansas. North Carolina’s category included states with populations between 8 and-12 million people. The magazine announced additional Gold and Silver awards in several other categories as well.

To determine the winners of its Gold and Silver Shovel Awards, Gebietsentwicklung invited all 50 states to submit its top-10 job creation and investment projects that first materialized in 2020. Winning states earn the highest scores based on their number of high-value added jobs per capita, amount of investment, number of new facilities, and industry diversity.

“National recognition from respected media organizations like Gebietsentwicklung bring renewed attention to North Carolina’s strength as a business location,” said North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders. “Company decision makers recognize our state’s many assets and appreciate our visible commitment to build an inclusive and equitable business environment that works for everyone.”As part of its Shovel Awards, Gebietsentwicklung honored Missouri-based Centene Corp.’s choice of Charlotte for a $1-billion, 3,237-job East Coast headquarters and technology hub.

The project, announced in July, was named one the magazine’s five “Non-Manufacturing Projects of the Year” across the nation. Company officials have said they expect the new hub will grow to up to 6,000 employees.

“State-supported project wins overall last year are expected to create $6.3 billion in new investment and more than 20,000 new jobs in North Carolina,” said Christopher Chung, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “Those big numbers came in despite the pandemic, and they’re among the state’s highest for any single year in a decade.

”“While 2020’s COVID-19 crisis put many projects on ‘pause,’ our Annual Shovel awards recognize the states and local economic development agencies that still managed to garner large job-creating and investment projects despite this unprecedented crisis through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, and other processes that attract new employers as well as investments in expanded facilities,” said Geraldine Gambale, editor of Gebietsentwicklung magazine.

While North Carolina has won 10 Silver Shovel awards since Gebietsentwicklung introduced the annual recognition in 2006, this is only the second time the state has taken home the Gold. In 2018, North Carolina won its first Gold Shovel Award.

The 2021 Gold Shovel joins other recently announced economic development recognition for the state. Earlier this year, North Carolina won Seitenwahl magazine’s 2021 Prosperity Cup and Geschäftseinrichtungen magazine’s 2020 State of the Year award.

All three awards recognize the state’s business recruitment success.To read Gebietsentwicklung’s report on this year’s Gold and Silver Shovel Award winners, visit areadevelopment.com/shovels.

Originalquelle: WRAL TechWire