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NCGrowth held their annual spring event at UNC-Pembroke’s Entrepreneurship Incubator on May 4th. The spring event is an opportunity for current and past NCGrowth clients, NCGrowth Analysts, and resource providers to come together from across the state. UNC-Pembroke Chancellor Robin Cummings made opening remarks and the group toured the newly opened incubator space. Caroline Lindley, a Kenan-Flagler MBA student and NCGrowth analyst presented her work with Babington Technology, a company that manufactures appliances using an airtronic burner system. UNC-Chapel Hill Master’s in Public Administration student and NCGrowth analyst Ellis Johnson presented on his work with the Town of Clinton. Following the analyst presentations, there was a workshop on crowdfunding. The workshop was catered to the many businesses in the audience.
Chef & the Farmer (Lenoir County)
NCGrowth is completing work with Chef & the Farmer and A Chef’s Life. A Chef’s Life is a Peabody-award winning PBS docuseries that follows Vivian Howard, chef and owner of Chef & the Farmer, a farm-to-table restaurant in Kinston. NCGrowth created and administered a survey of viewers and restaurant patrons and is finalizing recommendations for how to structure a tour based on the show, the restaurant and the cultural and food assets around Kinston. Additionally, the report will highlight the economic impact of increased tourism to the Kinston area.
Babington Technology (Nash County)
NCGrowth assisted Babington Technology with a business expansion plan for growth into new markets. Babington Technology is a leader in safe, clean and efficient liquid fuel combustion technology as well as heat-on-the-move field feeding systems used by the U.S. military, disaster relief organizations and other commercial entities.
Royal Quality Maintenance (Nash County)
Royal Quality Maintenance is a family-owned professional cleaning business in Rocky Mount, NC serving the entire Eastern NC region. NCGrowth assisted the company with an inventory system.
Baker’s Southern Traditions Peanuts (Bertie County)
Baker’s Southern Traditions Peanuts is a whole sale peanut product supplier based in Roxobel, NC. NCGrowth helped them grow their corporate giving business.
Holiday Inn Express-Pembroke (Robeson County)
Holiday Inn Express-Pembroke received assistance from NCGrowth to better market the town of Pembroke and the hotel. NCGrowth also provided research to help Pembroke recruit a new restaurant business to the town.
Wet Dog Glass (Montgomery County)
Wet Dog Glass, LLC is an equipment maker and consultant for glass artists and craftspeople worldwide based in Star, NC. NCGrowth provided research and network connections to establish an apprenticeship program.
Cape Fear Vineyards & Winery (Bladen County)
Cape Fear Vineyards & Winery in Elizabethtown, NC is a new vineyard and winery with a farm to table restaurant, art gallery, guest houses, and event space. NCGrowth helped them with their marketing strategy and online fulfillment center.
SuperCat Solutions (Wilson County)
SuperCat Solutions develops and sells software as a service cataloging and sales tools to support business to business sales. Based in Wilson, NC, SuperCat received support from NCGrowth to better onboard clients and market to their current target group.
City of Clinton: Business Retention Strategy
NCGrowth is assisting the City of Clinton in better understanding the needs of their existing industries and finding innovative ways to communicate with business leaders. Analyst Ellis Johnson, an MPA student at UNC-CH, is leading this project which consists of conducting business surveys, and follow-up in person interviews. Data gathered through this process will be used to provide recommendations to the City.
Montgomery County Industrial Site Assessment
Montgomery County is a rural county located in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina. The county has a total area of 502 square miles, much of which is protected as part of the Uwharrie National Forest. The county currently has access to two industrial sites certified by North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Heart of NC MegaPark and the Mount Gilead Industrial Site. Other than the two industrial sites, the county lacks established infrastructure to attract investors and companies. The goal of this project is to help Montgomery County identify potential economic development sites and provide analysis that will guide the county in prioritizing investment.
Ecotourism Economic Impact
NCGrowth, in partnership with Roanoke River Partners, conducted an economic impact analysis of ecotourism along the Roanoke River which runs through five counties in northeastern North Carolina. A survey was conducted to measure visitor expenditures, these figures were then used to conduct an IMPLAN analysis. Recommendations on increasing impacts were developed based on the user profile developed from the survey and the current industry impacts shown by the IMPLAN analysis. NCCU Masters dual degree MBA/MIS student Kel Harvey led the project, with support from Kendal Robinson, Dr. Tad Hara a Senior Research Fellow at the Dick Pope Institute of Tourism Studies at the University of Central Florida, and NCGrowth Program Coordinator Carolyn Fryberger. The final report is anticipated to be released by the end of the summer and will be on posted our website at that time.