Pharmaceutical Product Development to Employ 300 in Kannapolis: "A Wilmington-based contract-research company will bring 300 private-sector jobs to the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. will create the jobs over the next three years. Fred Eshelman, PPD founder, chief executive and vice chairman, said a trip to the $1.5 billion campus -- being developed by California billionaire David Murdock -- convinced him Kannapolis was the place for PPD." Pharmaceutical Product Development - Charlotte Business Journal, April 9, 2008
Newcomer Claims Checkered Flag: "Thomasville-Lexington unseats entrenched incumbent to become the nation's No.1 Micropolitan Area for corporate projects." The location is one of five in the Charlotte Region that Site Selection identified on its list of Top Micropolitans of 2007; others include Statesville-Mooresville (North Carolina), Lincolnton (North Carolina), Shelby (North Carolina) and Lancaster (South Carolina). The annual ranking made North Carolina home to more top micropolitans than any state in the nation. Newcomer Claims Checkered Flag - Site Selection, March 2008
Transplants Head South: "The South was the top migration spot last year, according to United (Van Lines), which has tracked the moving patterns of its clients annually since 1977. Last year, United analyzed nearly 213,000 interstate moves it handled. The results showed that North Carolina attracted a bigger share of newcomers and had fewer residents leave than any other state." Transplants Head South - Charlotte Observer, January 8, 2008
Force Field: "North Carolina has no intention of ceding its Top Business Climate ranking any time soon. For the third consecutive year - and for the sixth time in seven years - North Carolina ranks first in Site Selection's annual state business climate analysis." Force Field- Site Selection, November 2007 The Best States for Business: "North Carolina has the second-lowest labor costs in the country (18%
below the national average), and incomes are projected to increase 3.8%
annually over the next five years, the second-fastest rate in the
country." The Best States for Business - Forbes, September 2007, (Table)
Top 20 Large Metros for Recruitment & Attraction: The National Policy Research Council ranked Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill second out of twenty large metros for recruitment and attraction. Top 20 Large Metros for Recruitment & Attraction - Expansion Management, 2007