During a three-day business development trip in early March to Northern California, Governor Bev Perude, N.C. and Department of Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, along with Commerce developers met and held discussions with more than 35 companies, promoting North Carolina as an ideal location for locating their business.  The governor and Commerce led the recruitment mission, of which Rutherford County EDC Director, Tom Johnson, was a part of. Tom was among the team that visited the Facebook facilities in Palo Alto. The main focus was on IT, life sciences and pharmaceuticals .

The group also visited with California-based executives from several businesses with an established presence in North Carolina, including Facebook, Google and Apple.  They discussed how North Carolina can best support the businesses' operations and help expand their presence in our state.  They also met with companies considering expanding their operations into North Carolina and promoted the benefits of doing business in our state.  Plans are to follow up aggressively with all companies, as both state and local officials continue efforts to attract new jobs and business investment.

FACEBOOK 101

Facebook is on the move in Rutherford County! Two special training seminars for small businesses and nonprofits were held on Tuesday evening, March 8 in the Library Auditorium at isothermal Community College.

Facebook 101 was geared to help those who work in small business and nonprofits make the most of the world's largest social media tools.  Facebook's Katie Harbath, Corey Owens and Adam Conner, public policy associates of Facebook, lead the sessions, which lasted approximately 45 minutes, with a question and answer session following the presentation.

Presented in partnership with the Rutherford County Economic Development Commission, the seminars attracted a capacity crowd of approximately 175 participants!  Says Owens, "Facebook is about connecting to people, customers and supporters around the world.  We're eager to help organizations in Rutherford County make those connections even more efficiently and creatively."

Tom Johnson, Executive Director of the Economic Development Commission, adds "Facebook is making a difference in Rutherford County - from helping our local businesses compete in the marketplace to putting local talent to work at the data center site."

As of late March, more than 350 workers - most from Rutherford County and surrounding areas - were working at Facebook's data center construction site.  Crews have poured almost 8,000 cubic yards of concrete supplied by Tri-City Concrete, erected the steel frame for the main building and installed many of its exterior metal panels, as well as beginning installation of a power substation.

As well as Tri-City, there are more than 60 local companies involved in the massive data center project including Duffie's Copier Consultants.  With roots in Forest City going back to 1964, Duffie's now equips contractors with office furniture and supplies - from copy machines and file cabinets to paper and pens.