TARGET INDUSTRY SECTORS

Good for GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

Cluster opportunities are strong and growing in Rockingham County, across multiple sectors including:

Textiles: Robust reshoring and expansion. Shri Govindaraja Textiles, one of the largest spinning groups in India, is now investing more than $35 million in new facilities here, while yarn spinners like Unifi, McMichael Mills and Frontier Spinning, SANS Technical Fibers and Innofa are flourishing, and reshoring companies like Global Textile Alliance are discovering revitalized success. Expansions such as the $8 million project at Rockingham County’s stalwart Karastan characterize a sector now showing vigorous growth.

Food and beverage processing: Savoring success. Home to multiple food companies, vineyards and distilleries, Rockingham County offers both the human and natural resources ideal for food and beverage manufacturing. Natural resources include an abundance of water, thanks to the area’s four rivers and two lakes; human resources include an ample and experienced labor force backed by specialized training at Rockingham Community College, the first college in the state to offer a degree in brewing, distillation and fermentation at the Center for Brewing Science. Other pertinent programs of study at RCC include:

  • Agriculture
  • Air conditioning, heating and refrigeration
  • Automation and robotics
  • Commercial kitchen
  • Edible greenhouse
  • Food and beverage operations certificate
  • Horticulture
  • ServSave sanitation and food safety

More and better methods of production are also cropping up with research support here in Rockingham County at the Upper Piedmont Research Station, as well as through the R&D efforts at a variety of leading NC universities.

Rockingham County satisfies every need including strategic location.  Here in a state that leads the nation in agriculture and food processing, Rockingham County puts a hungry consumer market of 4.9 million within 90 miles.

Distribution, supply chain and logistics: Faster tracked. A roll call of leading domestic and global manufacturers, from Bridgestone to Gildan, from Karastan to Unifi, are strengthening their global supply chains with a location in Rockingham County, and there’s a good reason why: A strategic omni-modal location puts a large consumer market within easy reach and puts shipping on a roll, with a portfolio of highway, rail, and air assets, as well as port access just 4.5 hours away.

Defense and Firearms: Going great guns. Across the nation and around the globe, military, federal government and law enforcement personnel rely on KDH Defense body armor—and KDH relies on Rockingham County for location and workforce advantages. When Sturm Ruger needed a new manufacturing location to produce their rugged and popular Rimfire line, Rockingham County filled the bill; the operation was up and running in record time, and is now expanding its production lines.  Rockingham County is also the home of Remington Arms Company’s headquarters and call center.

Furniture: Quality in the details. Another legacy sector thriving in Rockingham County–furniture–is making a beautifully crafted comeback, at the booming operations of Southern Finishing and Premiere Finishing and Coating.

Tourism/Recreation: Sustainable. Two crystalline lakes, four flowing rivers, over 75,000 delighted visitors annually, creating an economic impact of roughly $60 million: Rockingham County offers true sustainable beauty, and now a merged EDC organization that puts tourism efforts front and center in our marketing approach.

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