Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation

EDC charts its efforts for 2006-07

Oct 9, 2007
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer. The creation of nearly 1,700 new jobs and an increase in the average weekly wage since the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. was founded in 2004 are among the achievements cited in the organization’s annual report.

According to the 2006-2007 report recently released by the EDC, $83.99 million in capital investment, including $1.2 million from small and minority-owned businesses, has been made in the area since 2004.

“We’ve experienced our first positive job growth in 10 years,” said Mark Heath, president and CEO of the EDC.

He was referring to the 466 jobs the area gained in 2006, the first reversal after 10 years of decline. That statistic, like others in the report, has been reported previously.

According to statistics from the Virginia Employment Commission’s Labor Market Statistics report, the total number of people employed rose from a low of 29,000 in 2005 to 29,466 in 2006. During a decade of massive layoffs, plant closings and globalization, the EDC has reported that the total number of people employed shrank by more than 10,000 people from 39,457 in 1996.

Heath has said the reversal in 2006 is an example of how the EDC’s strategy of working to promote multiple facets of the economy is paying off.

Small or minority-owned businesses contributed 57 jobs to the 1,690 total of new jobs created since 2004, the report says.

Seven new companies have located in the area since 2004, creating 1,042 jobs and making capital investments totaling $31.95 million, according to the report.

New businesses listed in the report include manufacturing companies, such as Texturing Services in January 2005; Best Wood Products, October 2005; and Blue Ridge Aquaculture, October 2006. Gildan Activewear Inc., a distribution company, began in July 2006.

Other new businesses are office-related and include StarTek in August 2004, Tier Technologies in December 2005 and Medical Data Systems Inc. in May 2006.

Although those businesses have located in the area, they have not necessarily done so as a result of EDC efforts.

Expansions of existing businesses have added 591 jobs to the area and a capital investment of $50.84 million, the report stated.

Those companies also are categorized into three main groups, including manufacturing, distribution and office.

Applied Felts, Shenandoah Furniture, CPFilms, Ridgeway Furniture Products, Oak Level Finishing & Repair, Commonwealth Laminating, Bassett Furniture, Hooker Furniture and Smart Machines are among manufacturing companies expanding.

Northpoint Trading Co., JG Edelen and Accretive Commerce are among distributors, and StarTek, Therapy Direct, GS Industries of Bassett and LifePoint Hospitals Inc. are listed in the office category.

Currently, food processing, plastics, motorsports, retirement and tourism are among companies the EDC targets for recruitment, according to the report. However, that list is not exclusive, Heath said.

The EDC incorporates a number of tools to attract new companies, including a manned visitor center, a reworked Web site, the installation of new welcome signs marking entrances to the city and county, touting of a new sports complex and participation in trade shows and professional conferences.

In rebuilding the economy, the agency has relied on a holistic approach that “embraces creativity in finding jobs and tax base,” according to Heath and Joe Roach, chairman of the EDC board.

The report cites several successes. Henry County and Martinsville’s combined unemployment rate has dropped from 10 percent in June 2004 (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor & Statistics) to 5.1 percent for 2006, the report says.

(The most recent figures available from the Virginia Employment Commission show that the area’s combined unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in August.)

The average weekly wage has increased 9 percent since 2004 and now is $519, according to the EDC report.

The median household income has risen 19.5 percent to $36,580 during the same time frame, according to the report, which cites the U.S. Census Bureau as the source of the figure.

Heath is encouraged that the “economic trends are headed in the right direction for us to continue to grow and make our economy stronger.”

Successful economic development is a team sport and would not be possible without the support and commitment of Martinsville, Henry County, the Harvest Foundation and C-PEG (the Chamber’s Partnership for Economic Growth), Heath said.