Scotland County's Struggles and Possible Solutions.
You may have never heard of spun closing thread but you've probably seen it. Companies use it to stitch up bags of pet food and charcoal or to reinforce products like your garden hose. Service Thread in Laurinburg makes the specialty yarns. In fact, they are the largest producer of spun closing thread in the country. Jay Todd is the company's Chief Financial Officer.
"We ask -- what would we want?"
With 85 full time employees, and yearly sales around 20 Million dollars, the textile maker is alive and well in an area where other manufacturers are gasping for breath. "When the economy started to bottom out at the state level, we were already there, " says Greg Icard is Director of Economic Development, for Scotland County.
Scotland and surrounding counties felt the economic sting early on when manufacturing jobs began shifting overseas. Unemployment in Scotland County is 15.9 percent according to US Labor statistics. Why so high? Icard looks at the area's dependence on manufacturing. "We're at 22 percent for manufacturing, where the state average is 11%, double the state average.” Harlan Chambers says he was, "speechless" when he lost his manufacturing job as a welder. "Being at home laid off for 2 years was really tough.."
Chambers decided to become his own boss. He's opened a coin shop called End of the Trail. He hopes it will be a new beginning to his retail career, but admits it's a little scary. "You don't know if the investment you put in is going to come back two fold, three fold, or if it's going to be on the minus side, it's all a risk, a gamble."
The GATE program is expected to improve the odds for displaced workers like Chambers. GATE stands for: Growing America Through Entrepreneurship. North Carolina is one of four states providing professional development and counseling through the small business network at the state's community colleges. "A lot of time it just takes that little spark to take that dream to the next level to own your own business," says Deborah Hardison, Director, of the Small Business Center at Richmond Community College's Scotland County campus.
But finding the financial backing can be THE stumbling block when starting a company.
The state recently announced expansion of the federally funded capital access program to lend 800 million dollars to businesses that might not qualify for a traditional loan. These businesses will pay a fee to participate and help cover the risks. Loans, entrepreneurial programs, even planned business incubator spa... they're all part of a grand plan.
"Everything we're doing is trying to bring in more jobs and increase the tax base because that's what economic development is all about," adds Icard. But, he warns the rules have changed when it comes to launching business start ups and luring new industry. "I think the adage was you shoot at anything that moved and you claimed everything that fell. Those were the good ole days. New companies are much more lean, more automated, requiring less employees."
The trend: fewer employees with better job skills.
Even existing businesses are requiring more training. Service Thread according to Todd is always looking at professional development, and other ways to improve customer service while cutting costs. They're focusing on waste reduction, and conservation like installing compact fluorescent motion lights, and leasing the roof top for solar panels. This allows the company to reinvest in growing the business and take advantage of green tax credits. They're finding ways to provide value for the community too, by keeping jobs in a rural area that desperately needs them.
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