North Carolina Counties Compete to Lure Unilin

Greensboro, NC, Jan. 23--A maker of laminate flooring is considering several Triad sites for an expansion that would create 330 jobs and add $80 million to the local economy, officials said this week, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. Unilin Decor, based in Belgium, makes glue-less flooring for homes and owns the Quick-Step laminate brand. The company purchased a 76,000-square-foot plant in October 2002 in Thomasville, where it employs about 100. The plant was previously owned by Columbia Flooring Inc. At least two counties, Davidson and Guilford, are offering incentives in an attempt to lure Unilin, though economic-development officials have not made the offers public. The Davidson County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing for Feb. 2 to consider an incentive package. Unilin also owns a plant in Mount Gilead in Montgomery County. The plant employs about 240 and had sales of $75 million in 2002. The company is considering a fourth site in South Carolina, officials said. "We're optimistic, and the way I understand it we're in the final few," said Sam Watford, the vice chairman of the Davidson County board. Watford said that the company might be able to expand at its current plant, but economic-development boosters are also touting several other sites. He said that the commissioners are prepared to make a large offer because of the size of Unilin's potential investment. Steve Googe, the executive director of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission, met with both the commissioners and the Thomasville City Council on Tuesday. "I consider it to be a generous incentive package," Watford said. Guilford County Commissioner Jeff Thigpen said he sympathizes with the people of Davidson County, which has consistently had a higher unemployment rate than the state average. But he said that Guilford County is also lacking in good jobs. "It's an extremely competitive environment right now to get these jobs," Thigpen said. "My hope will be that the company will look at the strong labor force in this area, and the educated work force." The Guilford County Board of Commissioners are next scheduled to meet Feb. 1