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Biz Buzz
All the buzz about business in the Triad.
- Honda deal draws more attention
The Greensboro Economic Development Alliance has already won the brass ring: It did much of the work in recruiting Honda Aircraft Co. to Piedmont Triad International Airport. Honda is building its headquarters and manufacturing operations there and will hire about 350 workers. That is bringing the Triad international recognition in the aeronautics industry and could attract even more industry. Now, Business Facilities Magazine has added polish to the ring by naming the Economic Development Alliance a winner of an honorable mention in its "Economic Development Deal of the Year Awards." Another winner in the awards was the Mississippi Development Authority for the Toyota plant that had North Carolinians buzzing last year with the possibility that the company might build the plant somewhere in the state, possibly Davidson County. - Boxing for Bargains
One of the benefits to working downtown is proximity to the Bargain Box, the second-hand goods store run by the Junior League of Greensboro. Clothes are the main staple here, but there's always a wide selection of odds and ends, some of which are odd and some of which should have met an end long ago. But for the most part, the place rocks when it comes to finding good-condition things. We've both subsidized and patronized the Box over the years. Sometimes, walking into the store is like walking into our closet from a year ago. About half of our daughter's closet cache came from the Box. Got qualms about wearing other people's clothes? While the line might reasonably be drawn at monograms and ring-around-the-collar, I've worn many a shirt that bore someone else's name on the collar. Think the clothes won't hold up or are in poor condition? Last week, my 10-month-old son was sporting a red Talbots Kids cable-knit sweater that looked familiar. Turns out I bought it from Bargain Box for my daughter a few years ago. A Brooks Brothers dress shirt I bought four years ago is holding up well. Then there are the Box's sales, which prompts this posting. The store hosts sales several times a year, and these are not piddly sales. The one today is 40 percent off. I've been to sales where discounts were 60 and 75 percent. Don't take these sales lightly; think rugby without the manners. Getting in the place today required three "excuse me's." If you haven't started your holiday shopping at the stores yet, going to the Bargain Box sale will prep you for crowd management. "I'm surprised a fight hasn't broken out in here yet," said the woman in front of me. My haul this trip: three sweaters (one of them cashmere) and an Abercrombie and Fitch casual shirt. I paid $18. - Legacy Paddlesports gets patents
Greensboro-based Legacy Paddlesports has received three patents and is applying for two more. The company, which makes and sells kayaks, has picked up U.S. patents related to its new Native Watercraft Ultimate kayak design, its Adapt-a-Track accessories (which include cup holders and paddle holders) used in the Ultimate Series kayaks, and its Plug-and-Play accessory mounting system (which includes a paddle holder, a thigh pad and a dashboard) used in its Native Watercraft Magic kayaks. Legacy Paddlesports also has applied for two patents: One for a pedal and propeller drive unit that drops into one of the company's kayak models; the other for a lightweight, cushioned seat available on some kayak models or as a separate purchase. - It's Time Warner calling
Time Warner Cable is adding phone service to its package available to small and medium-sized businesses in the Triad. Just as the company is pushing residential customers toward buying digital phone, cable television and high-speed Internet service together, now the cable provider is touting bundled packages for business. It's an effort to broaden Time Warner's offerings far beyond traditional cable television - and further muscle in on the phone company's territory. And it's a continuation of an industry push to get consumers to buy all their telecommunications services through a single company. Time Warner is launching "Business Class Phone" in the Carolinas this week. The service includes unlimited local and long-distance calling in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as three-way call transfer and other features. According to a Time Warner news release, the company has "more than 2 million" residential subscribers in the U.S. who use digital phone. - Glen Raven fabric to be used in auto racing
A Glen Raven fabric used to protect industrial workers is now going to be used in auto racing. GlenGuard FR, which provides protection from heat and burns, will debut at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando in early December. The performance fabrics company is based in Glen Raven and known for specialty fabrics such as brands including Sunbrella and Dickson. - Guilford jobless rate falls to 4.5 percent
Jobless rates fell last month in eight of 12 Triad counties, including Guilford, Alamance and Forsyth. Statewide, nearly 75 percent of counties saw unemployment rates drop in September, as the state's overall jobless rate fell to 4.5 percent, from 4.7 percent in August. Guilford's rate also dropped to 4.5 percent last month, with 236,604 people working and 11,225 people filing for unemployment benefits. The county had a jobless rate of 4.8 percent in August. - Kellogg Co. signs lease at Enterprise Park
Update: Talked to a Kellogg spokeswoman, who said the company will effectively be doubling the size of its local snack distribution facility with the new lease, which has a five-year life. Kellogg has 29 employees at its current distribution center of Business Park Drive, just a few miles away from the space at Enterprise II. The company will gain occupancy of its new space on Dec. 1, spokeswoman Thuy-An Wilkins told me. Kellogg hasn't yet determined whether it will add more local jobs during or after the move, she said. "The impetus for this is growth in our snack business," Wilkins said, referring to brands such as Keebler. If you didn't see it in today's News & Record, cereal maker Kellogg Co. has signed a lease on 117,500 square feet of industrial space in Greensboro. The Battle Creek, Mich.-based food company's lease is at Enterprise II, part of an airport-area park owned by Highwoods Properties. Officials with Raleigh-based Highwoods confirmed the Kellogg lease Thursday but said they did not know what the space will be used for and how many people Kellogg might employ there. Kellogg officials still haven't returned my calls from yesterday. With the cereal maker lined up, Enterprise II, a 418,000-square-foot distribution facility, is 72 percent pre-leased. Other park tenants include Greensboro-based RF Micro Devices, which plans to open its new microchip wafer plant in another shell building on Brigham Road within a year. - Occupancy strong at Triad apartments
Area apartments are at their lowest vacancy rates since 2000, with Triad communities at an average of 92 percent leased. That's according to a report just out from Charlotte-based Real Data Apartment Market Research. And those findings aren't really much of a surprise, considering that the region's apartment market has showed almost steady improvement in the past five years and that some would-be homebuyers likely are opting to rent now that credit isn't so easy to come by. Demand for area apartments remains strong, with the newest communities reporting the best occupancy rates. Average rents here have risen 4 percent in the past year, to $641 a month. The lowest vacancy rates for September were in southwest Winston-Salem and southwest Greensboro, the latter of which happens to have the most expensive square-footage in the area. Southeast Greensboro saw the highest vacancy rate - 12.4 percent. - Triad, state home sales fall in September
Here's some news you likely expected: Existing home sales fell in the Triad - and throughout the state - last month, according to a report out today from the state's Realtors group. Sales of existing homes statewide fell 22 percent in September, when compared to the same month last year. Statewide, 9,267 existing homes sold during the month, at an average price of $228,072. People I talked to with the N.C. Association of Realtors wouldn't speculate on reasons for the 8 percent jump in the average sales price between September of last year and September of this year. It's likely part of that, though, can be chalked up to buyers of less expensive homes shying away from purchases as they find it harder to get loans. But I've also talked to a number of people who study the local real estate market and question the methodology used to