This year's Wayne County Leadership Institute group, which comprised more than twenty department leaders from across Wayne County, toured several sites in Wayne County and the EDR region yesterday.
The tour began in Wayne County at the Maxwell Center in Goldsboro, where the group learned from James Wade, the General Manager, about the convention center's importance to the community. Next, the group visited the Wayne County Business Campus to view the available lots for new and expanding businesses. The next stop was ParkEast Industrial Park in Goldsboro, where the group toured two new shell buildings and observed the ongoing construction of two new tenant facilities for Select Genetics and Alianza Team.
The group then traveled to Lenoir County and the Lenoir Community College Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Center, where lunch was served. The group heard a presentation from the EDR's Trey Cash on the North Carolina Global TransPark Economic Development Region and its importance in fostering economic growth for Eastern NC. Trey also spoke about the recent progress and the significant role the NCGTP plays in serving our region with its 11,500 ft runway.
During their visit to LCC's Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Center, Andrew Luppino, Director of Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Systems Technology, guided the group on a tour of the equipment and resources utilized to train our region's aviation and advanced manufacturing workforce. The group appreciated the hands-on approach of the labs and was eager to explore these high-tech learning environments.
For the day's final stop, the group traveled to Spirit AeroSystems Inc., located within the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston. Here, the group was led by John Beilman, Director of Capital Acquisition, Facilities, and Tooling for Airbus Programs, and was able to see the manufacturing of major components for the Airbus A350 XWB using advanced composite design and manufacturing techniques. The type of equipment, number of personnel, and size of the facility were impressive.
Overall, this tour enabled Wayne County department leaders to observe the efforts of the North Carolina Global TransPark Economic Development Region and its partners (Greene, Lenoir, and Wayne Counties, along with the NCGTP) in promoting and supporting economic development in eastern NC. The growing businesses and expansion projects highlighted during this tour demonstrate that economic development transcends county lines; the benefits of their growth extend throughout eastern NC!
#WayneCountyLeadership #EconomicDevelopment #EconomicDevelopment #EasternNC #Teamwork #Innovation
