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Cabarrus Economic Development

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Cabarrus Economic Development

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We serve as the lead economic development agency for Cabarrus County and its municipalities.

The Cabarrus EDC makes a measurable impact on individuals and families through strategic partnerships that support local startups, existing businesses, and recruitment of new industry. We support business relocation and expansion in Cabarrus County by offering competitive incentives, a talented workforce, a wealth of available resources, and more to help new and existing businesses thrive.

10/21/2026

🏭 Manufacturing Month: Made in Cabarrus. Powered by Our People.

Building the infrastructure we depend on takes more than materials. It takes skilled people.

🔹 Next in our Manufacturing Month spotlight: Vulcan Materials Company!

At its two Cabarrus County facilities, Vulcan employs equipment operators, diesel technicians, plant maintenance personnel, drivers, skilled tradespeople, and operations professionals who keep production moving.

These are the careers and skilled workers helping build Cabarrus County and beyond!

10/20/2026

⚙️ CABARRUS UNWRAPPED: Training for What’s Next

In Cabarrus County, partnerships between industry and education are creating the training solutions companies need to compete, grow, and invest for the future.

Right here in Kannapolis, Okuma America Corporation and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College are doing just that through the Okuma Machine Tool Academy at Rowan-Cabarrus (OMTA), located inside the College's Dr. Carol S. Spalding Advanced Technology Center on the NC Research Campus.

The partnership brings Okuma’s corporate training directly into our community, providing hands-on, OEM technical training on advanced CNC machine tools and technologies for Okuma customers, distributors, and employees.

That same level of technical expertise and training capability can be leveraged by companies across Cabarrus County to strengthen their workforce, build specialized skills, and support future growth.

Okuma's training focuses on critical areas including:

✅ Electrical maintenance
✅ Mechanical maintenance
✅ Programming and operation

Since the partnership began in 2021, more than 800 students from across the U.S. and around the world have participated in OMTA courses, including employees from companies such as SpaceX and Harley-Davidson.

And the partnership is getting noticed. In 2026, it received the American Association of Community Colleges Outstanding College/Corporate Partnership Award and the North Carolina Community College System Innovative Leadership Award—recognizing its impact on workforce development and industry collaboration.

During Manufacturing Month, it’s a great example of how partnerships between industry and education can help manufacturers strengthen their workforce, expand access to specialized skills, and position Cabarrus County as a destination for advanced manufacturing training.

▶️ Watch the video to see the Okuma Machine Tool Academy in action:

youtu.be/TL186m2KWNw?si=h0Tdy2iu1pZcv4RZ

🔗 Learn more: rccc.edu/corporate/okuma-america/

Photo credit: Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

10/19/2026

🏭 Manufacturing Month: Made in Cabarrus. Powered by Our People.

From precision machining to advanced engineering and automation, Cabarrus County's manufacturing workforce is helping drive innovation across industries.

🔹 Next in our Manufacturing Month spotlight: Hendrick Technical Solutions!

Behind the precision components and advanced manufacturing solutions are talented professionals—including CNC machinists, engineers, welders, programmers, quality technicians, and automation specialists—whose skills support industries ranging from motorsports and automotive to aerospace and defense.

Based in Concord, Hendrick Technical Solutions demonstrates how the expertise developed in our region's motorsports industry extends far beyond the racetrack.

We're proud to celebrate the companies and skilled professionals who are building what's next in Cabarrus County!

10/15/2026

🏭 Manufacturing Month: Made in Cabarrus. Powered by Our People.

From skilled machinists to technicians and other manufacturing professionals, Cabarrus County offers opportunities to build rewarding careers making products that power industries around the world.

🔹 Next in our Manufacturing Month spotlight: Ketchie Inc.

Since 1947, Ketchie has demonstrated the value of skilled trades, hands-on training, and continuous learning. Its team shows how precision manufacturing creates career pathways and opportunities to develop specialized skills.

We're proud to celebrate the people and companies building careers and shaping the future of manufacturing in Cabarrus County!

10/14/2026

🏭 Manufacturing Month: Made in Cabarrus. Powered by Our People.

From construction sites to industrial facilities, keeping workers safe is essential. And right here in Cabarrus County, skilled people are manufacturing the equipment that helps protect workers on the job every day.

🔹Next in our Manufacturing Month spotlight: Safewaze!

Since 1994, Safewaze has been dedicated to protecting workers at height. From full-body harnesses and anchors to lanyards, self-retracting lifelines, and rescue equipment, the company manufactures innovative fall protection solutions designed to meet the demands of industries and job sites across the country.

We're proud to celebrate the Cabarrus County manufacturers and talented people whose work makes a difference far beyond our community.

10/13/2026

🏗️ CABARRUS UNWRAPPED: The Infrastructure Behind Investment

Landing a major investment is only the beginning. The ability to move a project from announcement to operation efficiently takes infrastructure, coordination and collaboration across a community.

Eli Lilly and Company’s growing manufacturing campus in Concord is a great example of that collaboration at work.

Planning and building permits for major projects like Lilly are handled through a joint review process involving the City of Concord Government Planning and Development Services Department and Cabarrus County Government. By working together—and closely with the company and development team—local partners have helped create a responsive, streamlined permitting process that keeps a complex project moving forward.

That matters when companies are investing at this scale and working to bring new facilities online quickly. Lilly’s Concord campus moved from groundbreaking in June 2022 to commercial production in December 2024—just 30 months, a timeline well below industry norms. The speed and ex*****on of the project earned Lilly the 2026 ISPE Facility of the Year Award for Operations – Project Ex*****on, recognizing the Concord project as a benchmark for excellence in pharmaceutical project delivery.

And permitting is just one piece of the puzzle. Successful economic development requires municipalities, utilities, infrastructure providers and other community partners to coordinate around everything from water and wastewater capacity to power, transportation, site development and inspections.

For Cabarrus County, being development-ready means more than having available sites. It means having the infrastructure, relationships and processes in place to help companies turn investment plans into operating facilities—and jobs—more efficiently.

That collaborative approach is helping Lilly accelerate its development in Cabarrus County and demonstrates the value of a community that is prepared to grow.

10/12/2026

🏭 Manufacturing Month: Made in Cabarrus. Powered by Our People.

From creative concepts to finished products, manufacturing takes many forms in Cabarrus County. And behind every product are the talented people who bring ideas to life.

🔹Next in our Manufacturing Month spotlight: Complete Design & Packaging (CDP)!

Whether it's eye-catching packaging for Discovery's Shark Week or custom designs that help brands stand out, CDP demonstrates how creativity, precision, and manufacturing expertise come together right here in Cabarrus County.

We're proud to celebrate the companies and people whose work reaches customers and markets far beyond our community.

10/09/2026

🏭 Manufacturing Month: Made in Cabarrus. Powered by Our People.

The products made in Cabarrus County make an impact far beyond our community. Behind those products are the people, skills, and innovation that make it all possible.

Throughout Manufacturing Month, we're spotlighting 11 local manufacturers whose products help shape industries and improve lives around the world.

🔹First up: Celgard, LLC ! From its Concord manufacturing facility, Celgard helps power technologies that are shaping the future of energy storage around the world.

Join us as we celebrate the companies and people who make Cabarrus County a place where manufacturing thrives.

10/06/2026

🏁 CABARRUS UNWRAPPED: Built for Speed. Skilled for More.

When NASCAR returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 400 on October 11th, the spotlight will once again be on one of Cabarrus County’s most recognizable industries: motorsports.

But the true impact of racing in Cabarrus County extends far beyond race weekend.

Motorsports is a paragon of precision, innovation, and relentless improvement—and the workforce behind it reflects those same qualities. Engineers, fabricators, welders, machinists, technicians, and problem-solvers operate in an environment where milliseconds matter, standards are uncompromising, and the drive to improve never stops.

And those skills don’t stay at the racetrack.

Hendrick Motorsports is a powerful example. When the NextGen supply chain model shift in NASCAR created the potential for hundreds of workers to lose their roles, the Concord-based organization didn’t let that talent idle. It found a new path forward—harnessing decades of racing expertise to accelerate advanced manufacturing and partnering with GM Defense.

Today, Hendrick Technical Solutions, the advanced engineering and defense innovation division of Hendrick Companies, employs more than 300 people. Employees are trained in specialized skills such as Fabrication and TIG welding, while partnerships with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and area technical schools help forge the next generation of skilled talent.

That’s workforce development in action.

It’s about recognizing talent, building on existing skills, creating new pathways, and connecting a world-class workforce to emerging industries.

🏎️ So when the engines roar at Charlotte Motor Speedway this October, we’ll be celebrating more than racing. We’ll be celebrating an industry that fuels innovation, develops talent, and helps propel Cabarrus County’s economy forward.

Bank of America 400
📅 Sunday, October 11 | 3 PM
📍Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord

🔗 Learn more about how racing skills are being reimagined in Cabarrus County:
cabarrusedc.com/racing-skills-reimagined

Photo credits: Hendrick Technical Solutions

10/02/2026

This National Manufacturing Day, we’re celebrating Made in Cabarrus—made by our people. Manufacturing in Cabarrus County is about more than the products coming off the production line; it’s about the skills, innovation, and dedication of the people behind them. From machinists and welders to engineers, technicians, fabricators, operators, and other skilled professionals, our community is home to people who make, build, and create products that reach far beyond our county. Made in Cabarrus. Made by our people. Building opportunity for everyone.

This year, we’re putting that story on display by featuring 11 Cabarrus County companies and the products they manufacture right here in our community. Together, these companies offer a glimpse into the breadth of manufacturing in Cabarrus—and the people, skills, and career opportunities behind what’s made here.

Address

57 Union Street S
Concord, NC
28025

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17047031725

Website

http://www.cabarrusedc.com/

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