History of the Northwest NC Advanced Materials Cluster

Background

30-Year Manufacturing Decline in North Carolina. Source: N.C. Rural Economic Development Center

Faced with alarmingly high unemployment rates, significantly lower income per capita than the state average, and a mere 390 jobs created from new industry development during 2000 and 2001 combined, North Carolina's Alleghany, Ashe and Wilkes counties are in search of a spark to rekindle the fires of prosperity.

Isolated in the rural northwest corner of North Carolina, these three counties have experienced firsthand the impact of globalization as the area's historically strong industries such as textiles and furniture have fled the country, largely in search of reduced labor costs available elsewhere in the world.

Walt Disney, speaking of adversity, obstacles and barriers he encountered in his life, once said, "You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

A kick in the teeth indeed; as recently as 2002 Alleghany, Ashe, and Wilkes counties had an average unemployment rate of 9.23%, and combined for an average income per capita of just over $24,000, only 87% of the state's average.

In response to their shared plight, the three-county region sought an answer from within. Using recommendations presented in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), the local community college's workforce training program, and with the support of an industry champion (Martin Marietta Composites) this rural three-county region is repainting the picture of economic possibility by implementing a regional economic development strategy focused on high-technology advanced materials manufacturing.

This strategy, known as cluster development, facilitates economic growth by encouraging involvement by all economic sectors. The cluster includes manufacturers and suppliers, wholesalers and distributors, researchers, workforce training, and financial and other support services. Cluster development differs from more traditional economic development strategies such as recruiting companies using incentives as it is focused on creating a business environment that is conducive to industry innovation, accumulation, and growth.

The idea of an advanced materials cluster originated during the CEDS program, when Martin Marietta, an Alleghany county-based manufacturer of advanced materials products, expressed willingness to champion the cluster initiative. With seed funding provided by a Duke Endowment economic recovery program for rural communities, the Northwest Alliance Program for the Rural Carolinas engaged two facilitators who received training in cluster facilitation from the Economic Competitiveness Group and formed an Executive Committee to provide oversight for the initiative. The advanced materials cluster initiative is formally known as the Northwest North Carolina Advanced Materials Cluster Initiative, or NAMCI.

NAMCI has received broad support and considerable attention from local county governments, AdvantageWest Economic Development Region, North Carolina Rural Center, Wilkes Community College, Blue Ridge Electric, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The support and attention largely results from the uniqueness of the initiative, namely that this high-technology initiative is based in a rural area and targeting an emerging industry cluster.

Although the barriers are many and the future somewhat uncertain, the NAMCI offers this region the opportunity to leverage the knowledge and skills accumulated in its traditional industries through a collective effort into a new, high-technology industry that offers nearly unlimited potential for creating innovative applications for advanced materials.