Inside Drexel's mission to bring industry back home

Sprouts of grass are beginning to break through the freshly graded earth at a sprawling 100-acre site in the heart of Drexel, an early sign of new beginnings for a property expected to bring industry back to the town. For many, the project symbolizes a full-circle moment for a community built on furniture manufacturing.

The vision for the Drexel Industrial Park, at the former site of the Drexel Furniture Company, began more than a decade ago. Now, grading is complete on both the front and rear portions of the site, allowing both Town Manager Bill Carroll and President and CEO of Burke Development Inc. Brandon Ruppe to step into full marketing mode. Even before grading was completed, several companies were reaching out for more information, and now it’s time to find the right fit.

A major draw for industry is having a pad-ready site, Ruppe said, meaning companies could begin vertical construction much faster than they could at a raw, undeveloped property. Utilities are already in place, and the rear portion of the site includes rail access, an increasingly rare asset for industrial users, Ruppe added.

In modern economic development, speed to market matters for companies, Ruppe said.

“If they’re not producing a product, they’re not making money.”

Companies, especially large manufacturers, often spend more than a year narrowing down potential locations before ever visiting a community in-person. That process typically begins when a company provides site requirements to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, including acreage needs, utility capacity, workforce expectations, and operational timelines.

While real estate and utilities are always the most important drivers in a company’s selection of a site, there are other key factors, Ruppe said, adding that the second most important issue in today’s market is labor force as there’s a global talent crisis.

This is where he expects Burke County’s strong educational institutions to draw industry in. Burke County Public Schools and Western Piedmont Community College are critical partners, especially with the community college’s new mechatronics and trades facility.

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics-Morganton is also a unique asset for companies that need more life science and high-tech, advanced manufacturing experience, Ruppe said. When he was in Cleveland County, he leveraged NCSSM when he was pitching to PPG, which built an aerospace manufacturing facility in Shelby.

Another important factor for attracting industry is quality of life, Ruppe said. A company usually has to relocate some of its skilled subject matter experts and executives to start up the facility, so they want their employees to have an enjoyable place to live and work.

“The county as a whole delivers on that,” Ruppe said. “I mean, just the parks alone, the natural amenities are just breathtaking. And then of course, Morganton just has the most phenomenal downtown.”

A unique selling point is the people of Drexel and their enthusiasm for the return of industry.

“The people here and in the greater county and the greater region, they want to make something with their hands,” Carroll said.

Manufacturing is deeply ingrained in the history and identity of the Drexel community. The town is named after the Drexel Furniture Company, which was once the third-largest furniture manufacturer in the world and the largest employer in Burke County.

“Downtown was built around Drexel and furniture,” Carroll said. “The blood and the heart of this town is manufacturing.”

Drexel was home to the company’s plant and corporate office, which closed its doors in 2001. The demolition of the company’s main buildings began in 2013.

Ruppe’s favorite story to tell about the Drexel site follows a recent visit to take some photos, where he was stopped on the side of the road by a man asking if they were going to build a housing development.

“I said, ‘no sir, we’re trying to bring manufacturing back in here,’ and his eyes lit up,” Ruppe said. “It just feels really good to have community support behind industrial development.”

Bringing a major employer to the site is expected to help reshape Drexel’s future, attracting jobs that pay above the county’s median wage of $49,020, while generating new tax revenue that could support streetscape projects, more upgrades at the R.O. Huffman Center, and other community investments.

Unlike many industrial parks built farther outside of downtown areas, Drexel’s site sits directly across the train tracks from the downtown business district, something both Carroll and Ruppe believe could create ripple effects for local businesses.

“When you’re investing in this site, you’re investing in the whole town,” Carroll said.

For now, the focus is on continuing to market the site aggressively and responding to potential industry inquiries as they come in, Carroll said, adding that the town has no plans to slow down now that grading has finished on the site.

“We’re not taking the foot off the gas,” Carroll said.

Though he can’t imagine the site sitting stagnant for too long, Carroll said the completed site work, which cost $6.6 million, was 95% covered through grants. There’s still some additional grant funding left for sewer work, which Carroll said he expects to be completed this summer.

Ruppe said he’s confident that the site’s location, rail access, and readiness will continue attracting attention from manufacturers looking to expand in North Carolina, which continues to rank among the nation’s top states for business recruitment.

For Drexel leaders, the hope is that the empty property beside downtown will become the foundation for the town’s next chapter.