City of Conover recognized at NC League of Municipalities annual conference CityVision

The award winners were honored during NCLM’s annual conference CityVision taking place in Wilmington, NC. The Local Leadership Foundation Awards featured nine categories, for which there were 11 winners and two honorable mentions.

Conover was awarded the Rural and Small-Town Innovation Award, honoring rural small municipalities that implemented an innovative and successful economic development initiative. The project that was recognized was Conover’s Manufacturing Solutions Center Phase II project.

Since 2010, the City of Conover has partnered with the Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC), a component of the Catawba Valley Community College System, to create job opportunities in Conover and facilitate advancements in manufacturing and technology. The City previously partnered with MSC for the development of its first permanent site in Conover (MSC I) and is now developing a second site, the MSC II. The MSC has been so successful in the past and has grown so much that creation of a second site was necessitated.

In 2021, the City of Conover received a $9 million special appropriation from the State of North Carolina for the construction and equipment of a second MSC site in Conover, also located in the heart of the City at Conover Station. The funds were also used for an upfit of the existing MSCI and the addition of updated equipment and two clean rooms. This project has been a public-partnership between the City, the MSC, and Whiskbroom, a private investment firm. The new building is a twostory, 75,000 square foot state of the art facility that will house both the MSC and a privately owned portion that will house local manufacturers.

The mission of the Manufacturing Solutions Center is to help U.S. manufacturers increase sales, improve quality and improve efficiency to create or retain jobs. The MSC does this through assisting manufacturing partners with product prototyping, process and materials testing, engineering, sales and marketing, training, and providing a space for innovation. The MSC has been able to partner with hundreds of companies to improve their products and processes over the years. The MSC also provides training and classes for students and industry professionals.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted an alarming lack of domestically produced PPE. With over 97% of PPE produced overseas, as well as very limited testing, the US quickly experienced nationwide shortages. Like many manufacturers, the MSC quickly transitioned to help assist manufacturers produce PPE and assist with the testing and certification of PPE materials to keep Americans safe and healthy during the pandemic. The MSCII will continue and expand this work, with new equipment for manufacturing and teaching best practices for manufacturers.

The Manufacturing Solutions Center Phase II will be a 75,000 square facility shared with MSC and the private sector. The MSC will occupy a two story, 30,000 square foot portion of the building that will include an engineering lab, a fabric formation lab, best practices cut and sew lab, and space to support economic development in the region and throughout the US. The private-operated 45,000 square foot portion of the building will be leased to MSC’s incubator graduate companies from MSC1 moving to the next stage in the companies’ evolution. These companies represent over 60 additional jobs created to the area. This move will allow for the next group of startup companies at MSC1 and space for PPE testing. The presence of both the public and private sector in the same facility will be mutually beneficial and allow for increased cooperation and innovation. This public-private partnership will create dozens of jobs and help ensure the strength of manufacturing in Catawba County and the United States.

The City, under the leadership of former City Manager Donald Duncan, Interim City Manager Jimmy Clark, and current City Manager Tom Hart, has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this project along with Tony Whitener of the Manufacturing Solutions Center. Funding for the project was provided by the State of North Carolina, the Economic Development Agency, and the private sector. The Manufacturing Solutions Center is scheduled to be completed and operational in Summer 2022.