the tenant with the land already graded, and
having a knock-out back wall so if they want
more room it’s easy to do.”
THE COUNTY MANAGER AS
SALESMAN/LEASING AGENT
So, once a property is ready for a tenant,
Land takes off his developer hat and puts on
the salesman’s hat.
It’s now his job to find a business and get
them to move to Richmond County.
Usually businesses will post that they are
looking for a new home, and in that post
outline their needs. For example, a company
that makes paint might need 200,000 square
feet and be in close proximity to a railroad
line since its distribution network centers
on railroads. If Land has available what the
company wants, he contacts them and then
the salesmanship begins.
And on any given deal, he might be
competing with dozens of counties across
the country or even the state that pursue new
business using the same method.
Land has several tools in his sales bag to
help him win over the potential tenant. The
biggest is the ability to offer tax incentives to
the corporation. What the Richmond County
will offer is a based on a standard model they
created. The county looks at the number
of jobs that will be created, then factors in
the initial investment the company will be
making to move there, and a percentage is
calculated.
That percentage is the portion the county
would normally charge the company in taxes
that it now can offer back as an incentive to
move here.
“The size company we usually cater to has
roughly about 100 employees, but that can
vary depending on what they plan to do,” said
Land.
Obviously, a manufacturing plant will
employee more people than a warehouse.
Thus, the county will offer a high percentage
of tax rebate to the manufacturer, since it
means more jobs for residents.
The tax rebate is generally given over a five-
year period. So, for example, if a company
receives a 60 percent tax rebate over five
years, that tax savings can be used to defer
the moving and set-up costs.
Once the rebate period is over, all taxes revert
back to normal rate.
THE PROGRAM’S SUCCESSES
Land feels the best way to judge how a
program is working is to look at how some of
those directly involved are doing. And one of
his favorites is Enviva.
66 • PROGRESS 2020
Work continues on the downtown branch of Richmond Community College. The city
partnered with the college to help cover some of the costs of building the new downtown
campus, which is hoped to help keep that part of the city thriving and vibrant.
Enviva, which opened its Hamlet plant about
a year ago, is the world’s largest producer
of wood pellets – a small and seemingly
ordinary product that is a cleaner energy
alternative to fossil fuels.
Founded in 2004, Enviva wanted to offer
electric utilities a fuel to replace coal,
enabling them to generate power without
interruption while reducing their greenhouse
gas emissions. The idea was solid, and the
company has skyrocketed.
Enviva now owns and operates seven plants
strategically located in the southeastern
United States that produce over 3 million
metric tons of wood pellets annually. The
pellets are exported primarily to power plants
in the United Kingdom and Europe that
previously were fueled by coal, enabling them
to reduce their lifetime carbon footprint by
about 80 percent.
Land said he courted Enviva for seven
years, finally landing them in 2019. And the
company fits in well with the region’s existing
timber business. “Timber is huge in this
region,” said Land. “They (Enviva) will bring
in 130 lumber trucks a day from operations
up to 75 miles away.”
The company uses an extensive rail network
to ship box cars full of pellets to the coast,
where they then can be shipped to Europe,
and tying in with existing railroad lines was
another part of the puzzle.
Land loves to see.
UNEMPLOYMENT, DIVERSITY
“This county is at 100 percent employment in
my mind,” Land said. “If you want a job, you
can get one here.”
The federal government released its
monthly unemployment rates last week,
and the percentage of people without jobs
in Richmond dropped again. It now rests at
4.9%.
Considering the county started off 2019 at
6.2% unemployment, the trend is certainly
welcome.
“Yes, the business climate in Richmond
County is outstanding currently, as it is in the
majority of the country,” said Land. “We are
experiencing the best economy we have seen
in many decades,” he added.
Diversity of industry in the region is one
of the main factors contributing to the
economic upswing, Land believes. Which
is easy to see when looking back at the
history of the area. For example, when the
clothing industry went south, the region was
devastated financially mainly due to lack of
diversity. There simply weren’t other jobs
available, so those that found themselves
suddenly unemployed stayed unemployed
longer.
Another major success is Big Rock Sports,
which occupies a 300,000-square-foot
distribution center in Richmond. Today’s industry in Richmond runs the
corporate gamete; from a major modular
home manufacturer who opened operations
about a year ago, to the distributor of blinds
for your home.
Big Rock carries over 190,000 product
SKUs and services more than 15,000
fishing, shooting, camping, taxidermy and
marine retailers across the US, Canada, the
Caribbean and eight other countries. And it
always seems to be hiring – something else “If one industry takes a hit, it won’t have
much of an effect on us,” explained Land,
“since we aren’t dependent on any one
industry anymore. We have been blessed
over the last 10 years to diversify our local
industries.”