GNT USA Selected Gaston for North American Headquarters Due to Highly Skilled Workforce, Robust Infrastructure, Quality of Life
Gaston County is one of the hottest markets in the Charlotte Region. Automotive, machinery and fabricated metal industries all thrive in Gaston, and access is one reason why. Eastern areas of the county are less than 10 miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the county also offers easy access to CSX rail and Amtrak. The county is situated close to four of the most-traveled interstates that crisscross North Carolina as part of a regional and statewide transportation network located in the heart of the East Coast.
Enter GNT USA.
“When we started to make our site selection for our North American headquarters, Gaston County stood out because it was clear from the beginning they understood our manufacturing needs,” said Jeannette O’Brien, vice president of GNT USA, the manufacturer of EXBERRY Coloring Foods. “Without a doubt, manufacturing is in Gaston County’s DNA. They understood our needs and long-term vision and made it possible for GNT to locate its new manufacturing site here.”
GNT selected Gaston County for a new $30 million food processing operation in 2020. Located in the Apple Creek Corporate Center in Dallas north of the county seat of Gastonia, the 49-acre facility provides significant advantages for GNT customers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The move to Gaston County is part of GNT’s strategic growth plan and corresponding multi-phase expansion in North America.
“Our first phase focused on our distribution capabilities, including a new warehouse and locating our customer service and quality teams here,” O’Brien said. “The second phase included a new technical and culinary innovation center that allowed us to connect closer to our customers. We are currently in phase three, or our manufacturing phase. Taken as a whole, we are now manufacturing and distributing from Gaston County, which has increased the speed of bringing innovation to the market.”
Proximity Key in Gaston County
Gaston County, a bedroom community west of Charlotte, is the 10th most populous county in North Carolina, fueled in part by its proximity to Charlotte and being the closest county to the region’s international airport. For GNT, the airport was a tipping point decision in choosing Gaston.
“When we were determining where we were going to locate our North American office, one of the most important things we considered was proximity to an international airport,” O’Brien said. “Charlotte Douglas provides all the advantages our sales team needs to meet our customers, and for our customers to come here. We also work closely with our European counterparts and Charlotte’s airport is invaluable to making international connections.”
The Charlotte metropolitan area is the second-highest concentrated market for advanced manufacturing materials among the top 50 metros in the U.S. As a result, the Charlotte Region allowed GNT to bring together all the necessary parts it needed to build a facility that would sustain its growth plans over the long term.
“It’s not necessarily one specific technology or piece of equipment that is allowing us to grow in the Charlotte Region, but rather it’s about all the different pieces of the puzzle that we need to grow here under one roof,” O’Brien said. “Gaston County was able to provide us with an available workforce that had the various skill sets we needed to succeed. We did consider other regions for our facility and found that they didn’t quite understand all the aspects that we needed.”
Three Ingredients for Success
Three years into calling the Charlotte Region home, O’Brien reflected on GNT’s success in Gaston County and pinpointed the ingredients for the company to be successful.
“The three most important factors for us to be successful in the Charlotte Region are people, infrastructure and quality of life,” she said. “We are laser-focused on ensuring we have the right workforce, that we create a good company culture and that we have a diverse and inclusive team. Because of this, we realized right away that Gaston was the right spot for us. From access to highways and ports to an affordable standard of living, GNT is poised to grow as the region grows.”
Thus far in 2023, the Charlotte Region has experienced an announced capital investment of $2.2 billion and 1,500 jobs. For O’Brien, this speaks not only to the long-term potential of the region but also to GNT and advanced manufacturing in general.
“Charlotte provides us with many opportunities to hire lots of different skilled workers in different areas,” she said. “We need a workforce that spans from warehouse workers and forklift drivers to PhD scientists. You’ll find them in the Charlotte Region and we couldn’t be happier here.”
Bullish on the Charlotte Region
The Charlotte Region’s strength in advanced manufacturing provides the foundation for its economic success. Listen to O’Brien and other business leaders who are bullish on the region discuss how the Charlotte Region’s growing population, highly skilled workforce and innovative spirit fuel a thriving manufacturing sector at selectclt.co.
