Compared to most other industries in Western North Carolina, the manufacturing industry seems to have experienced the least significant overall impact from Hurricane Helene. The industry largely avoided major media-induced business decline, with ongoing expansion and new companies showing interest in relocating to the area, according to Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development’s President and CEO Brittany Brady.

The HCPED maintains relationships with all Henderson County manufacturers, and their first priority following the storm was reaching out to area manufacturing businesses ensuring every manufacturing employee was accounted for. The industry was fortunate in that aspect, and most manufacturers in the County were back in business by mid-October.

“We did have one area in Henderson County that was hit harder, but once power and water were restored, people got back in business,” Brady said. “It was actually a little shocking to me — many of them went back to work the Monday after the storm. It is such a blessing that our manufacturing could go back to work, employ their people, and make the products that we’re so proud of.”

Many manufacturers are large companies structured to minimize downtime. The use of generators, backup water supplies, and other redundancies allow them to operate continuously. This infrastructure played a critical role in keeping employees working and businesses running during the recovery.

“It was really impressive that they stood true to taking care of their people during the most catastrophic storm we’ve ever experienced,” Brady said.

While manufacturing as a whole displayed resiliency after Helene, there were challenges that came into play. Access to wastewater, electricity, and the internet created some of the greatest challenges. With utilities less robust than normal, many had to learn how to slowly phase their return to operations. As companies returned to normal operations, the impacted rail line and the logistical challenges of lost warehouse space created additional hurdles. Logistical abnormalities disrupted supply chains, and for some, it is taking more time to iron out those wrinkles.

Interstate closures further disrupted supply chain logistics. Rerouting trucks and freight shipments around closed sections of Interstate 40 has added time to usual routes, but many established businesses have had to deal with that in the past and understand preferred alternate road routes. The damaged rail lines don’t have alternate choices; however, understanding how product comes into the region and managing costs associated with those shifts presented more complex challenges.

“We are fortunate that the North Carolina Railroad Company actually deployed $10 million to help businesses repair their stretch of railroad, which is fantastic,” Brady said. “But we have to make sure that the rail line coming into the community is restored completely before their stretch of the rail means anything. We continue to work with our rail partners across the state to make sure we can get that up and running. Hopefully that will happen in a Q1 timeline.”

Media portrayals of the WNC catastrophe have affected manufacturing businesses at a much lower rate than in other industries. Many manufacturers, bound by client contracts, continued fulfilling orders, and there are still corporations considering WNC for expansion locations.

“We have been unashamed to share that the business and manufacturing communities in Henderson County are open and ready for business,” Brady said. “That’s where we have to be to combat media and social media portrayal of complete devastation in our community. Don’t get me wrong, there is some devastation here and we want to acknowledge that, but again, we are proud of the resilience of the manufacturing community and the redundancy that was in place allowing us to get back to business as usual for most folks.”

As the state paused their marketing right after the storm, HCPED collaborated with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Their first campaign after the pause focused on the message that WNC is set back, but will not stay back, and HCPED tied into that marketing.

Manufacturers typically build outside of a flood plain with the guidance of location consultants. With large investments required to become established, it is imperative these businesses are strategic in their location choices. While there was some devastation in the manufacturing sector, most of these companies are built out of flood plain areas and will continue to build in similar locations away from risky areas.

Those that were impacted by flooding worked with HCPED and regional partners to find temporary space, sometimes across county lines. Some temporary locations were established outside of the region. Brady said a large part of the Partnership’s recent work involved securing warehousing for manufacturers and supporting nonprofits that needed space for relief operations.

The Henderson County Distribution Center for Relief was set up at a site slated for an industrial space. As it happened to be vacant because its tenant has yet to move in, the nonprofits organizing that operation were able to leverage that space, with HCPED’s assistance, to best support the community.

“Most people are making necessary pivots,” Brady said. “Business owners who had buildings go down are refashioning their buildings, moving electrical units higher, or making sure there is a weak point water can move through. We’re seeing some improvements to building, and most manufacturers are figuring out how to build redundancy so when something goes down, backup plans are in place. I think we’ll continue to see that into 2025.”

The manufacturing sector’s relative stability creates opportunities for workers displaced from other industries. Henderson County’s manufacturing industry accounts for 10% to 15% of the workforce. The changes in the region create an opportunity for manufacturing to grow. The Mountain Area Workforce Development Board recently hosted job fairs with more than 1,300 individuals in attendance, and campaigns marketing career opportunities in manufacturing are underway.

“These are great jobs with great wages,” Brady said. “We are getting the word out that there are positions available, and companies are ready and willing to hire new employees. Last year, we had 10% of our industry expand, and some of them expanded without incentive support. This is where people want to do business again. We recognize there may be some loss of business from the storm, but we have some really strong companies continuing to make smart decisions, and we’re going to continue to support those companies. We’re just really proud of our manufacturing base here in the community.”