Tucked between the Research Triangle and the Virginia state line, Person County, North Carolina has spent the past several years quietly reshaping its economic profile. A county once known primarily for tobacco and textiles is now home to a Duke Energy expansion project, a 1,350 acre megasite purchased by Microsoft, a decades-old parachute manufacturer under new ownership, and a growing bench of advanced manufacturers looking for skilled labor and reliable infrastructure.
The Person County Economic Development Department and the Economic Development Commission operate as separate bodies under the same county umbrella, working in close coordination. The department is staffed by county employees, while the commission functions as an advisory board made up of community and local government representatives including representation from the City of Roxboro, Person County’s only municipality, the public school system, and Piedmont Community College, alongside an agricultural representative, a minority-business representative, a real estate developer, and several members at large.
Bryan Eatmon, Interim Director of the Person County Economic Development Department, has spent two and a half years with the department, most of that time as its Existing Industry Specialist before stepping into the Interim Director role a few months ago. “My role was to support existing business and industry, so finding out what their needs are, their challenges, their strengths, and trying to connect them,” Eatmon says of his earlier position. Much of that work involved linking companies to resources to help them develop their workforce or navigate new legislation. As Interim Director, Eatmon now also leads recruitment of new business alongside existing-industry support.
Manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, retail trade, and utilities all rank among Person County’s key industries today, according to Eatmon. Two Duke Energy power plants operate within the county, employing a large workforce at wages well above the county average. But manufacturing carries a particular importance for local economic development.
“Manufacturing has a pretty substantial ripple effect within the economy,” Eatmon says. Manufacturers draw on local service companies for maintenance work and rely on regional transportation and logistics providers, multiplying the economic benefit of each new facility. Person County’s economic development team is actively working to attract more manufacturing investment for just that reason.
No company illustrates the payoff of that strategy better than POLYWOOD®, the outdoor furniture manufacturer that has become one of Person County’s largest employers. Sherry Wilborn, Chair of the Person County Economic Development Commission and a Person County Commissioner, was serving as Economic Development Director when the company was recruited to the county and worked closely on the project.
Person County was competing against a site on an interstate in South Carolina. “The building had everything they needed in a great location,” Wilborn says of the competing site. Ultimately, though, it was Person County’s workforce that tipped the decision. The project manager for the company said many times, including in the official announcement, that the building brought POLYWOOD to Person County, but its people made the company choose to stay.
That choice has paid dividends for the county. POLYWOOD has since more than doubled its campus footprint and its employment, now counting more than 600 workers. “That just speaks to the fact that that was the right choice,” Wilborn says.
Person County’s manufacturing base also includes companies with deep roots in the community that are finding new life under fresh ownership. North American Aerodynamics has manufactured parachutes in Roxboro for more than six decades, producing canopies for military, sport, and humanitarian use. Following a season of changing business conditions, the company was acquired by Roberto Montañez, an aerospace engineer who also owns Butler Parachute Systems in Roanoke, Virginia.
Eatmon, in his former role as Existing Industry Specialist, worked directly with the new ownership during the transition. “A lot of companies are a little hesitant to disclose a lot of information, just because they’re privately held,” he says. Even so, he made repeated visits to the facility, meeting with management and ownership to identify the company’s needs.
Workforce quickly emerged as the central challenge. North American Aerodynamics’ work depends on skilled sewing labor and finding workers with that background has not been easy. Even so, the company has grown its workforce from roughly 35 employees at the time of acquisition to about 80 today. Eatmon credits sustained relationship-building for that growth. “We remind them that we’re here to help and find creative ways to get them what they need,” he says.
As a rural county, Person County has ample land, but Eatmon is candid about a gap in its site inventory. Older sites once used for manufacturing remain available, but many no longer match what advanced manufacturers are looking for today. Years of effort went into developing the megasite in the northern part of the county, the site Microsoft ultimately purchased, and that focus came at a cost.
“A lot of eggs were put in that basket for a number of years,” Eatmon says, and while the Microsoft project stands as a major win, it also meant that development of smaller sites, in the range of 50 to 200 acres, received less attention during that period. The department and commission have since recognized the gap and are now working on a site selection analysis in partnership with Duke Energy, with a goal of completing the analysis by the end of October.
“That way we can push forward to getting some public control of some sites and doing the site work necessary to have a better inventory of available sites to attract further investment to Person County,” Eatmon says.
Wilborn sees the shortage as a byproduct of the county’s own wins. “We find ourselves in the position we’re in because of successes,” she says. A 26-acre site was quickly claimed by an existing industry, and the megasite was purchased by an internationally known company in Microsoft. “We have, like Bryan said, prioritized getting ready for the next one.”
Location matters enormously to manufacturers, and Eatmon points to several assets that position Person County well for distribution-dependent operations. U.S. Highway 501 runs north-south through the county and U.S. Highway 158 runs east-west with both connecting directly to Interstate 85. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is roughly 45 minutes from Roxboro, and Person County’s own Raleigh Regional Airport, a general aviation facility rather than a commercial one, boasts one of the longest runways for a general aviation airport in North Carolina at roughly 6,005 feet, with plans to extend it to about 6,800 feet. The airport can currently accommodate a DC-9-class aircraft, giving cargo operations meaningful capacity.
Rail service also runs through the northern part of the county toward South Boston, Virginia. While the absence of a direct interstate through the county puts Person County at a disadvantage relative to some competitors, Eatmon says its highway connections largely offset that gap. Geographically, the county sits between Durham and the Research Triangle Park to the south and Danville, Virginia, a proximity that gives it access to a large pool of highly skilled, highly educated potential employees.
Workforce development runs through three core partners—Person County Schools, Piedmont Community College, and NC State University’s Industry Extension Service. Career and technical education programs in the public schools introduce students to the basics of skilled trades, and the county’s annual Manufacturing Week, held in the first week of October, brings students into local manufacturing facilities to see modern operations firsthand.
“There has been a perception of manufacturing from years ago in which manufacturing was perceived as a dirty, dangerous job with long hours, very repetitive work. That is no longer the case,” Eatmon says. “It is clean, it is safe, it is well-paying, and it’s interesting; it takes a lot of technology and a very unique skill set to operate and work in a manufacturing facility.”
Piedmont Community College offers a range of programs geared toward manufacturing careers, including mechatronics coursework that blends mechanical and electrical engineering. Students frequently secure job offers before completing their programs, and the college’s work-based learning opportunities let students gain real-world experience with local manufacturers while still enrolled. The college also provides customized training for companies adopting new equipment or systems, along with OSHA and safety training.
NC State University’s Industry Extension Services, led locally by Research Triangle Regional Manager, Mitch Poteat, rounds out the county’s workforce resources with leadership training for supervisors, lean-process implementation support, and networking opportunities focused specifically on the manufacturing sector.
Wilborn notes that the commission was deliberately structured to keep education and industry connected. “We have on our EDC, intentionally, [representation from] the community college, the Superintendent of Person County Schools, and the Dean of Workforce Development at the community college,” she says. “We try to utilize our relationships and their relationships, so we can see firsthand when things are moving and shifting in industry and we can react.”
Beyond its strong business case, Person County’s team points to lifestyle as a genuine draw for businesses, individuals, and families. Mayo Lake Park and Hyco Lake offer boating, swimming, and fishing, and the county recently completed a 281-acre park in its southern end for mountain biking and hiking, a regional attraction in its own right. Land prices remain lower than in neighboring, more densely populated counties, and Eatmon describes a slower, close-knit pace of life: “We have a rural community,” he says. “We’re small enough where people know each other, they know their neighbors. It’s not as fast-paced, and we don’t have traffic problems on a commute.”
A Duke LifePoint hospital provides local medical care, while proximity to Durham and Raleigh keeps additional services within easy reach. Wilborn, a Person County native, and Eatmon, who relocated to the area several years ago, both point to a work ethic rooted in the county’s agricultural history. “Our agricultural roots mean we have a strong work ethic,” Wilborn says. “You’ll find people here that are good and welcoming and hardworking, and I think that’s kind of our secret sauce.”
For Wilborn, the county’s recent wins reflect a broader lesson about rural economic development. “You can come to a rural community and find the infrastructure you need, find the workforce that you need, and find the support, maybe even more so at the local level, to be successful,” she says.
Eatmon echoes that commitment to the companies the county recruits. “Once a company comes here, they’re getting a bit of a concierge treatment, because they are important to us and we know the value of a company that decides to come here and wants to invest here,” he says. “We want them to be part of this community. We want them to stay here.”
With a megasite already claimed by Microsoft and a legacy manufacturer rebuilding under new ownership, Person County’s economic development leadership is positioning the community for its next chapter of growth.
