Southeastern North Carolina has a large number of building product manufacturers and distributors. The region is an ideal location for these companies due to overall population and business growth in the region. The Fayetteville and Wilmington areas are two of the fastest growing areas in North Carolina. Wood products have always been a strong industry sector in the region, and there are many wood products companies located here, making products such as wallboard, trusses, doors, cabinets, lumber, and panels. The port at Wilmington allows for excellent access for importing and exporting of wood and other raw materials.

• NC State University’s Department of Forest Biomaterials has international reputation across the areas of wood products, paper science and engineering and forest biomaterials.

• Extensive and groundbreaking research across disciplines in the specific areas of:  forest biomaterials, wood chemistry, physics and materials science for multiphase materials, biotechnology and enzymes for new genetic strains and applications, non-wood fiber processing, alternative building materials and methodologies, sustainable wood materials, wood machining and tooling, and value added wood products.

• Hodges Wood Products Laboratory and the Wood Extension Service provides technical services involving various aspects of wood chemistry and wood utilization.

• NC Port at Wilmington – capable of handling bulk, break-bulk and contained wood chips, lumber and roundstock.

• Has received as much as .5 million tons of lumber from Europe annually.

• Wood chip facility on site handled over 120,000 tons of chips in 2009.

• Wood Raw Material Resources

• The Region produces 145 million cubic feet of roundwood timber products (2007 US Forest Service).

• The 11 counties in NCSE Region produced (US Forest Service, Timber Products Output report 2007):
  • Roundwood products: 145,276,000 cu ft
  • Logging residue: 33,242,000 cu ft
  • Other removals: 26,742,000 cu ft
  • Bark & wood residue: 38,870,830 cu ft  (648,387.5 dry tons)
• The region has suppliers of timber products and services
  • 40 logging companies
  • 5 forest service companies and organizations
  • 78 wood products companies
  • 20 pulp and paper companies

• Workforce that is 10% more productive than the national average.

• The lowest unionization rates in the country (3.1%).

• Existing building products cluster and advanced manufacturing workforce.

• 2 deep water ports in NC and within 200 miles of the highest volume ports on the east coast (Norfolk, VA and Charleston, SC)

• Free customizable training programs through NC’s Community College system at any of our eight Community Colleges.

• Foreign Trade Zone at the Port of Wilmington.

• Highly competitive incentives and financial assistance.

• Population growth at nearly twice the national average.

• Quality of life that attracts and retains talent with a cost of living that is lower than the national average.