Small Business - Economic Development Week (May 2nd-16th)

With over 1,000 small business calling Garner, NC home, Garner runs on small businesses. Every year during Small Business - Economic Development Weeks, we band together with our economic development partners to recognize the Garner small business community and the great contributions they make to our town year round.

GEDC, Wake Tech Announce Scholarship for Garner Magnet, South Garner High Students

Garner high school students have a great new opportunity to attend Wake Tech thanks to a new scholarship endowment. The Garner Economic Development Corporation (GEDC) has established a $250,000 endowment with the Wake Tech Foundation which will provide scholarships to graduating seniors at Garner Magnet High School and South Garner High School who wish to further their education at Wake Tech.

GEDC and Wake Tech made the announcement during a ceremony Thursday afternoon in the Town Council Chambers at Garner Town Hall. In addition to Garner and Wake Tech representatives, Matt Calabria, Wake County Commissioner Chair, and Monika Johnson-Hostler, Wake County Public School System Board Member, spoke during the program.

The GEDC believes that an education is fundamental in building a bright and thriving future for the Garner community.

"Having a well-trained and educated population is vitally important to Garner's future," GEDC Chair Jeff Swain said. “Every community's greatest asset is its people. That is why the GEDC is pleased to establish this GEDC Endowment for Education and ensure that Garner students have access to a world-class education and a brighter future."

“Wake Tech is so grateful for the support and generosity of the Garner Economic Development Corporation,” said Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls. “Because of this endowment, deserving high school students from the Garner community will have an opportunity to continue their education and pursue their college degree right here in Wake County.”

Students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA to qualify and financial need will be considered. The scholarship may be designated to assist students in any Wake Tech degree, diploma or certificate program.

For the first year, starting this fall, two students – one from each of Garner’s high schools – will be awarded scholarships of $2,200. In subsequent years, after the endowment is fully vested and is earning interest, the fund should support four student scholarships valued at approximately $2,500 per student.

The scholarship application is currently open, and the first two recipients will be selected this summer. Current Garner high school seniors graduating this spring who plan to attend Wake Tech in the fall are encouraged to apply at scholarships.waketech.edu by April 30.

"The Town is excited about this new opportunity for a young person from our community to pursue their dreams and career aspirations," Mayor Ken Marshburn said. "Garner has always taken pride in the way it nurtures young people. It's why our town is recognized as an All-America City. It's why Garner is a great place to live and raise a family."

About Garner Economic Development Corporation:

Since its inception in 2010, the Garner Economic Development Corporation (GEDC), an economic development non-profit, has been committed to improving the quality of life for all Garner residents through the recruitment and retention of quality employers, support and encouragement of entrepreneurship, and marketing the Garner community as a great place to locate a business and raise a family. For more information on the GEDC, please go to choosegarnernc.com.

About Wake Tech:

Wake Tech is North Carolina’s largest community college, serving more than 70,000 adults annually, with six campuses, three training centers, multiple community sites, and a comprehensive array of online learning options. The Wake Tech Foundation awards more than $450,000 in over 350 individual scholarships to degree-seeking students each year. The Foundation believes in making an education possible for anyone in our community who wants one so that our region remains the best place to live and work in the world.

Garner Business Resiliency Series

Join us for the Garner Business Resiliency Series - 4 weeks of free business webinars:

Nov 3: Cyber Security with Jay Strickland, CEO WingSwept
Nov 10: Dollars & Cents with Kevin Dick, CEO with Carolina Small Business Development Fund
Nov 17: Protect Your Investment - Active Shooter Training with Lt. Paul Caldwell, Garner Police Department
Nov 24: On the Ready with Matthew Poole, Chief of Garner Fire and Rescue

South Korean Company Hansae Chooses to Locate PPE Manufacturing Operation in Garner

Hansae Co,. Ltd., a leader in the global apparel industry based in South Korea, will locate its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Greenfield North Business Park in Garner. Hansae’s Garner facility will focus on producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for the U.S. market.

“Opening our facility in North Carolina was an easy choice,” Vice President of Strategic Sales Hermann Chiu said. “The environment is conducive to establishing a business, and the pleasantness of the people in North Carolina has made the process simple. The facility will focus on surgical masks, and we have plans to expand to other products in the future depending on the market conditions. We look forward to commencing our operation in the last quarter of 2020. The business will be run under Hansae’s subsidiary AMP [Apparel Manufacturing Partners].”

“We are excited to have a company like Hansae join the Garner business community. During these uncertain times, the access to PPE has never been more important. Having a company like Hansae here producing PPE will only help ensure that people around this country will have access to much-needed PPE products. We look forward to continuing to see Hansae grow in our community,” Garner Mayor Ken Marshburn said.

“North Carolina is thrilled to add Hansae—one of Korea’s foremost textile companies—to our growing list of international corporate citizens,” said Korey Howard with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “We look forward to continuing to support the growth of their Garner operation, both through the EDPNC office in Seoul as well as stateside.”

“We are proud to welcome Hansae, an international company, to Garner. They’re helping fight the pandemic by opening a manufacturing facility that will produce PPE,” said Michael Haley, executive director of Wake County Economic Development. “These are challenging times, but we must continue to grow and welcome new companies to Wake County. Hansae will join a network of over 700 foreign-owned firms in the Research Triangle region. This will further strengthen our international business community.”

Hansae will invest up to $2 million and initially employ eight to 10 people at its Garner location.

This project was made possible by the work of EDPNC, N.C. State University’s College of Textiles, Wake County Economic Development, Garner Economic Development and Gregg Mason-Mason Properties.

For more information on Garner economic development, contact Joe Stallings at 919-773-4431 or jstallings@garnernc.gov.

Courtesy Town of Garner

GEDC Small Business Survey

We know that this is a trying time in our town. In an effort to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on our business community, we are encouraging business owners/operators to take an anonymous survey about their ability to do business and access federal support programs during this crisis.

The purpose of the survey is only to collect information at this time. The data may be shared with local, county, and state partners to assess the need for business programming and assistance in the future. However, we cannot guarantee that any such programming or assistance will happen at this time.

The survey will only take a few minutes to complete. Please click the link below to start the survey. We appreciate your assistance.


Together we will remain Garner Strong.

( https://forms.gle/2s87Xq4uZiGH33P3A)

via Garner Economic Development Corporation