Pitt County Offers Small-Town Feel With Global Flair
Pitt County, North Carolina welcomes all kinds of companies, from international to homegrown — creating a diversified economy.
Sponsored by: Pitt County, North Carolina
Greenville and Pitt County, North Carolina, which used to be primarily a tobacco-producing area, has adapted over the years by welcoming other types of companies — from international to homegrown — creating a diversified economy.
“It’s been almost a seamless transition,” says Kelly Andrews, director of Pitt County Economic Development. “It’s not been as jarring as in other tobacco counties. Agriculture is still huge for us, but the loss of tobacco has been replaced, and not in a critical or desperate way.
“The evolution of our economy has been based on having some great companies that have been here for decades, including pharmaceutical company Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hyster-Yale that produces lift trucks, and Grady-White Boats that produces great world-renowned boats. We consider ourselves very business-friendly,” she adds.
Hundreds of acres already assessed for their environmental impact are available for development in Pitt County through public entities and public-private partnerships. And utilities, from water and sewer to electricity and natural gas are “robust,” Andrews says.
“Some industries need a lot of water, such as the food industry or the pharmaceutical industry, and a lot of communities can’t say that they have as much water as we can,” she notes.
The success stories are plentiful. Thermo Fisher Scientific, for example, has announced more than $650 million in new investments over the past three years to expand its existing 1 million square feet.
“This community has evolved with them in terms of land diversity and what we offer at East Carolina University in pharmaceutical training and at Pitt Community College,” Andrews points out. “This is a place where they know they can grow. They have found a home here and have invested very significantly here in Pitt County.”
Pitt County Has a Diversified Economy
The diversity of the community is one plus for Pitt County companies and their employees in four top industries: advanced manufacturing, food and agriculture, biotech and other life sciences, and logistics and distribution.
“We have people from all over the world coming to our university or teaching at our university or working at our health care system,” says Andrews, who notes the impact of East Carolina’s Miller School of Entrepreneurship.
Those interests range from recreational opportunities like soccer and football to a growing arts scene with galleries, museums and festivals.
New restaurants offer everything from Japanese and Indian cuisine to typical American fare. Add Pitt County’s lower-than-average cost of living and affordable homes, and it’s easy to see why people want to live and work here.
“Pitt County is uniquely positioned in North Carolina, between the capital and the coast,” Andrews says. “It has all the amenities within close reach for any taste, any age, any interest. I think that that position has been a well-kept secret for a while, but people are discovering us because we have a lot to offer.”
