Business

Erie-made fishing lures are catching on

Bay Rat Lures are popular with Great Lakes salmon, trout and walleye anglers. But the company, one of a few producing American-made baits on a large scale, is looking to expand into new markets.

Farming with family is a team sport

The Peters family lives and works at Spruce Row Farm, its dairy operation south of Meadville. Hard work and financial challenges provide plenty of tests, but they also bring opportunities that make the family stronger.

​RK Motors deals in wheels

RK Motors’ inventory of custom, rare and classic cars brings buyers to Charlotte from around the world.

Casting a wider net

The bearded man in camouflage clothes pulled his crossbow to where he sat at the top of a tall tripod deer stand. He drew its string and loaded an arrow, pausing to look at the target before placing the stock to his cheek. He pulled the trigger, and the arrow hit dead center, opening the 104,000-square-foot Cabela’s Inc. store in the Charlotte suburb of Fort Mill, S.C. It and others are stalking the 3.5 million Tar Heels who spend $3.3 billion to hunt, fish or watch wildlife, according to a 2011 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study. Their numbers are growing, along with the options of places to buy the latest gear. Of 12 major outdoor-gear retailers in the state, eight opened in the last three years.

Fresh off the boat

Boat owners pledge allegiance to their vessel by wearing clothing emblazoned with its maker’s name and logo, often turning to the Internet or local dealers to suit up.While Beaufort-based Jarrett Bay Boatworks sells its branded clothing in the traditional ways, it’s charting a new course with its latest Raleigh retail store.The idea is to catch image-conscious shoppers willing to shell out $74 for a polo shirt or $30 for a cap, though they may not have the $3 million to $4 million needed to buy a custom Jarrett Bay offshore-fishing boat.

Bullish on the sock market

Marty Nester knew Mount Airy was the place to start a hosiery company. He heard the Surry County city called “The Sock Capital” because of its numerous hometown knitters, including Renfro Corp., which sells one of every five socks in the U.S., most of which are manufactured offshore. So in 1993, he started Nester Hosiery Inc. to take advantage of trends he’d seen during his decade or so selling textile equipment across the South.

New skippers

The longtime kingpins of North Carolina’s hog business are now at the helm of two boat brands produced in Edenton for decades. Raleigh-based Edenton Boatworks LLC, affiliated with Wendell Murphy and his son, Dell, now owns Albemarle Boats and Carolina Classic Boats. These just aren’t any boats — Edenton craftsmen have built 3,600 units since 1978, ranging in cost from $150,000 to $900,000 depending on size and accessories, such as navigation and depth- and fish-finding electronics. Production takes place at a 100,000-square-foot factory, and boats are sold through dealerships in the U.S., Australia, Asia and Europe.

Big box to fill

You probably can find a good cup of coffee in Tasmania, Australia, but it might not taste like home. One North Carolinian living there filled that craving with an order to Coffee Crate, an Asheville-based monthly subscription service that mails coffee beans selected from more than 30 North Carolina roasters. He’s the most-distant customer that owner Angie Rainey has attracted, joining shipping-list customers in Austria, Chile, Mexico and Peru, among other places.

North Carolina Economic Development Guide

Business North Carolina magazine publishes this annual guide that's distributed to site selectors across the county. It's filled with data, insight from state economic developers and case studies, which detail how and why businesses relocated to the state. I led the project from 2013-2016. That included developing articles, editing and writing content, coordinating photography and managing production.