Improving Business in the Wilmington Region
Business Leaders
- Amazon
- GE Aerospace
- GE Vernova /Hitachi Nuclear
- Corning
- MegaCorp Logistics
- Thermo Fisher Scientific – PPD
- Live Oak Bank
- nCino
- Acme Smoked Fish
- Fortron
- Alcami
Amazon
Construction is underway to open Amazon’s first robotics fulfillment center in Greater Wilmington, creating more than 1,000 full- and part-time jobs. This new investment will help improve delivery speeds for customers, boost local economic growth, and add to the more than 27, 000 full- and part-time jobs created and $12 billion invested in the Tar Heel State since 2010. The new facility, which is approximately 650,000 square feet and more than 3 million square feet in floor area across four-and-a-half floors, is anticipated to launch in 2026 just in time for the holiday season. At fulfillment centers, employees pick, pack, and ship customers’ orders. This is considered Amazon’s “first mile” network, meaning it’s the first point for a customer’s package in the flow of materials within the supply chain before it’s passed along to “middle mile” centers then a delivery service provider to be dropped off at a customer’s doorstep.
A 142,000-sq.-ft “last-mile” delivery station that will directly serve Amazon’s Greater Wilmington customers is also in construction at the Pender Commerce Park within less than a mile from the 3 million square feet Amazon robotics fulfillment center.
Amazon supports more than one million employees worldwide who are innovating and working to serve customers throughout several global fulfillment centers, retail locations, data centers, corporate offices, tech hubs, and headquarters locations.
About Amazon:
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, Earth’s best employer, and Earth’s safest place to work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon.
GE Aerospace
GE Aerospace, a division of General Electric Company, is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial and military jet engines and components as well as integrated digital, electric power and mechanical systems for aircraft. GE Aerospace also manufactures gas turbines, derived from its highly successful jet engine programs, for marine and industrial applications. In addition, GE Aerospace provides comprehensive maintenance support for jet engines in service throughout the world. GE Aerospace originally located to the Castle Hayne community of New Hanover County in the mid-1960s.
GE Vernova /Hitachi Nuclear
GE Vernova /Hitachi Nuclear Energy is a global energy company focused on the energy transition, providing technologies and services across Power, Wind, and Electrification segments to deliver reliable, sustainable, and affordable electricity, helping to decarbonize the world through innovations in gas turbines, wind turbines, grid solutions, hydro, nuclear, and digital software. The company designs, manufactures, and services gas, steam, hydro, and nuclear power technologies, including advanced reactors and solutions for complex industries like data centers and metals production. They offer onshore and offshore wind turbines and blades, driving renewable energy generation. And provides grid solutions, power conversion, storage, and advanced software to manage and optimize the complex energy ecosystem.
https://www.gevernova.com/nuclear
Corning
Corning invented the world’s first low-loss optical fiber in 1970 and is the only remaining U.S.-owned fiber manufacturer. Corning’s Wilmington, North Carolina, fiber facility was the world’s first fiber manufacturing plant and today has the largest capacity in the industry. Wilmington employs over thousand employees and manufactures a full portfolio of fiber products to meet the demands of different network applications from the desktop to the ocean. Continued excellence in manufacturing process control, automation and productivity in Wilmington allows Corning to remain the highest-quality and lowest-cost producer of optical fiber in the world. For more information on Corning optical fiber, please visit www.corning.com/opticalfiber.
About Corning Incorporated
Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.
MegaCorp
MegaCorp Logistics headquartered in Wilmington is one of the Top Logistics Companies And Top Freight Brokerage Firms in the US based on Transport Topics Top 100 Rankings. With nearly a decade of service to customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small privately held firms, MegaCorp has proven to be one of America’s most capable logistics providers. Their executive leadership of Ryan Legg, who has 35+ years in the freight industry, provide the atmosphere, tools, innovation, and leadership for the vision of MegaCorp; to become the best long-term strategic partner with their customers and carriers.
MegaCorp Logistics provides freight transportation arrangement in FTL, LTL, and intermodal logistics. To meet our customers’ freight needs, we provide the link and access to thousands of vetted and certified transportation providers and carrier partners across the US and Canada.
Thermo Fisher Scientific – PPD
PPD clinical development and analytical services enable customers to accelerate innovation and increase drug development productivity. Utilizing patient-centered strategies and data analytics, its capabilities cover multiple therapeutic areas and include early development, all phases of clinical development, peri- and post-approval, novel approaches to patient recruitment and investigator sites, and comprehensive laboratory services. Recognized as a global industry leader in accelerating promising medicines from early development through regulatory approval and market access, it serves pharma, biotech, medical device and government organizations with custom-tailored solutions, including full-service partnerships and functional service partnerships. As a strategic partner in clinical development and analytical services, it applies cutting edge technologies, therapeutic expertise and a firm commitment to quality to help customers deliver life-changing therapies.
https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/brands/ppd.html
Live Oak
Live Oak Bank serves businesses around the nation with loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The community bank, headquartered in Wilmington, has no branches, tellers or customer service reps. Its borrowers include dental and medical practices, veterinarians, independent pharmacies, funeral home operators, independent investment advisers and other entrepreneurs. Its loans help finance acquisitions, refurbishment and remodeling of buildings, and construction of new and expanded facilities. Founded in 2008, Live Oak Bank is the third largest originator of SBA 7a loans in the country.
nCino
nCino was founded in 2012 by a team of bankers and entrepreneurs who found the commercial lending process to be inefficient and time-consuming. Led by James (Chip) Mahan III, Chairman and CEO of Live Oak Bank, this team recognized the need for a single, comprehensive and secure cloud-based solution built on the Salesforce platform that would enable the bank to increase transparency, efficiency and profitability while ensuring regulatory compliance. The nCino Bank Operating System filled that void at Live Oak, and soon attracted interest from other financial institutions.
In the years following, Wellington Management, Insight Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures and Bessemer Partners, among others, invested in nCino to help support the company’s growth, global expansion, and focus on customer success. Due in part to industry demand and a transformative product, nCino experienced significant growth, twice earning a place on the Inc. 500 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies. Today, more than 500 passionate, dedicated employees fuel nCino’s laser-like focus on customer service and product innovation. To ensure a customer-centric approach to implementation, delivery and success, nCino partnered with the world’s leading service companies, building a strong partner ecosystem that complements the core nCino team and Bank Operating System. Top systems integrators and technology service companies including Accenture, Deloitte Digital and PwC support the implementation and delivery of the Bank Operating System to financial institutions around the world.
Acme Smoked Fish
Acme Smoked Fish Corporation traces its roots to 1905 and a horse-drawn wagon in New York City that served as its only distribution system. Today, strong global demand for nutrient-rich smoked fish is driving Acme’s fast growth. The company is a leading U.S. name in consumer seafood, with its salmon lox, wild-caught herring, fish salads and specialty-smoked fish distributed under the Acme, Blue Hill Bay, Great American and Ruby Bay brand names. Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Costco and other major retailers stock Acme products for sale to hungry consumers. Acme’s success stems from careful planning, dedication to quality, and a commitment to the communities in which it resides.
Along with its longtime home in Brooklyn, New York, Acme now boasts a major new 100,000-sq.-ft. seafood processing facility in Pender County. The state-of-the-art “dream plant” is facilitating the company’s expansion into international markets. All Acme production facilities are BRC certified, an important global designation that assures high standards of food safety, security and operational quality. The company also requires its suppliers to have Marine Stewardship Council or Best Aquaculture Practices certification, and Acme representatives regularly visit fisheries as part of its quality control. The family-owned company is now in its fourth generation of executive management.
https://www.acmesmokedfish.com/
Alcami
Alcami is a world-class end-to-end contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) headquartered in North Carolina, with executive offices in Durham and Wilmington. With over 1,000 employees operating at ten global locations, Alcami provides customizable and innovative services to small and mid-size pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies by offering individualized and integrated services across multiple areas. We connect our clients with innovative solutions for API development and manufacturing, solid-state chemistry, formulation development, analytical development and testing services, clinical and commercial finished dosage form manufacturing (oral solid dose and parenteral), packaging, and stability services. For more information, please visit alcaminow.com.
Fortron
Fortron Industries is a leading global maker of polythenelene sulphide (PPS), a highly heat-resistant substance found throughout the automotive and aerospace industries in pumps and transmission components. It has operated for the past 25 years at a site on U.S. Highway 421 in Wilmington that has expanded numerous times in order to keep up with steadily growing global demand for PPS. About half the company’s product ships to foreign buyers, primarily in Asia and Europe. Easy access to global markets, a productive technical workforce drawn a four-county region and livability assets that attract the nation’s best engineering talent account for Fortron’s success in Wilmington.
Fortron is a joint venture between Japan’s Kureha Corporation and Celanese [NYSE: CE], a global technology and specialty materials company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had net sales of $6.5 billion in 2013. Kureha Group operates in eight countries, employing over 4,000 people worldwide across its core businesses of advanced products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and packaging materials.
https://www.celanese.com/products/fortron-polyphenylene-sulfide
