Belgian firm to locate in Gaston.

• Author: Blake, Kathy
• Position: SPONSORED SECTION - Dhollandia

More than a dozen foreign-based firms are located in Gaston County, most of them at the South Ridge Business Park, a 425-acre site in Bessemer City, 7 miles northwest of Gastonia. The latest addition is Belgium-based Dhollandia, which announced plans in December to invest $30 million in its first U.S. location.

Dhollandia manufactures passenger wheelchair lifts for buses and vans and a range of hydraulic and other lifts for trucks and large vehicles. The company broke ground in early April on its 55-acre parcel and expects to open by second-quarter 2019, says Steve Nye, marketing director at the Gaston County Economic Development Commission.

"Out in that park, you have an Israeli company, and one from the Netherlands. There are several Ger man companies in the area, and from the Basque region of Spain, and Italy," Nye says. "They were seeking location. Through our relationship with the Charlotte Regional Partnership and the EDPNC, this is part of the outreach the state has when foreign companies come in looking for site selection.

"One reason [Dhollandia] chose that business park is that all the utilities were in place, along with the roads and sewer. We're good at infrastructure, and we were instrumental in providing information on the...