Driven: Cabarrus economy is back on track.

• Position: Special Advertising Section: Regional Focus

Cabarrus County leaders have a message: The county is alive and well and making strides toward recovery from the economic hardships of 2003. July 30 marked the first anniversary of the closing of Pillowtex, a Kannapolis-based textile maker. The company employed about 3,300 here and nearly twice that nationally. It was North Carolina's largest mass layoff ever. But any perception of the county as a collection of dying mill towns misses the mark. "For 100 years, the employees of Pillowtex built up this community, and we stood on their shoulders," says John Cox, CEO of the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce and secretary of the board of Cabarrus Economic Development. "Now it's time for them to stand on our shoulders as we continue to build and diversify."

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Even while the textile industry was the mainstay of Cabarrus' economy, county leaders sought to attract other industries. In the '90s, Kannapolis officials pursued economic-development strategies such as building a city-owned business park, improving infrastructure, creating parks and cultivating a business-friendly environment. Similarly, Concord set aside land for industrial development and built a business park and an airport.

Today, Cabarrus is home to companies involved in activities as varied as fiber optics and motorsports, and the county is attracting new industry. Companies also are expanding. "We were absolutely clobbered last year in terms of job losses," Cox says. "But, thank goodness, our local economy was strong enough to withstand the economic disaster. A lot of lesser communities that don't have the economic strength we do might not have been able to weather it."

The numbers speak for themselves. More jobs--1,505--were created in Cabarrus in the first two quarters of 2004 than in all of 2003. The $80.9 million invested through June surpassed the $79 million total for all of 2003. For example, in the first quarter, Salisbury, Md.-based agribusiness company Perdue Farms Inc. added 150 jobs and spent $14.2 million to expand its Concord operation. Similarly, The Stanley Works, a New Britain, Conn.-based tool maker, expanded its Kannapolis distribution center, adding 100 employees and investing $12.8 million.

"We've said lately that if ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings are a sign that the economy is turning around, then the Cabarrus County economy is going full steam," says Jerry...