Expertise in nonwoven textiles keeps NCSU ahead of the field: research center on Centennial Campus refines the process even as it continues to attract new industry to North Carolina.

Inside N.C. State University's Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center--home to the most comprehensive nonwoven textile lab in the world--heavy machines roll out 300 meters of material a minute. That's at least 1,000 times faster than the looms inside traditional textile mills. A fabric line inside the center turns out more material in one hour than 500 looms weave in four.

That pace has led some insiders to dub NCRC the "Energizer bunny." The center--a resource for product development, research and training for nonwoven companies--keeps going and going. Just as its engines turn out staggering volumes of fabric, the center is an engine for economic development.

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"NCRC has become the focus of the types of exciting innovations and opportunities we need to create jobs and investments in North Carolina," says Kenneth Atkins, executive director of Wake County Economic Development. "It represents what's happening across N.C. State's campus."

During the past 25 years, N.C. State has launched 59 companies, creating more than 13,000 jobs and generating more than $150 million in venture-capital investments. Within the past year, N.C. State launched seven companies and received 49 patents. In terms of how these activities impact quality of life, The Scientist magazine ranked N.C. State third in the nation for overall patent power in June 2005. Innovations patented last year include an all-natural insect repellent, which has been licensed to HOMS, a Clayton-based biotech company. The tomato-based spray could be on the market this year.

Near the epicenter of this surge in economic development is NCRC--the largest industry-university-state cooperative research center in the nation. For the past two years, N.C. State and Wake County Economic Development have worked together to transform high-tech research into well-paying jobs. The partnership taps into the knowledge of N.C. State researchers to glean leads on companies that match the manufacturing and the research-and-development capabilities of the Research Triangle region. The team then develops a customized approach to recruit companies. The partnership first targeted nonwoven companies, which make products such as medical gowns, diapers and wipes.

Since the partnership began, seven nonwoven companies have moved to North Carolina and have invested more than $240 million here. "We're able to use N.C. State's knowledge and expertise in our efforts to attract companies that create new...