Gun-makers target Rockingham County.

• Position: Triad

Rockingham County used to be known for textiles and tobacco. Now it's attracting a more explosive industry. In August, state and local officials put the final touches on an economic-incentive package to bring a Sturm, Ruger & Co. factory to Mayodan. The company plans to invest $26 million to turn a 220,000-square-foot former Unifi Inc. mill into a firearms plant, creating 473 jobs by 2017. Ruger, the nation's fourth-largest gun-maker, is eligible for almost $10 million from the state. Rockingham County Partnership also got a $2 million grant from Golden LEAF to buy equipment to lease to the company.

Ruger had its sights set on a site in a right-to-work state that was close to large airports--but not too urban--and "comfortable" with the firearms industry, according to Graham Pervier, president of Rockingham County Partnership. It also needed a skilled workforce for precision manufacturing. Ruger's factory will be less than 2 miles from the headquarters of Remington Arms Co., which moved to Madison from Wilmington, Del., in 1996. One of its products is the Bushmaster, the type of AR-15 rifle used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting. Reporters flocked to Madison after the tragedy, but Remington typically keeps a low profile in the county. Fayetteville-based Cape Fear Arsenal Inc., which makes projectiles, casings and...