Identity revolution: new core industries are shaping the Triad's future while relying on its current strengths: location, education, skilled workers and manufacturing.

• Position: TRIAD ROUND TABLE - Interview

Situated in the heart of North Carolina, the Triad has a long history in transportation and manufacturing, especially tobacco, furniture and levities. But aviation, high-technology; health care and higher education are becoming larger parts of the mix. BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA recently assembled a panel of experts to discuss how these changes are affecting the region economy and its residents. Participating were Kevin Baker; executive director of Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro: Linda Brady; chancellor of UNC Greensboro; Leslie Hayes, Triad and western North Carolina regional president for San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co.; Jeff Lindsay president of Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem and chief operating officer of Novant Health in the greater Winston-Salem. Triangle and coastal regions; Brad Newkirk, Triad regional managing partner of Charlotte-based Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP; David Powell, president and CEO of Greensboro-based Piedmont Triad Partnership: and Jim Phillips, a partner with Greensboro-based law firm Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP The round table was sponsored and hosted by Dixon Hughes Goodman, with support from Novant Health. Piedmont Triad and UNC Greensboro. Peter Anderson, BNC special projects editor; moderated the discussion. The following transcript has been edited for brevity, and clarity.

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How does the Triad compare with other regions of the state?

Powell: It is lagging behind. Approximately net 90,000 jobs have been lost the past 10 to 12 years. That is like every company in downtown Charlotte closing their doors or Research Triangle Park, which has about 45,000 employees, shutting down twice. But there has been net job growth the past couple of years. Advanced manufacturing is seeing growth, and the aviation sector is a bright spot.

Is there still a place for the region's traditional industries?

Phillips: Textile, furniture and tobacco were the mainstays when I grew up in Lexington. We've seen a comeback to some extent. Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. recently built a manufacturing plant and distribution center near Advance, and Greensboro-based Lorillard Inc. and Winston-Salem-based R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. are still active.

Powell: These industries are still significant contributors to the economy. Manufacturers today have to apply new technologies, compete globally and have access to a skilled workforce to be successful. The companies that are still here have made that transition. Glen Raven Inc., based in Alamance County, is a global textile company that is doing as well as it ever has.

Brady: Glen Raven is a founding member of our Nanomanufacturing Innovation Consortium, organized to increase use of UNC Greensboro and N.C. A&T State University's Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. As one of my former colleagues at N.C. State University said, the future is in high-end textiles.

How is the Triad changing?

Phillips: I graduated from law school in 1984 and decided to stay in North Carolina. I looked at Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem and...