MANUFACTURING.

Companies making products account for 17% of the N.C. economy and employ about 450,000 workers, or 10% of the nonfarm payroll, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. Thousands of skilled manufacturing jobs remain open because of a worker shortage, employers say. This section highlights leaders of top companies making both global and local impacts.

DARIUS ADAMCZYK

chair, CEO | Honeywell

Charlotte

Polish native Adamczyk became an overnight state hero when he moved the Fortune 100 company's headquarters from New Jersey to downtown Charlotte in 2018, two years after he became CEO. Adamczyk earned engineering degrees from Michigan State and Syracuse and an MBA from Harvard. He oversees about 99,000 employees worldwide.

LYNN BAMFORD

president, CEO | Curtiss-Wright

Davidson

Bamford succeeded David Adams as head of the aerospace and defense contractor in January 2021. Curtiss-Wright has annual revenue of about $2.5 billion. Bamford holds a master's in electrical engineering from George Mason University. She has 30 years of experience in the industry.

MICHAEL BELL

senior vice president, general manager | Corning Optical Communications

Charlotte

Bell joined Corning in 1991 in Hickory and became cable manufacturing manager for Corning Cable Systems America in 2004. He served as a U.S. Navy submarine officer and earned an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill.

ALEX BERNHARDT JR.

president, CEO | Bernhardt Furniture

Lenoir

Bernhardt is the fourth generation to run the North Carolina furniture company formed in 1889. It has eight North Carolina factories and employs more than 1,500 people. He became president in 2009 and CEO in 2012. He holds an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill.

STEPHEN BRATSPIES

CEO | HanesBrands

Winston-Salem

The former Walmart chief merchandising officer succeeded Gerald Evans Jr. in 2020 at the apparel company that reported revenue of $6.8 billion in 2021. It employs about 59,000 people in 33 countries. He is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College with an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.

BILL BRYAN

executive chair | Mt. Olive Pickles

Goldsboro

Bryan, former president of Mt. Olive, oversees the country's largest independent pickle company, which was formed in 1926. Annually, it packages more than 110 million jars of pickles, relishes and peppers. He is a UNC Chapel Hill graduate.

JIM BRYAN

president | Fairystone Fabrics

Burlington

Bryan, 69. managed Fairystone for more than a decade before buying the business in 2011. He's a Florida Southern College graduate who spent 17 years with Burlington Industries. Fairystone makes a variety of fabric products, including materials for automobile interiors.

WES CARTER

president | Atlantic Packaging

Wilmington

Carter, 43, started sweeping floors at age 14 at the company founded by his grandfather. The UNC Chapel Hill graduate and his father. Rusty, who is CEO. lead a company that employs 1.000 at 18 locations in the United States and the Caribbean.

Pre-workday motivation: Around 5 am I spend time in reflection and meditation followed by a sauna and cold plunge routine. I take one of our two kids to school most days and provide a rock-and-roll education on that ride. It's one of the highlights of my day.

Key to industry success: Creativity and collaboration. At Atlantic Packaging, we are focused on creating solutions for our customers, and that almost always requires creative thinking. Those organizations don't need just another commodity broker. They need support from companies willing to understand their challenges and create comprehensive programs.

Three people to share a meal: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Dalai Lama.

Proud family accomplishment: Our courage and humility. My father. Rusty, and grandfather, Horace Carter, have had immense success in their lives, both overcoming many obstacles. Both men set the example of what it means to be a humble warrior and a compassionate leader.

Favorite hobby: Surfing, skiing, fishing, hunting, hiking, climbing or just sitting under a tree. Sharing that with my wife and kids is a great joy for me.

Where to entertain a visitor: The south end of Wrightsville Beach on my parent's porch looking out across Masonboro Inlet.

TED DOHENY

president, CEO | Sealed Air

Charlotte

Named to his post in 2018 after working for Joy Global and Ingersoll Rand. Doheny leads a company best known for Bubble Wrap. Its many products also include equipment that helps automate packaging. Doheny has an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a master's in management from Purdue University.

FRANK DOWD IV

chair | Carolina Pipe & Foundry

Charlotte

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