They're Coming...
At least one Dell supplier has said Yes to the Triad: Austin Foam Plastics.
The packaging company said Wednesday it is opening a plant in the region.
"We've made a commitment to come, but we haven't picked a city," said Van Holley, vice president for business development for the company.
The company plans to lease space in the 75,000 to 125,000 square foot range, Holley said.
No word on how many employees could be hired, but AFP's Tennessee plant, which supplies Dell's facility in Lebanon, has a mix of about 100 full and part-time workers.
The company does not plan to relocate anyone, except on a temporary basis, said Holley.
He declined to give an average salary for workers in the Triad facility.
Holley plans to visit the region in about two weeks to scout sites and look into what incentives might be available.
Incentives will not determine where the company locates, however, he said.
"We're pretty cautious about how we handle incentives," said Holley. We want it to be a win-win situation - we don't want anyone to feel that we are taking advantage of them."
The company was offered incentives in Tennessee but declined them in order to move to a different site.
AFP needs about two months to start operations.
We're working on who might be next. Given that Dell wants to start shipping product in November, we expect a few companies to be choosing sites soon.