RF Micro makes winners of Greensboro and Guilford County
Does RF Micro Devices' announcement today of a major expansion in Greensboro mean that Greensboro City Council or Guilford County commissioners were right in their incentives decisions?
Yes.
You have to judge by the outcome, and the outcome is excellent.
The homegrown designer and manufacturer of circuitry for wireless communications gadgets will invest $103 million to expand local operations, adding 300 jobs -- most of them in skilled manufacturing positions. Total local employment will increase to more than 2,200. This company is one of the Triad's finest gems.
Greensboro City Council gladly approved a request for more than $1 million in performance-based incentives. Good call!
The commissioners turned down a similar request. Was that also a good call?
You have to say so because it didn't drive RF Micro to another location -- and others apparently were bidding.
Still, denial was risky. In this case, Greensboro had inherent advantages. In other instances, saying no might kill a deal. The commissioners are gambling, and this time they came up winners.
The thing is, with incentives you pay nothing if you don't get the company. If you do get it, your payback should more than make up for the cost of a reasonable incentives package.
Unless you go overboard, as in recent deals for Goodyear and Google.
Tough issues. This time, the result couldn't be better.
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