PITTSBORO - The Chatham County Economic Development Corporation reports it has already exceeded all annual projections for job creation by new businesses and expansion of existing businesses.

Since last July, five new companies have announced that they will add more than 450 jobs in the county. The expansion of nine existing companies will add another 220 jobs.

"With this growth, we will see new capital investment of more than $150 million" said Dianne Reid, president of the EDC.

The past year has seen continued growth for the EDC as an organization. "We have involved 180 volunteers around the county in various aspects of implementing our strategic plan and developing a new brand identity for the county. We have a new logo, but that is just one visual piece of having a consistent, clear message representing ourselves," Reid said.

The EDC has been involved in and supportive of the county's new pre-application meetings for people considering the expansion or startup of a business. Reid said,

As an example of recent job growth in Chatham County, Reid pointed to Acme-McCrary, a textile producer based in Asheboro. The company expanded its distribution and warehouse operations to the former Joan Fabrics building in Siler City. The move yields a $500,000 company investment, retains 42 existing Siler City jobs and creates 100 new jobs in Chatham County.

A new business to the area is Value Outsourcing Solutions (VOS), which moved into a vacant 280,000-square-foot building in Siler City earlier this month. VOS offers services for a wide range of companies, such as order processing and fulfillment, packaging and product assembly.