Military supplier's move here will bring jobs
Military supplier's move here will bring jobs
By Jason Beck
Staff Writer, News-Journal
Raeford and Hoke County
The arrival of a military tactical equipment supplier could bring more than 100 new jobs to Hoke County.
Quantico Tactical Supply announced yesterday it is moving its corporate headquarters to Raeford. In addition, the company also plans on bringing a large distribution center to the area within a year.
Currently headquartered in Northern Virginia, the company supplies the military and private citizens with tactical gear, clothing and weapons.
Company President David Hensley announced the move to Hoke County yesterday during Rep. Robin Hayes' Eighth District Defense Economic Development and Trade Show at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Hensley said he plans on making Raeford an important part of the company.
"We are moving our corporate headquarters immediately and the distribution will follow," Hensley said. "I've spent the last four or five days down here looking at locations, I haven't signed a lease yet."
Hensley said one possible location for his temporary headquarters could be the old Ford dealership on Fayetteville Road, though he's not made the official decision. "We are looking into buying that, but haven't decided that," he said. "We know our temporary headquarters is going to be in the Raeford area."
He said the distribution center would be in either Hoke or Scotland County on the US 401 or NC 211 corridor.
Though Base Re-Alignment and Closure is cited for many recent economic developments in Hoke County, Hensley said he has other reasons for moving to the area. He already does business through Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, and the naval air station at Cherry Point as well as other military bases across the country.
"North Virginia is an expensive place to do business... it's overcrowded," Hensley said. "I really came down for a couple of reasons."
"If we locate in Raeford we can draw from a good variety workforce in the surrounding areas," he said. "It just seemed natural... it's centrally located to all the military bases in the Southeast."
He also credited Congressman Hayes, who actually brought Hensley on a visit to Raeford and encouraged him to move to the 8th district.
"We promote the whole 8th district...they were looking for a lot of space," Hayes said yesterday. "We want to keep them coming."
The addition of another business means more jobs and tax base for Hoke County. Hensley said he'll need a variety of employees.
"Right off the bat we are re-locating a half dozen people down here," he said. "We are going to need buyers, customer service people, accounting people... across a wide spectrum of stuff we are going to need employees."
In the end, he expects 100-150 employees needed to run both the headquarters and the warehouse. Hensley has no desire to be an absentee business owner either. The 20-year veteran of the Marine Corps wants to move to Hoke County.
"I'm a big community person," he said. "I'm absolutely moving down. I registered my car on Friday so that makes me an official North Carolinian."
By Jason Beck
Staff Writer, News-Journal
Raeford and Hoke County
The arrival of a military tactical equipment supplier could bring more than 100 new jobs to Hoke County.
Quantico Tactical Supply announced yesterday it is moving its corporate headquarters to Raeford. In addition, the company also plans on bringing a large distribution center to the area within a year.
Currently headquartered in Northern Virginia, the company supplies the military and private citizens with tactical gear, clothing and weapons.
Company President David Hensley announced the move to Hoke County yesterday during Rep. Robin Hayes' Eighth District Defense Economic Development and Trade Show at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Hensley said he plans on making Raeford an important part of the company.
"We are moving our corporate headquarters immediately and the distribution will follow," Hensley said. "I've spent the last four or five days down here looking at locations, I haven't signed a lease yet."
Hensley said one possible location for his temporary headquarters could be the old Ford dealership on Fayetteville Road, though he's not made the official decision. "We are looking into buying that, but haven't decided that," he said. "We know our temporary headquarters is going to be in the Raeford area."
He said the distribution center would be in either Hoke or Scotland County on the US 401 or NC 211 corridor.
Though Base Re-Alignment and Closure is cited for many recent economic developments in Hoke County, Hensley said he has other reasons for moving to the area. He already does business through Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, and the naval air station at Cherry Point as well as other military bases across the country.
"North Virginia is an expensive place to do business... it's overcrowded," Hensley said. "I really came down for a couple of reasons."
"If we locate in Raeford we can draw from a good variety workforce in the surrounding areas," he said. "It just seemed natural... it's centrally located to all the military bases in the Southeast."
He also credited Congressman Hayes, who actually brought Hensley on a visit to Raeford and encouraged him to move to the 8th district.
"We promote the whole 8th district...they were looking for a lot of space," Hayes said yesterday. "We want to keep them coming."
The addition of another business means more jobs and tax base for Hoke County. Hensley said he'll need a variety of employees.
"Right off the bat we are re-locating a half dozen people down here," he said. "We are going to need buyers, customer service people, accounting people... across a wide spectrum of stuff we are going to need employees."
In the end, he expects 100-150 employees needed to run both the headquarters and the warehouse. Hensley has no desire to be an absentee business owner either. The 20-year veteran of the Marine Corps wants to move to Hoke County.
"I'm a big community person," he said. "I'm absolutely moving down. I registered my car on Friday so that makes me an official North Carolinian."
Labels: 2008, August 13th
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