In Wilmington and around the country, mention Live Oak Bank, PPD or Untappd to someone in their industry and nine chances out of 10 they won’t ask, “who?” Such companies are not only a source of native pride; they bring new jobs and talent to a community, invigorate the area economy, contribute to the growth of their industry and burnish the image of the ...

Driving under a sky filled with gray clouds, Donald Croteau pulled into the parking lot at Vertex Railcar Corp. shortly after lunchtime July 24, his white SUV joining a few dozen other cars in front of the plant.   Earlier that day, a Wilmington StarNews story said Croteau was no longer in charge of the rail car manufacturing company that he brought to town with a b ...

Banking software company ncino launched in 2012 as a spinoff of Live Oak Bancshares. The company, whose cloud-based Bank Operating System is built on the Salesforce platform, has since signed on more than 200 banks worldwide, 11 of them among the top 30 U.S. banks by asset size. Headquartered in Wilmington, nCino has about 550 employees with plenty of room to grow. C ...

The restaurant industry is no place for people who are faint of heart. Eateries, whether fine dining, casual or anywhere in between, come and go at an astonishing rate. But the fear  of failure has not stopped Wilmington’s Keith Rhodes from trying new ventures.   Rhodes is best known in  the Port City as the owner and chef of the seafood restaurant C ...

One of the area’s largest health care providers has been slowly adding to its clinical space in the region When Don Gottovi and Norm Robinson started Wilmington Health Associates, it was out of a modest, low-slung building.   It was 1971 and not long after the physicians – early in their careers – had chatted in the beer line at the UNC Departme ...

Wilmington might still have ground to make up when it comes to venture capital activity, but a number of area companies have received funding to support their growing businesses. Since 2013, local companies have received $144 million in funding, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, although 93 percent went to one firm – nCino. &n ...

With talk about the need to improve roads, bridges and rail lines in North Carolina to boost commerce, another type of economy-related thoroughfare is getting some attention. That would be the information highway, a busy avenue of commerce in areas that offer broadband – otherwise known as high-speed internet access – and almost totally lacking traffic elsewher ...

It took more than a decade for the vision to pay off, but activity in the Pender Commerce Park is heating up with incoming private investment.   Pender County Commissioner David Williams said the economic recovery from the recession, opening of Interstate 140 and momentum from early tenants has helped peak interest in the park.   The long-term effort and a he ...

Here are some of the top economic development headlines so far this year impacting Southeastern North Carolina. Regional economic development announcements have come in the form of new businesses, infrastructure and a few operational milestones.      NATIONAL GYPSUM RETURNS  Charlotte-based National Gypsum has hired 45 people as of August as it gears ...

Brunswick County native Wanda Coley knew from an early age that she wanted to work in accounting. After graduating from West Brunswick High School, she earned a degree in accounting at University of North Carolina Wilmington. While there, she worked as an administrative assistant at a home health care company, learning the ins and outs of that business and how the various ...