When the Whigs defeated the Tories in August 1781 in Elizabethtown, that Bladen County town had been incorporated and building a solid business community for eight years.   The battleground runs from the town’s main street to the Cape Fear River, where the 237th anniversary of the Battle of Elizabethtown was recently celebrated at the newly refurbished Tory Ho ...

Shanna Windham has watched California-based ONEHOPE wine grow into the impactful business it is today, providing more than $3 million in donations to charitable organizations around the world through wine sales.   Having worked at the wine distributor in Raleigh that first brought ONEHOPE to the state, Windham said, “it’s been an amazing opportunity to h ...

High Speed Welding 6820-B3 Market St., Wilmington Top local official: Stuart Foreman, owner and CEO No. of employees: 20 Year founded: 2005 Company description: Custom aluminum fabrication and manufacturing Description of products made locally: T-tops for boats, ladder racks for pickup trucks, handrails for commercial and residential and recently began fabric ...

More Wilmington startups have been applying for NC IDEA SEED grants thanks to more awareness in the community about the opportunity offered to entrepreneurs. NC IDEA is hosting an information session 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina Wilmington to continue its efforts to bring awareness to the ...

Pam Fasse, president and licensed general contractor for Fasse bldgs., says that she always gravitated toward project management and design in most any job she held.   “When I came here [to Wilmington], like I had similarly, I sort fell into [construction] I guess,” Fasse said. “It was something I already understood and knew about. You gravitate to ...

A program designed to help female entrepreneurs bridge the funding gap drew a number of local startups this year.   NC IDEA runs the SOAR program, one of several programs and grants the Durham-based private foundation offers to support entrepreneurship in the state. SOAR, an annual program, focuses specifically on female entrepreneurs running scalable businesses. & ...

DUPLIN WINERY 501 N. Sycamore St., Rose Hill   Top local officials: Dave Fussell, president and CEO, and Jonathan Fussell, vice president   No. of employees: 115 in Rose Hill, 175 to 200 total   Year founded: 1976   Company description: Duplin Winery specializes in making over 40 muscadine wines.   Description of products made locally: D ...

Pat Koballa ended 32 years as an executive general manager with Stevenson Automotive Group to begin his new journey as an owner of the Stevenson Kia franchise.   His dealership is called Pat Koballa’s Coastal Kia at 6103 Market St.   Koballa, known for his longevity in the local car sales business and long-running Stevenson radio commercials, said he de ...

Black’s Tire Service Inc. has experienced years of changing markets and the emergence of e-commerce giants like Amazon, which promise to deliver almost everything, including tires, to people’s doors.   Black’s Tire did not succumb, however, to these emerging markets.   Starting with just one location in Whiteville in 1929, Black’s Tire ...

NATIONAL SPINNING CO.240 Spinning Road, Whiteville   Top local official: Rudy Ballance, plant manager Number of employees: 250 in Whiteville, 375 total in North Carolina Year founded: This location was established in 1960, and the company began in 1921. Company description: Jim Booterbaugh, CEO: National Spinning is the leading U.S. spinner of acrylic, ...