SPX Flow is honored with Industry of the Year award
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 11, 2016 10:03 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Greg Wildman, operations director at SPX Flow Technology, accepts the Wayne Industry of the Year award from Tiffany Creech, Wayne County Development Alliance existing industry specialist, during a luncheon Thursday at the Goldsboro Event Center.
Full Size
News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Ray Mayo gives an acceptance speech at the Goldsboro Event Center after being honored with the Why Wayne Works Award for his business, North Carolina Manufacturing.
SPX Flow Technology was honored Thursday as the Wayne County Industry of the Year.
The Why Wayne Works Award was presented to North Carolina Manufacturing.
And for the first time the Wayne County Development Alliance presented the Milestone Award.
The awards were presented by the WCDA during its annual Industry Appreciation Luncheon held at the Goldsboro Event Center.
Nearly 125 people attended the event that had been delayed from last month because of Hurricane Matthew.
The Industry of the Year Award recognizes one particular industry that has shown outstanding overall contributions to its industry, community and employees, said Tiffany Creech, WCDA existing industry specialist.
"It is absolutely an honor for us to get this recognition," said Greg Wildman, SPX Flow Technology operations director. "It recognizes us not only as a leadership team, but our employees and our involvement in betterment of the local Wayne County community.
"We are just honored and privileged to be able to receive this award from the county."
The company, which is 80 years old, has been in Wayne County for 30 years. It manufactures plate and frame heat exchangers -- a liquid-to-liquid cooling or heating system.
The company has more than 100 employees.
"They have a very unique culture with the stability of a large corporation and the work environment of a family-owned business," Ms. Creech said.
SPX Flow participated this past summer in the Teachers at Work initiative by hosting a high school business teacher for a week in the facility.
"The company wanted to take part in an initiative that would shape its future workforce," Ms. Creech said.
Wayne County counts on its existing industries for economic stability and growth, Ms. Creech said. The county has approximately 60 manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and machine shops that employ almost 9,000 people, she said.
"They all play a very significant role," she said. "They invest money in buildings and equipment. They pay taxes -- in fact they are some of the largest taxpayers in Wayne County. They employ our citizens. They contribute to local charities, and they provide our community with leaders and leadership."
N.C. Manufacturing, which has been in business for 30 years, exemplifies those traits and has been a leader in the community in many areas, she said.
The company, which processes precision-machined parts, has had a registered machinist apprenticeship program through the state Department of Commerce since 1990, working in conjunction with Wayne Community College.
"They are committed to developing a skilled workforce in order to retain and invest in their own workers," Ms. Creech said. "It is this commitment to a skilled workforce that sets this company apart."
It is locally owned by the Ray Mayo family.
Ms. Creech said that over the past month and in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew she learned the companies are adaptive and resilient.
It was with that in mind that the Milestone Award was created, she said.
"When I looked up the definition of milestone it said an important point in the progress or development of something, a very important event or advance," she said.
The companies being honored are at an important point in the progress or development of their business in the county, Ms. Creech said.
Milestone Awards were presented to: AAR Corp., 10 years; Anchor Coupling, 15 years; Uchiyama Manufacturing, LLC, Super Cast, Inc., Southern Machine Services and Nordic Cold Storage, LLC, 20 years; Coastal Metal Service and IMPulse, NC LLC, 25 years; Hajjar Manufacturing and Southco Distributing Co. (the 2015 Industry of the Year), 35 years; Flowers Timber Co. and Mondelez/Nabisco, 40 years; SPX Transformer Solutions, Inc., 50 years; Excell Home Fashions, Inc., 55 years; Franklin Baking Co., Wayco Ham Co. and Scott's BBQ Sauce, 70 years; Pepsi Bottling Ventures, LLC, 80 years; Mt. Olive Pickle Co., 90 years; and Goldsboro Milling Co., 100 years.