| arolina has a population of over 8.5 million and is a | | | | been created since 2001. |
| growing state on the southern half of the Eastern | | | | The state capital is Raleigh, which has about |
| seaboard. The largest city is Charlotte, with a | | | | 300,000 people in a metropolitan area of 900,000. |
| population over 600,000 with over 1.5 million | | | | Raleigh's industries include electrical, medical, |
| people in its metropolitan area. Charlotte has | | | | electronic, telecommunications equipment, clothing |
| become a major U.S. financial center with both | | | | apparel, food processing, paper products, and |
| Bank of America and Wachovia Bank having their | | | | pharmaceuticals. Raleigh is part of North Carolina's |
| headquarters there. The Charlotte skyline has | | | | Research Triangle, and a center of research and |
| grown with bank buildings being constructed, with | | | | textiles. The city is a major retail shipping point for |
| the tallest building being the Bank of America | | | | eastern North Carolina. The following companies |
| building. The 60-story tower is 871 feet tall. The | | | | are based in or operated in Raleigh, Siemens |
| following Fortune 500 companies are | | | | Power Transportation & Distribution, Progress |
| headquartered in the Charlotte metropolitan area, | | | | Energy, IBM, Asea Brown Boveri, a leading supplier |
| Bank of America, Duke Energy, Lowe's and | | | | in the electric power industry and automation, |
| Wachovia Bank. Charlotte is also a major center in | | | | First Citizens Bank and Martin Marietta Materials, |
| the US motor sports industry, with NASCAR | | | | Inc. |
| having offices in Charlotte. That could be help too | | | | Wilmington, North Carolina is located on the |
| for your North Carolina Incorporation. The | | | | Atlantic Coast, with a population of almost |
| Governor announced that Motor Racing Network | | | | 100,000 and over 300,000 in its metropolitan area. |
| will relocate to Concord, in Cabarrus County, not | | | | It is the seaport of North Carolina, and more port |
| far from Charlotte, investing $2.15 million during | | | | facilities are planned down the Cape Fear River at |
| the next three years. The announcement was | | | | Southport. Durham, a city in the center of North |
| made possible in part by a $50,000 One North | | | | Carolina, has been historically associated with the |
| Carolina Fund grant. Motor Racing | | | | tobacco industry and the textile industry. The city |
| Networks’ relocation from Florida to North | | | | is the home of Duke University, and is a point on |
| Carolina will be a strong addition to the $6 | | | | the Research Triangle of North Carolina. Also in |
| billion-a-year motor sports economy, where | | | | the triangle is the town of Chapel Hill, home of the |
| 14,000 people are directly employed in the motor | | | | University of North Carolina, along with Raleigh. |
| sports field. MRN Radio is the primary source for | | | | This area has been devoted to hi-tech and |
| NASCAR stock car racing and related radio | | | | computer research. Companies located here |
| programming and is a wholly owned subsidiary of | | | | include IBM, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and |
| International Speedway Corp. The One North | | | | Credit Suisse First Boston. In addition to high-tech, |
| Carolina Fund assists the state in industry | | | | the region has major facilities of pharmaceutical |
| recruitment and expansion by providing financial | | | | companies like GlaxoSmithKline, Biogen Idec, |
| assistance through local governments to attract | | | | BASF, Merck & Co., and Wyeth. Other major |
| business projects. Through the Fund, more than | | | | employers are BASF, Bayer, Dupont, and the U.S. |
| 25,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in investment have | | | | |