EDC’s Smith updates ‘Accelerate 2026’ investors on Chatham development

Posted

PITTSBORO — Chatham County continues to get “looks” from potential industries having responded to 22 requests for information and hosted five project visits in the last few months, EDC Director Michael Smith told investors in an “Accelerate 2026” update last Thursday.

The five projects could bring more than 2,500 jobs and nearly $700 million in potential investment to Chatham, Smith told those gathered at Forest Hall at Chatham Mills.

Accelerate 2026 is a private-sector economic development initiative of the Chatham Economic Development Corporation launched in March 2021 to spur the creation of 2,000 new jobs in Chatham and new capital investment of $500 million. In 2022 alone, Chatham landed economic development projects promising 9,000 new jobs and more than $9 billion in investment.

Smith provided updates on the VinFast and Wolfspeed projects. He discussed VinFast’s recent production delay announcement, saying none of the issues causing the delay were Chatham-related. He updated investors on permitting processes for both companies, and said Wolfspeed would soon have more than 2,000 construction workers engaged at the company’s planned facility in Siler City’s Chatham Advanced Manufacturing megasite.

He also discussed plans for Central Carolina Community College’s Moore Center — set to begin training for VinFast employees in the near future — and collaboration with officials from the county, Siler City and Chatham County Schools.

In addition, Smith announced the hiring of Jack Pendergraph, who will begin work in April as an EDC staff member responsible for business retention and expansion.