The Transylvania Times. Lifestyles. May 23, 2013 Vol. 127-No.41. Outdoor Lifestyle Attracts Entrepreneurs Brevard NC. By John Lanier Editor

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 5 The Transylvania Times Lifestyles May 23, 2013 Vol. 127-No.41 Outdoor Lifestyle Attracts Entrepreneurs Brevard NC By John Lanier Editor Three successful entrepreneurs told the Transylvania Natural Resources Council that the proximity to outdoor recreation was a major factor in establishing their businesses locally. Pete Newsome, co-owner of PharmAgra; Tom Dempsey, owner of SylvanSport; and Neil Price, who is one of four people who oversees the local Oskar Blues operation, all agreed the three businesses they represent are here because of the natural resources and recreational opportunities available. And two of the businesses are not directly linked to the outdoors PharmAgra is a chemical company that contracts with other businesses to conduct research. That research may involve electronic materials that make touch screens faster, chemicals for an improved insect repellent or drugs that could be used to fight Alzheimer s, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Newsome said the company focuses solely on chemicals. The company may manufacture small doses of a particular lowvolume chemical but often provides information on how a chemical or product will scale up for high-volume production. Ninety-five percent of the research they do is for others, but 5 percent is for PharmAgra. They have recently been working on stabilizing the cancer-fighting component found in broccoli. Newsome has long been an outdoorsman. While growing up in Winston-Salem, he attended Eagles Nest Camp in Little River where he backpacked and climbed. While attending Western Carolina Univer-sity he became a paddler. He worked at Breckenridge ski resort in Colorado and toured the Pacific Northwest on bike. He attended graduate school at the University of Utah, where he continued to spend his free time outdoors. I worked hard and I played hard, he said. Unfortunately for Newsome, most companies that employ chemists are located in or near major metropolitan areas far from the outdoor venues he enjoyed. As a result, he took a job in the Research Triangle Park, which provided weekend access to the wilds of West Virginia. I became a weekend warrior, he said. In 1998, Newsome met Roger Frisbee, who had worked at Pisgah Labs. In 1999, they founded PharmAgra in Arden. And all the pieces seemingly fell into place when they decided to move to Brevard in The timing was really good for us, said Newsome.

2 Page 2 of 5 More companies were beginning to outsource their research. The Ruth Originals building off Fisher Road was available. The research building at DuPont was being dismantled, so they were able to obtain much of that cabinetry and other appliances from the site. The interest rate on their loan was low and they were able to receive a small incentive package. PharmAgra has 14 full-time employees, all of them chemists. Other jobs are contracted out. He said the economic impact of the business extends beyond its employees because many clients fly in, stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants. Newsome said the high quality of life for the employees and their families is a definite benefit for those already here and a good recruiting tool. It s an excellent place to live, he said. Newsome enjoys the fact that he can hop on his bike at lunchtime, ride the bike path that runs adjacent to PharmAgra and be in the Pisgah National Forest in a few minutes. Dempsey, of SylvanSport, also had Brevard planned as a destination for his business. After growing up in Pennsylvania, he graduated from Auburn University with a degree in industrial design. After working in Upstate South Carolina, he opened up LiquidLogic in Henderson County. The facility was close to the Green River where they could test their kayaks. But the ultimate goal was to live and work in Brevard and Transylvania County. This is the place we chose to raise a family, he said. We absolutely love living here. Dempsey, who was living in Cedar Mountain, wanted to open a business in this county. He began SylvanSport in Cedar Mountain several years ago. His idea was to provide an alternative to RVs in the form of outdoor gear. He said that when he launched his idea, those in the RV industry were blind to its decline, with sales dropping from $14 billion worldwide in 2007 to $4 billion worldwide in SylvanSport s GO came on the market as the economy began to crash, with the first GO shipped in We managed to survive through that, said Dempsey. The launch time of the product proved to be a blessing in disguise because the product was marketed and sold directly to customers. Now about 200 owners of the GO serve as referral agents for the company. A few years ago, the company moved to a location off Railroad Avenue and brought the production part of the business to Brevard. It employs 11 people full-time and pays above average wages. It s a world class small operation, he said. Eighty percent of the 600 individual pieces of the GO are manufactured within 50 miles of Brevard. Only three of the GO s components are made outside the United States. Dempsey said the slow economy has allowed SylvanSport to hire people who are over-qualified for their positions. But that improves their product and employees, including himself, like the fact they too have access to the city s bike path. We ride almost every decent day at lunchtime, said Dempsey. Even though Sylvan Sport directly delivers the GO to a customer s residence, many buyers come to Brevard to pick up theirs. And when they do, those at SylvanSport help them find local campgrounds, as well as places to hike, bike and fish.

3 Page 3 of 5 If they want to play outdoors, we connect them all the time, said Dempsey. Word also is spreading about the area being a good place to manufacture outdoor equipment. Dempsey said there was an initial meeting of the WNC Outdoor Gear Builders Alliance. This weekend many of them will be showing off their products at the Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville. There is critical mass beginning to build, he said of outdoor gear manufacturers. The word s out. It will happen. Neil Price is one of the leaders at the local Oskar Blues plant, having moved to the area from Colorado. When he and his wife visited the area, it was their first time east of the Mississippi River. We came out here and just loved it, he said. Personally, it s been awesome. I always wanted to live in a small town. Price said founder and owner of Oskar Blues Dale Katechis original passion was cooking, and his mother helped him open a restaurant in Colorado. Beer wasn t Dale s initial passion, said Price. His passion was cooking and restaurants. But Katechis began making home brews in Colorado and then turned it into a business. He said Katechis is a person who likes to show people things can be done when people tell him they cannot. Price said beer in cans is generally viewed as cheaper, but Katechis disproved that with his products. Now some 380 breweries can their beer. Price said Oskar Blues had squeezed every inch they could out of the building in Longmont, Colo. and needed to expand. Since 45 percent of Oskar Blues sales were east of the Mississippi and shipping is the largest single cost, the decision was made to open a brewery in the eastern U.S. While most businesses do a great deal of research before selecting a new site, Price said Katechis did not do that. Through his close friend John Felty, Katechis liked the area, biked here and decided this is where the new brewery would be built. Oskar Blues has 31 employees in the state, with sales representatives in Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville and western North Carolina. The other 27 employees work at the local plant. But those 27 employees might not be here if Oskar Blues had conducted a lot of research before choosing an area to build a new facility. Price said there have been several hurdles the company has faced. Price said Internet is slower than in Colorado and sometimes it takes two to three minutes just to open a spreadsheet from the office in Colorado. At times they have to shut down their Wi-Fi connection for customers to conduct some of their business operations. Price also said that he had been working on getting an Oskar Blues sign installed since October, well before the plant opened in December. The sign finally went up last week. The hurdle was the city s UDO, which did not allow Oskar Blues to put in a ground sign because TVS already had a ground sign. In order for Oskar Blues to put in a similar sign, TVS would have had to remove theirs, and he said Oskar Blues did not want to do that. The area had to be rezoned so that a sign could be erected. The sign now includes all of the businesses in the industrial park. The sign is important for Oskar Blues because people, particularly drivers, get lost a lot due to the plant s location. Price also said the price for industrial water is several times higher than in Colorado. He said the city is working with Oskar Blues, but that it is a problem that could affect others, such as Brevard Brewing because it is not in an industrial zone.

4 Page 4 of 5 Price also said Oskar Blues is not allowed to sell any products that are not produced onsite. Thus, when people come to the tasting room and have a beer, they have to bring their own chips or other foods to eat. Price said he found some things confusing because all people talk about is economic development and yet there are impediments to economic development. He said the company had planned to expand the manufacturing site and open a restaurant. But now there are no plans to expand, which would increase employment to 43 to 50 people, and Oskar Blues is looking at other sites outside the county for its restaurant. Price said he has spent well over 120 hours trying to clear some of these hurdles, time taken away from actually running the brewery. He also said the hurdles he has confronted not only affect him, but other businesses as well and that certain changes would benefit everyone. This isn t just for us, he said. Let s make it better for everybody. Both Newsome and Dempsey agreed that there were impediments to opening a business locally. Lack of available industrial space is a problem. If that building (Ruth Originals) hadn t been available, I don t believe PharmAgra would have been here, said Newsome. Newsome said more money should be invested in literature related to businesses and infrastructure must be in place. He said most entrepreneurs have neither time nor money, so they need a place with infrastructure in place so they can get started quickly with little expense. Dempsey said they opened in Henderson County because there were no available buildings here. Dempsey said he contacted Mark Burrows in 1999 about opening a business here, and Burrows had kept him informed about the buildings in the Brevard Commerce Center. SylvanSport is now located on Railroad Avenue in an 18,000 square foot building. Dempsey said Internet service was a problem because video drops out on conference calls. The upside, he said, is that some people then come here for their conferences. Dempsey also compared opening a business to seeking a hotel room without a reservation. In Henderson County, they would do everything they could to secure a room while making the customer comfortable in the meantime. In Transylvania, they would direct the customer to a phone to call a reservations service. It s a mind set, said Dempsey, who added that local government should ask businesses How can we help you figure this out? Newsome said he understands the need for regulations, but there is ambiguity and inconsistent interpretations of the UDO. He said one hurdle may be cleared only to learn there is another hurdle. We re here despite the UDO, said Dempsey. You have to create a way of making a living here. While all three expressed concerns about business hurdles, they also expressed great pleasure with the local school system and how that was a strong asset in drawing them to the community. The Transylvania Times 37 North Broad St., PO Box 32, Brevard, NC 28712

5 Page 5 of 5 Ph: (828) info@transylvaniatimes.com Content and information copyright 2013 Transylvania Times Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software Copyright 2013 Lions Light Corp. Software for newspapers & magazines