Ketchie Inc. Completes Economic Gardening Pilot Program, Grow Cabarrus
At the start of 2020, Ketchie Inc. became one of the first companies to begin participating in our six-week economic gardening program, Grow Cabarrus. And despite the global pandemic that would soon impact all of our lives, Ketchie remained committed to not only the Grow Cabarrus program, but also to their team and the suppliers that depend on them.
Economic Gardening is one of the oldest and best tested entrepreneurial economic development programs in the country. It provides strategic research and frameworks to help local companies scale up, adding jobs and wealth to the community (https://economicgardening.org). The Cabarrus Economic Development Corporation would become the first county in the state of North Carolina to put this kind of program in place with the goal of growing second-stage companies. The program was officially launched in Cabarrus County in December 2019.
“Ketchie has been part of our community for over 70 years,” says Page Castrodale, Interim Executive Director at the Cabarrus EDC. “They are innovative and forward-thinking and we knew they’d embrace this opportunity whole-heartedly. We look forward to what successes lie ahead for them as they put their new tools into practice.”
“I was very pleased with the economic gardening program,” said Courtney Ketchie Silver, President of Ketchie Inc. “The digital marketing strategy was incredibly in-depth and the comparisons to our competitors are very useful.”
Ketchie Inc. has continuously grown since its formation in 1947; from a textile job shop serving the local mills to a third generation, ISO certified, woman-owned corporation operating CNC equipment. They are a full-service precision machine shop that is able to provide scalable comprehensive supply solutions for both government and commercial clients. Ketchie ships parts to all 50 states and across 5 continents from its home base in Concord, NC.
“I have never even heard of Reference USA before and when Wayne said he was going to teach us how to fish… I thought, yes! What an awesome tool for prospecting and business development,” stated Ketchie.
Grow Cabarrus gives companies access to sophisticated corporate-level tools that they typically don’t have access to. The information these tools are able to provide help growing companies identify new opportunities and solve problems. Companies that are interested in participating in Grow Cabarrus can visit cabarrusedc.com/growcabarrus to learn more about the program and qualifications.