Area Development Magazine Honors North Carolina with 2023 Platinum Shovel Award
North Carolina has received Area Development magazine’s 2023 Platinum Shovel Award which recognizes states that went above and beyond the gold standard for investment and job creation. This is the second year in a row the state has received this honor, sharing the inaugural award in 2022 with Tennessee. North Carolina is the only state recognized for the Platinum Shovel award this year.
The Platinum Shovel Award is part of Area Development’s annual celebration of economic development, which also includes the Gold and Silver Shovel awards. North Carolina was previously honored by the magazine, having received Gold Shovel awards in 2018 and 2021 and Silver Shovel awards in 2009, 2011–2017, and 2019–2020.
In addition to the Platinum Shovel award, North Carolina also had two projects recognized as Projects of the Year. VinFast’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Moncure was recognized as the 2022 Manufacturing Project of the Year. The project will create 7,500 jobs and invest $4 billion. The 2022 Non-Manufacturing Project of the Year was given to Macy’s Inc. for its first-ever fully automated distribution center in China Grove. The project will create 2,800 new jobs and invest $584.3 million.
Area Development’s report on this year’s Gold and Silver Shovel Award and Project of the Year award winners is available here.