Cook Medical said Wednesday it has completed purchasing an 850,000-square-foot section of the former Whitaker Park manufacturing complex in Winston-Salem.

The Carolina Core experienced major jobs announcements and increasing momentum in 2018 with more than 8,500 jobs announced, according to a press release from the Piedmont Triad Partnership.

North Carolina has the best business climate in the U.S. and tops Forbes’ Best States for Business ranking for the second straight year.

Publix Super Markets will build a $400 million distribution center in Greensboro, a project expected to create more than 1,000 jobs with an average salary of $44,000.

The FedEx Express Mid-Atlantic air Hub at the Piedmont Triad International Airport is expected to double its workforce over the next several months and has already begun recruiting the 400 new employees.