Editorials - 01/30/03

QC, EDC prove to be winning team

Just three months after the county loaned QC $300,000 to provide for the textile company's expansion and move into the former Tuckaseigee Mills building, QC owner Clemmey Queen has announced that his company is going "public."

QC will offer stock at three levels, with one category being reserved for company employees.

"I'm going public so our loyal, faithful employees will be able to own part of the company," Queen told EDC members Tuesday (Jan. 28).

Helping homegrown businesses like QC is a vital function of the EDC, Chairman Tom McClure said, and we agree with him.

State economic development incentives are reserved for companies that relocate and bring jobs with them but offer no assistance to businesses that have the potential to create more jobs in their home community, McClure said.

That's why the local EDC has turned its attention to helping companies like QC - businesses firmly rooted in Jackson County with no intention of ever leaving the mountains.

We're glad to see that shift in the EDC's focus. And we're delighted to see the positive results of QC's expansion in such a short time.

Of concern, however, is the fact that in going public, QC is merging with a Rowan County textile company and shifting its marketing efforts east.

We haven't forgotten the September announcement that Ashley Co., another Sylva success story, would close in December, less than four years after its merger with DeMoulin Bros. of Greenville, Ill. Some 55 jobs left with Ashley, and the fact that Queen intended to hire those people as part of his expansion plans no doubt played a part in county approval of the revolving loan for QC.

The 1999 Ashley/DeMoulin merger was accomplished with much fanfare and positive comments; September's announcement of Ashley's closing drew expressions of sorrow and regret.

We know Clemmey Queen is sincere in his efforts to bring business and jobs to Jackson County, and we're sure he's confident he's acting in the best interests of his company.

On the surface, this seems like one of those "win-win situations," and we hope it remains so.

We want to see QC's effort succeed, and we want to see Queen's company grow and prosper. But we are haunted by the specter of Ashley, and we worry that QC may suffer a simlar fate.

Here's hoping our fears are ungrounded and unfounded and that QC remains a vital and growing part of the local economy.

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