A local uniform manufacturer ceased operations on short notice and laid off 125 employees this month.

Royal Park Uniforms notified the N.C. Commerce Department that the financial institution backing the uniform company had cut off funding, forcing the local manufacturer to shut its doors.

The letter said the financing entity "would no longer fund payroll or any other expenses past November 10, 2011 at 5 p.m."

"This was a complete shock and surprise to RPU ownership and management," the company said in its letter to the N.C. Commerce Department. "There was no indication that the financial entity that RPU was dealing with would take such a strong stand."

Charlotte advertising and marketing agency Luquire George Andrews has won the N.C. state tourism account for the next five years, Charlotte Observer staff writer Mark Washburn reports.

During pitch meetings with the state, LGA offered proposals to promote tourism in fresh ways, including social media and other developing technologies, LGA President Peggy Brookhouse said Wednesday.

“Our point was that it’s a strong brand, and we just want to work with the division to enhance it and use technology,” said Brookhouse, who learned Tuesday that LGA had won the high-profile account beginning July 1.

Other major LGA clients include BB&T, Novant Health and Piedmont Natural Gas.

LGA was one of five finalists for the account, worth about $7 million annually, said Margo Metzger, spokeswoman for the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. Every five years, the account goes up for review.

Some Republican lawmakers are pushing to revamp the state's programs that recruit businesses and create jobs, a move that would call for gutting the state's lead economic development agency, the N.C. Department of Commerce.

A bill introduced Wednesday would replace the state Commerce Department with the N.C. Carolina Jobs and Commerce Corp. The new agency would consolidate all economic development functions under one heading.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Tom Murry of Wake County, said the state has more than a dozen economic development agencies, commissions, bureaus and offices, working without coordination and sometimes at cross-purposes.

One of Murry's criticisms, echoed by others over the years, is that the system lacks accountability. It generates publicity for elected officials at staged ribbon cuttings but often fails to produce the promised jobs, he said.

Sec. of Commerce Keith Crisco will be in Person County this afternoon for an economic development announcement.

The 2 p.m. announcement will follow a meeting in Raleigh by the N.C. Commerce Department's Economic Investment Committee, which considers job-creation incentives grants.

The address in Roxboro where Crisco's announcement is taking place is also the site of a manufacturing facility for Eaton Corp., an Ohio-based company that also has operations in Raleigh, Morrisville and Youngsville.

Eaton makes electrical components and power systems for a range of different industries. It is providing the city of Raleigh with electric vehicle recharging stations.

The Roxboro facility, about 55 miles north of Raleigh, makes valvetrain components for the automotive industry.

The nation's real-estate meltdown has claimed another casualty in this state.

Clayton Homes and CMH Manufacturing is shutting down its manufacturing facility in Henderson, a move that will erase 113 jobs from the local economy.

The company, located about 50 miles north of Raleigh, notified the N.C. Department of Commerce last week. The layoffs are slated to begin Feb. 6 and continue through March 31.

Affected jobs will include roof builders, wall builders, floor builders, cabinet builders, trimmers, electricians and welders.

A health-care administrator may have to lay off 155 employees in Morrisville if the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services doesn't renew its contract.

ValueOptions told the N.C. Department of Commerce yesterday that the current contract expires Jan. 19 and all employees related to that contract will lose their jobs that day if the DHHS contract is not extended.

ValueOptions is in negotiations with the state and expects to have the contract renewed, but filed the layoff notice as a legal requirement. The Norfolk, Va., company reviews requested coverage for health services for 1.3 million Medicaid recipients who have mental health issues and developmental disabilities.

An upholstery maker is shutting down operations and laying off 160 people.

Caye Upholstery, based in New Albany, Miss., notified the N.C. Department of Commerce that it's closing two facilities by Aug. 2.

The Caye facility in Star, about 85 miles southwest of Raleigh, will lose 90 workers. The facility in Taylorsville, about 170 miles west of Raleigh, will lose 70 workers.

Gov. Bev Perdue and the N.C. Commerce Department have a curious
practice when it comes to announcing economic incentives linked to job
creation.

When a company brings jobs that match or exceed a
county's annual average wage, their press releases mention it. When the
wages are less, as in the case of today's announcement, there typically is no such mention.

The state has qualified for nearly $6 million in federal stimulus funds to pay for job training programs for convicts, migrants, veterans and others without work or with few job skills.

The stimulus money, announced Wednesday, will be used to develop careers in green industries through training in energy efficient building construction and retrofits, and in energy efficient building assessment.

The N.C. Department of Commerce qualified for this state's portion out of nearly $190 million in federal stimulus funds announced nationwide by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Despite the economic downturn, state and local officials are stepping up efforts to attract tourists and business travelers to this region.

The N.C. Department of Commerce, for example, is starting an advertising campaign aimed at highlighting the state's attractions to residents, said Lynn Minges, assistant secretary for tourism, marketing and global branding.

The campaign will feature “affordable indulgences” designed to attract residents who still want to take vacations but aren't able or willing to spend lots of money to travel, Minges told several hundred people who attended the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau's annual meeting on Thursday.

The visitors bureau also is trying new strategies, including more social media marketing, said CEO Dennis Edwards. One effort involves creating 70 online video clips featuring local events and places. And the group will create new Web sites catering to niche tourism markets, such as gay or women travelers.