Jennifer Lantz, Executive Director, Wilson Economic Development Council

In an interview with Invest:, Jennifer Lantz, executive director of Wilson Economic Development Council, discussed the county’s recent industrial momentum, infrastructure advantages, and strategy for building a skilled workforce. The county is prioritizing land acquisition and site development after attracting billions of dollars in projects across life sciences, aerospace, and other advanced industries. “The first idea may not always be the right one, but our leaders are patient enough to continue working until we identify the solution that will actually succeed,” Lantz said.

What changes have most shaped the way Wilson County competes for investment?

The number of companies that have located here over the last five years has brought greater attention to Wilson as an industrial location. Since 2024, we have announced about $5 billion to $5.5 billion in investment. Those projects range from Johnson & Johnson to the world’s first cell-cultured meat company operating at commercial production. We have attracted significant life sciences activity, while Collins Aerospace is also growing and expanding here, so the investment spans a broad range of industries.

That activity is pushing Wilson to focus more heavily on land acquisition. The council is both an economic development agency and a private nonprofit development corporation, which allows us to acquire land and develop property. That will be a major priority for us over the next five years.

How important are reliable utilities and high-speed connectivity in attracting modern industrial projects?

Wilson has had broadband fiber since 2008. When much of North Carolina was still dealing with T1 lines, dial-up, and similar limitations, we had already entered the future. We consider broadband to be basic infrastructure, just like water, sewer, electricity, and natural gas.

Wilson is well positioned from a utilities standpoint. We invested in a reservoir in the 1990s to ensure that we would have sufficient water, and those long-term infrastructure investments have put us in a strong position for industrial growth.

A few years ago, we also introduced a public-private ride-sharing system instead of continuing with a traditional bus system. Rather than having large, mostly empty buses traveling around Wilson, residents can use an app to request Ride Wilson, which operates similarly to Uber. The city partners with Via to provide the service for $2.50 per ride.

Ridership continues to grow month over month, and more than half of riders are using the service to travel to work. We have an urban-style ride-sharing system even though Wilson is a small city.

What has enabled Wilson to pursue these types of innovative infrastructure solutions?

We are an innovative city, and we have strong leadership. Good leadership is patient. Patient leadership gives people the opportunity to think through ideas carefully.

Our work on ride-sharing began with a request to the Department of Transportation to allow Wilson to serve as a testing ground for autonomous vehicles. As we worked through that concept, we eventually arrived at RIDE Wilson. The first idea may not always be the right one, but our leaders are patient enough to continue working until we identify the solution that will actually succeed. We now view Ride Wilson as basic infrastructure.

What workforce needs are employers raising as new manufacturing facilities prepare to hire?

In life sciences, we are developing a biologics training center that will cover both active pharmaceutical ingredients and product development. The center will provide training in fermentation, as well as the processes that occur after a drug is made, including how it is placed into a vial or syringe.

We have also introduced the North Carolina BioWork program, developed through the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, into all our high schools and at Wilson Community College. Together, these initiatives will help the life sciences industry build a skilled workforce ranging from high-school graduates to degree-holding professionals.

We are working with North Carolina State University’s BTEC Center, East Carolina University, Wilson Community College, and Barton College. We have developed an aggressive plan to support the life sciences industry, which has accounted for about 80% of Wilson’s announced projects since 2000.

We are now turning our attention to aerospace. We intend to develop a workforce plan for that sector just as we did for life sciences. We also have an automotive sector that we will address, and we are working on workforce development for construction. Our strategy is to introduce meaningful technical programs in high schools and at the community college, then add any additional layers of training that employers require.

As industrial activity grows, how do you ensure that development improves daily life for residents?

We need to make sure we attract the right companies. Because our private, nonprofit development corporation owns land, we can be selective. We can recognize that distribution is a valuable industry while also deciding that it may not be the best fit for Wilson.

We evaluate industries based on the skills of our residents, average salaries, capital investment, and the company’s reputation for investing back into the community. Those factors help us determine which clients to pursue and which opportunities to let go.

How does Wilson’s growth strengthen the wider economy of Eastern North Carolina?

Wilson is part of the BioPharma Crescent with Johnston, Pitt, and Nash counties. Collectively, these counties represent one of the largest concentrations of life sciences manufacturing not only in North Carolina but along the East Coast.

Over the last five years, the region has attracted close to $10 billion in life sciences investment. Overall, the sector supports approximately 10,000 jobs, and those positions pay significantly higher wages than the average wages in the individual communities. We regularly collaborate with our regional partners on life sciences projects because the entire area benefits from that concentration of investment and talent.

What investments will be most important to sustaining Wilson County’s momentum?

We must continue ensuring that our infrastructure remains strong. That includes maintaining sufficient water and sewer capacity, reliable electricity and natural gas, strong fiber connectivity, and continued investment in services such as RIDE Wilson.

We also need to secure land so that we have industrial sites available for future companies. Without land and prepared sites, it becomes much more difficult to compete for the projects that will shape the next phase of Wilson’s economy.

Why has Wilson identified aerospace as a priority sector?

It is easier to build a sector when an established company is already operating successfully in the community. Collins Aerospace has approximately 1,400 employees in Wilson and has been here since the 1980s. The company has continued to grow over the decades, providing us with a strong foundation.

Our interest is focused particularly on areas of aerospace that have both commercial and defense applications. The Russia-Ukraine war demonstrated how quickly military technology can shift from traditional weaponry toward drones. That evolution also points to significant commercial opportunities.

Drone technology is likely to advance dramatically, creating room for growth in many applications. Autonomous boats are one example, but drones will also support deliveries and the movement of heavy products. Some goods that once had to travel by rail may eventually be transported through autonomous systems on water.

We are at the beginning of a major expansion in this technology. The sector was already developing, but the pace accelerated significantly following the war. It is now moving at hyperspeed, which is why we are examining aerospace and drone-related opportunities so closely.

What makes Wilson County a strong choice for companies considering a new location?

Location is one of our greatest advantages. Wilson is situated midway along the East Coast and within a day’s drive of 60% of U.S. manufacturing. Companies can source components or deliver products across a large portion of the country within one day.

Many destinations are also accessible in less than a two-hour flight. That makes sourcing different parts of a product easier here than in many other locations.

Wilson is just outside the Raleigh metropolitan area, approximately 40 miles away. Companies have access to the region’s amenities and international airport while benefiting from the cost advantages of operating outside the metro’s core.