Members with Jacksonville Onslow Economic Development and officials with the Town of Holly Ridge celebrated breaking ground for Blue Water Candy locating their new facility at Camp Davis Industrial Park on Friday morning.
A family-oriented fishing lure company, which started as a dream of a commercial fisherman, Captain Jodie Gay, along with his wife Terry in 2001, has become known around the world after growing from their dining room table to their garage, and now to Holly Ridge.
The new location will be the first time that Blue Water Candy Lures has operated away from the family home.
“This groundbreaking is a momentous next step in the story of Blue Water Candy and JOED is proud to be a part of the celebration today,” JOED Chairman Susan Edwards stated during the event. “We take particular pride in this groundbreaking because this company represents all that is good and wholesome in the history of American small business.”
Edwards explained the company has gone from selling their first lure to a tackle shop in Wilmington, to offering 5,000 lure combinations along with custom options.
In a time where labor shortages are impacting almost every business, Edwards shared the importance of a business like Blue Water Candy offering flexible employment options.
While most of his 36 employees are on-site and full-time, some of his employees assemble lures and rigs from home, making employment ideal for off-season fishermen, schoolteachers, adult caregivers, students, and people with mobility challenges.
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“Blue Water Candy has found ways to attract their creative workforce. Many can work from home, at hours of their choosing, in some cases as a family team, or as a second job.”
County Commissioner Royce Bennett and Holly Ridge Mayor Jeff Wenzel, both serve on the board of directors for JOED, spoke on Gay’s success as entrepreneurs themselves.
“As Camp Davis Industrial Park grows, employees will travel into, rather than out of Holly Ridge and Onslow County,” Bennett added. “Affirming that growth in Holly Ridge benefits the entire county — a rising tide lifts all boats”.
The site itself was said to have been agreed upon with a handshake between Gay and Camp Davis Industrial Park owner Tom Rollins three years ago.
Gay spoke swimmingly of his family and employees, and especially to Rollins for honoring the original agreement, one Gay joked that the company may have already outgrown.
“An entrepreneur is the only person willing to work 80 hours, so he doesn’t have to work 40 hours,” Gay added, who also thanked his distributors.
Edwards also thanked Rollins and applauded his vision through a ten-year commitment to making Camp Davis Industrial Park a reality.
“His intuition and knowledge of our regional marketplace were spot on, as evidenced by how quickly Camp Davis Industrial Park is filling up with the highest quality companies. The Town of Holly Ridge has demonstrated outstanding support of economic development by taking the rare step of publishing its aggressive economic development policy.
47 new jobs coming to Holly Ridge
Another growing family business that has found success and is expected to have a big impact on the community also broke ground at the industrial park back in May.
Atlantic Seafood Company has been running for over 50 years and is about the start construction of a 62,000 square foot warehousing and distribution facility in Holly Ridge.
A press release from JOED explained the company has outgrown its current warehouse and has observed disruptions due to the construction of Hampstead Bypass.
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Their current cold storage units allow them to maintain 600,000 pounds of product. The new facility will allow them to store over 2 million pounds of product.
Atlantic Seafood’s retail operations will remain at their current location in Hampstead, where the business started back in the 1940s.
With the increase in storage, market expansion is very likely, according to the release.
The company’s market along the eastern seaboard from Maryland to Florida is serviced by the company’s 20 route trucks and salesmen while supporting the North Carolina commercial fishing industry in the process.
Atlantic Seafood is said to bring 47 jobs, with average salaries of $70,000 (twice that of the average Onslow County wage). They will also add over $5M to the Onslow County tax base.
The facility is expected to be operation by December 31.
Officials added Holly Ridge and the industrial park are leaning forward in pursuit of Phase Two of the park, where the town takes over once grant goals are met.
Phase Two will create 235 permanent jobs with above average salaries, based on third party estimates, and result in $22.5 million of private investment in the town’s tax base.
More than residential growth: Camp Davis Industrial Park growing jobs
Reporter Trevor Dunnell can be reached by email at tdunnell@jdnews.com. Please consider supporting local journalism by signing up for a digital subscription for as little as $1 a month. JDNews.com.subscribenow
