Alert: Fortune 1000 company moves HQ to Ballantyne
Plus this: Lowe's considering Charlotte and Dallas for 2,000-employee tech hub, Observer says
Good afternoon! Today is a Thursday, but The Ledger comes to you with breaking news.
Need to subscribe? Sign up for free here (charlotteledger.substack.com).
15th Fortune 1000 HQ for Charlotte: Dental manufacturer
Charlotte can now lay claim to being the home of another major corporate HQ, with the announcement today that Dentsply Sirona is moving its base of operations here from York, Pa.
The company, which says it is the world’s largest manufacturer of dental products and technologies, already has about 300 workers in the SPX building at Ballantyne Corporate Park and has been moving executives down here over time. It also trains dentists there.
My Sirona: With nearly $4B in revenue last year, Dentsply Sirona ranked as the 628th largest public company in the U.S., according to the Fortune 500 list released last week. It would be the 15th corporate HQ of a Fortune 1000 company in the Charlotte region — a nice feather in the cap that could help attract additional companies. The company has 16,400 workers worldwide.
Thursday’s announcement doesn’t include a whole bunch of new jobs coming here. It’s more of a formal acknowledgement that Charlotte is now its headquarters. Most of its top execs are already based here or are in the process of moving here.
The company announced last year that it was adding 320 jobs in Ballantyne over three years.
Report: Lowe’s considering Charlotte for tech hub
As long we’re here in your inbox, you might also want to know that the Charlotte Observer this afternoon is reporting that Lowe’s is considering Charlotte for a 2,000-employee tech hub. That would be a huge boost for tech in Charlotte, which is steadily growing but still small compared with the country’s major tech centers. But first Charlotte has to beat out Dallas.
Observer reporter Katherine Peralta with the scoop:
Lowe’s is considering Charlotte as the home for its new global technology hub, where the home improvement retailer will employ thousands of software engineers and other IT professionals.
Along with Charlotte, Lowe’s is looking at Dallas for the new facility, Chief Information Officer Seemantini Godbole told the Observer this week. In Charlotte, Lowe’s is considering uptown as well as a few neighborhoods close to the city center, including South End.
The establishment of a tech hub is part of Lowe’s plan, announced in December, to hire about 2,000 new IT professionals as the Mooresville company works to modernize its digital capabilities.
“We are building up a base of 2,000 software engineers, infrastructure engineers and data analysts to support our focus on improving technology capabilities and solutions across our business. The bulk of our hiring for these roles will begin once the location for our tech center has been determined,” Godbole said.
Full story here (possibly behind paywall if you’ve gouged on too many free Observer articles).
As you’d expect, Dallas is already talking smack. The Dallas Morning News says:
Both markets are growing their tech employment base, but Texas has a bigger pool with almost 1 million tech workers, 982,988 vs. 354,166 in North Carolina, according to CompTIA, the computing industry's trade association.
Dallas-Fort Worth has 350,000 tech employees vs. 101,377 in Charlotte.
Dallas Regional Chamber senior vice president Mike Rosa said the chamber is working with Lowe's to support and encourage selection of D-FW.
“Here, Lowe’s would have access to the largest business-friendly tech and innovation hub in the United States, in addition to our many other regional assets,” Rosa said in a statement.
That’s all for now. Back tomorrow morning with your regular Ledger.
Got a news tip? Think we missed something? Drop me a line at editor@cltledger.com and let me know.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and web site publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
The Charlotte Ledger is published by Tony Mecia, an award-winning former Charlotte Observer business reporter and editor. He lives in Charlotte with his wife and three children.