News Articles

Southern Vinyl Manufacturing Receives Incumbent Worker Grant
By Daily Reflector Staff
The Daily Reflector
June 06, 2005

Southern Vinyl Manufacturing LLC of Kinston has been awarded a $37,500 Incumbent Worker grant from the Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board Inc. in New Bern.

The grant is for training to support the company's efforts in enhancing its employees' occupational and soft skills, increasing work productivity and business profitability.

Founded in 1997, Southern Vinyl is one of the largest independent fabricators of PVC fence and rail systems in the Carolinas. The company will use the grant to train its 18 employees in a series of lean manufacturing events. The events will be conducted in conjunction with the NC State University Industrial Extension Service Lean Enterprise Advancement Program.

The funding will allow Southern Vinyl to upgrade its employees' manufacturing knowledge to include lean training, thereby increasing their potential to add value outside their specific job area. This will help to grow the business and to bring new product lines into the Kinston manufacturing facility.

The Incumbent Worker program is cooperatively administered by the North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development, the Division of Employment and Training, and the State's 24 Local Workforce Development Boards. Incumbent Workforce Development grants are awarded to businesses faced with the challenge of upgrading worker skills to enhance company productivity and the potential for company growth.

Through the program, established North Carolina businesses are provided funding to train current workers in new and/or upgraded skills.

Training in portable skills results in a more highly skilled and versatile work force that contributes to North Carolina's ability to attract new businesses and creates an environment conducive to expansion of existing businesses.

Southern Vinyl Manufacturing serves building professionals in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia from its 15,000 square-foot facility.

The Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board is a non-profit organization that administers workforce development programs funded through the Federal Workforce Investment Act. The ECWDB contracts its programs with reputable organizations throughout the nine counties who provide services in their local JobLink Career Center serving both the job/training seeker and employer populations.