Jan. 4--DAVIDSON COUNTY -- Steve Googe says 2009 likely will be a slow year for landing new industry in Davidson County.

Googe, executive director of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission, said the current economy is expected to slow down the amount of businesses willing to commit to expanding or relocating its operations in 2009.

"From my perspective, it's probably going to get worse than it is now before people can regain the confidence to spend money," he said. "I think you're going to see more layoffs and I think you're not going to see as many people hiring as many folks."

In December, Furniture Brands International, the parent company of Thomasville Furniture Industries, announced it would eliminate 1,400 jobs across the nation at nine of its companies. Company officials wouldn't release how many jobs were lost in Thomasville.

Automotive Motors of Thomasville also announced it would stop manufacturing operations in Mount Airy and Thomasville. More than 100 Thomasville jobs will be moved to Statesville.

Despite the recent announcements, Googe continues to work hard to recruit industry to Davidson County. He said he is and has been working on a mega-site to locate a steel mill or an automotive manufacturer on about 2,700 acres in Davidson County.

"We have done a large amount of work in looking at other areas of the country have attracted these mega-sites," Googe said. "Typically, what you see in an automotive facility is an investment of $1 billion. The first phase of the project would be in the range of 4,000 jobs."

With the economy slowing down, Googe said he plans on trying to line up additional sites for industry to locate to Davidson County by doing some extensive research to see how many vacant buildings are available. He said space at the Lexington and Welcome business centers currently is at a premium.

"We are going to do more existing industry visits because we continue to believe that most of the expansion we are going to see in the next 12 to 18 months is going to come from existing companies that are growing," Googe said.

Googe has helped Davidson County recover from a troubling economy before. Employment in all industries in the county decreased by 6,281 jobs from 2000-2007 in the county, but between 2003 and 2006, 9,596 jobs were announced with an investment by industry of $419.85 million.

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