Google's website on the Lenoir Data Center www.google.com/lenoir.

NEW JOBS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES CLICK IN CALDWELL COUNTY
(Lenoir, N.C.) - As construction of Google's data center in Lenoir ramps up, so do job and business opportunities in a region racked for years by losses.

Six months after the company announced its plans in Lenoir, approximately 11 businesses are engaged in work at the 220-acre Google site (including six North Carolina-based businesses). Ranging from construction contractors to security operations, the businesses employ around 240 people, many from Caldwell County.

"That's great news for our county, which has seen some of the highest unemployment numbers in North Carolina," says Faye Higgins, chairperson of the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners. "We're building a brighter future."

Google's announcement also jump-started other business activity. Motels and restaurants are busy, and a previously deserted shopping center is in development to reopen.

In addition to recently making the first hire for the data center (site manager Tom Jacobik), Google has also launched a Web site to provide information on the project (">www.google.com/lenoir).