Catawba County's recruitment of Food Processing is bolstered by an identical focus by the State of North Carolina.  There are over 59,000 employees working in food manufacturing in North Carolina and over 3,600 of those are employed within a 45-minute drive time of Catawba County. Several food processing and logistics companies have a long history in Catawba County.  An abundant water supply is available for processing operations and the network of processing and packaging suppliers, as well as distribution and cold storage facilities make Catawba County an excellent location for Food Processing.