Built to Last: Winston-Salem—a quiet industrial powerhouse

Winston-Salem did not emerge overnight as a Southern business center. It was not shaped by a single boom or defined by one dominant industry. Instead, the city evolved through generations of disciplined craftsmanship, entrepreneurial ambition, industrial innovation, and civic reinvestment. Brick by brick, factory by factory, it built an economic identity reaching far beyond the region, helping shape industries across the country.

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For more than a century, tobacco, textiles, banking, manufacturing, food production, insurance, and technology formed the economic backbone of Winston-Salem. Companies such as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, HanesBrands, Wachovia, BB&T, Inmar Intelligence, Garner Foods, Krispy Kreme, Dewey's Bakery, Pine Hall Brick, and National General Insurance transformed it from a modest regional town into a nationally recognized business hub whose influence continues to evolve.

The city's successful origin stems from a rare convergence of geography, culture, labor stability, and access to capital. Winston-Salem itself was born from the merger of two very different yet highly complementary communities: Salem, founded by Moravians known for craftsmanship, precision, and discipline, and Winston, a more commercially-driven town built around trade and expansion. Together, they created a civic culture uniquely suited for long-term business growth.

Moravian influence deeply embedded itself in Winston-Salem's corporate DNA. Meticulous record-keeping, product consistency, disciplined management, and long-range planning became hallmarks of many businesses here. Those values created an environment where companies could scale nationally while remaining rooted in local traditions of quality and stewardship.

"Historically, Winston and Salem are sister cities that exemplify industrious determination along with creativity," says Mark Owens, president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc., in describing the city's enduring character. "There have been creators and innovators here who have built lasting legacies, and that impact is still felt. As a community, Winston-Salem innovates and creates, and we still see that today with biotech, advanced manufacturing, food and beverage, construction, healthcare, and other industries, to name a few."

That spirit of reinvention has become one of the city's defining strengths. While many former manufacturing cities struggled to adapt to globalization and economic shifts, Winston-Salem diversified. New industries emerged without completely severing ties to the city's industrial heritage. Today's innovation is driven by healthcare, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing, where it was once propelled by tobacco and textiles.

Geography also played a major role in the city's rise. Located in North Carolina's Piedmont region between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coast, Winston-Salem benefited from critical rail access, nearby agricultural resources, and transportation corridors that allowed local companies to distribute products nationwide. Tobacco farms, textile mills, and manufacturing plants thrived because the city connected raw materials, labor, and shipping infrastructure in ways few Southern communities could match during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Large employers such as Reynolds and Hanes cultivated multigenerational workforces, providing unusual labor stability. Families often worked for the same companies for generations, preserving institutional knowledge and reinforcing product consistency. Financial institutions such as Wachovia and BB&T reinvested heavily in the community, helping fund business expansion, infrastructure projects, and civic development that strengthened Winston-Salem's economic foundation. The city's economy was flexible and forward-thinking, recognizing the need for diversification.

No company shaped Winston-Salem more profoundly than R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Founded in 1875 by Richard Joshua Reynolds, the company arrived at precisely the right moment in American industrial history. Reynolds recognized the advantages of Winston-Salem's rail access and proximity to bright-leaf tobacco farms and launched a modest operation known as the "Little Red Factory." In its first year, the company produced approximately 150,000 pounds of tobacco. Within decades, production soared into the millions.

By the time Reynolds died in 1918, the company employed roughly 10,000 workers across more than 100 buildings, making it one of the South's industrial giants. Reynolds transformed not only the local economy but also the physical landscape. Tobacco wealth fueled growth in banking, transportation, warehousing, legal services, and construction.

The Reynolds family also became synonymous with civic philanthropy. Institutions including Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Old Salem Museums & Gardens, Reynolda Gardens, Wake Forest University's Winston-Salem campus, Winston-Salem State University initiatives, the Stevens Center, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts benefited from Reynolds family investment and generosity.

Although declining tobacco consumption reduced the company's local footprint over time, Reynolds evolved through consolidation and globalization. Reynolds American ultimately became part of British American Tobacco in 2017, linking the city to one of the world's largest tobacco enterprises.

"For well over a century, the Winston-Salem community has been foundational to who we are, and that relationship only grows stronger with time," says Senior Director of Community Engagement and Sustainability Kara Calderon of Reynolds American. "This region offers us a unique combination of advantages: a skilled, dedicated workforce with generations of institutional knowledge, a business environment that understands and supports manufacturing at scale, and a network of local suppliers, colleges, and partners who are invested in our shared success."

If Reynolds represented the city's industrial past, Inmar Intelligence symbolizes its technological future. Founded in 1980 as Carolina Coupon Clearing, the company initially specialized in processing paper coupons for retailers. During the next four decades, it transformed into a sophisticated technology and data company serving more than 20,000 corporate clients worldwide.

Today, Inmar's operations span logistics, healthcare technology, retail analytics, and pharmaceutical-supply-chain management. Approximately 91% of U.S. hospitals use some aspect of the company's technology, and Inmar processes more than $120 billion in commerce annually while handling more than 100 million prescription drug returns (disposing of unused, unneeded, or expired medications) each year.

Despite its global reach, Inmar chooses to remain headquartered in Winston-Salem's Innovation Quarter, a revitalized district built from repurposed tobacco warehouses that once powered the city's industrial economy.

"We've called Winston-Salem home for 46 years and counting," says CEO Spencer Baird. "Our decision to establish and keep our headquarters in the Innovation Quarter reflects a deep commitment to the city's evolution from an industrial powerhouse to a leading tech hub.

"By repurposing historic tobacco warehouses into a LEED Platinum facility, we have aligned our legacy with a workspace that reflects our growth as a global technology leader," Baird adds.

Pine Hall Brick tells another chapter of Winston-Salem's industrial story—one grounded not in technology or finance, but in physical materials that helped shape communities across the country. Founded in 1922 by Flake Steele Sr., the company capitalized on rich Triassic shale deposits to become one of the nation's leading brick manufacturers. After relocating its headquarters to Winston-Salem in 1924, Pine Hall Brick expanded steadily while remaining family-owned through four generations.

"For over 100 years, Pine Hall Brick has been part of the fabric of Winston-Salem," shares CEO Walt Steele. "We started as a small local company delivering brick packed in hay to local jobsites and have grown into one of the largest brick manufacturers in the country."

Winston-Salem also became home to consumer brands recognized around the world. HanesBrands traces its origins to 1901, when John Wesley Hanes founded Shamrock Knitting Mills. Throughout the decades, the company evolved into one of America's most recognizable apparel businesses, producing affordable clothing staples that became fixtures in households nationwide.

Its portfolio eventually expanded to include brands such as Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Maidenform, L'eggs, and Wonderbra. Though the company shifted from domestic textile manufacturing toward a global operating model spanning dozens of countries, Winston-Salem remains central to its identity. In 2025, HanesBrands agreed to be acquired by Gildan Activewear in a deal valued at approximately $2.2 billion, marking another major evolution in our area's long textile history.

Entrepreneurship also flourished in less traditional industries. In 1994, businessman Billy Prim encountered a propane tank exchange business while traveling overseas and saw an opportunity to bring the concept to the United States. During another trip, an African safari inspired the company's unforgettable branding. Prim observed that a rhinoceros resembled a propane tank, and because propane burns with a blue flame, Blue Rhino was born.

The company tapped into America's growing appetite for convenience and backyard grilling culture. By partnering with major retailers, grocery stores, convenience stores, and home improvement chains, Blue Rhino, now a brand of Ferrellgas, became the nation's largest propane tank exchange company, operating approximately 65,000 locations nationwide.

Food manufacturing became another pillar of Winston-Salem's economy and cultural identity. Garner Foods, founded in 1929 by Thad Garner, began as a small barbecue stand called the Dixie Pig. What started as a homemade pepper sauce evolved into Texas Pete hot sauce, now distributed nationally and recognized as one of America's most enduring condiment brands. Four generations later, the family-owned company continues operating from Winston-Salem, with Matt McCollum and Heyward Garner at the helm.

"This organization holds a special place in the hearts of our customers, employees, and the wider community," McCollum said when he was made president and CEO in January 2025.

Dewey's Bakery emerged during the Great Depression in 1930 and transformed regional Moravian culinary traditions into nationally distributed products. Famous for paper-thin Moravian cookies and Moravian sugar cake, Dewey's helped preserve the city's cultural heritage while building a successful modern food brand. "Winston-Salem has an extraordinary legacy of innovation, alongside a great respect for tradition; this balance defines Dewey's as well, which shows just how much this city has shaped who we are as a company," owner Scott Livengood says.

"We're very proud of our heritage. Moravian baked goods are such an important part of our city's story, and we're honored to have the responsibility to carry it forward as we grow," Livengood says.

Winston-Salem got even sweeter with the founding of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in 1937. Founder Vernon Rudolph initially sold doughnuts to grocery stores, but the irresistible aroma drifting onto city streets changed the business model. Passersby began requesting fresh doughnuts directly from the bakery, leading Rudolph to cut a hole in the wall for retail sales. That spontaneous interaction eventually grew into one of the world's most recognizable doughnut chains, operating in more than 40 countries.

Although Krispy Kreme relocated its main headquarters to Charlotte in 2017, Winston-Salem remains home to the company's historic headquarters and operations center, preserving an important link to the brand's origins.

Winston-Salem's evolution from manufacturing powerhouse to financial and service economy is reflected in the history of National General Insurance. The company traces its roots to Integon Corporation, founded in 1920 as a life insurer before expanding into automobile insurance. Through acquisitions, restructurings, and industry changes, the business evolved into GMAC Insurance and later National General Insurance before becoming part of Allstate in 2021. Despite those transitions, Winston-Salem remained a major operational hub throughout the company's evolution.

Banking also became one of Winston-Salem's defining industries. Wachovia began in 1866 as the First National Bank of Salem, founded by Israel Lash. Under William A. Lemly, the institution moved to Winston and adopted the Wachovia name, honoring the region's Moravian heritage. Through mergers and expansion, Wachovia grew into one of the South's most influential banking institutions before the 2008 financial crisis ultimately led to its acquisition by Wells Fargo.

Winston-Salem native Archie Davis, who was influential throughout the state along with being a Wachovia Bank senior vice president and chairman, was long-ago quoted as saying: "We have an enviable past and an enviable character. I'm far from pessimistic, particularly if people handle the future as they have the past. We have great momentum." Decades later, how true this continues to be.

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Together, these companies shaped far more than the city's economy. They influenced Winston-Salem's architecture, philanthropy, educational institutions, workforce culture, and civic identity. Some industries declined. Some companies merged, relocated, or reinvented themselves. Others evolved from manufacturing firms into technology or service enterprises. Even so, the core traits that built Winston-Salem endure.

Innovation. Discipline. Craftsmanship. Entrepreneurial ambition. A willingness to adapt. These qualities helped transform a Moravian settlement and a commercial railroad town into one of the nation's most quietly influential business communities—a city whose legacy was not inherited but built deliberately through the generations.