Earmark could help company work with Cherry Point

BURLINGTON - A Burlington company is crossing its fingers that a $2.35-million earmark submitted by U.S. Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) will be passed by Congress later this year.

The money would go to SourceHorizon Inc., to fund a reverse-engineering and maintenance center for Cherry Point that would design parts for military aircraft at the base's Vertical Lift Center of Excellence.

The center would be in Trenton, which is in Jones County, where Defense Holdings Inc. is located. That company would also receive money under the earmark.

The earmark needs to be approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee, said Heather Parsons, a representative with Miller's office. Those decisions will begin in May, but the bulk of them are usually made between July and November, she said.

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who represents part of Jones County, made a similar earmark request.

Brian H. Self, vice president and COO of SourceHorizon, said the company pitched the idea to Miller to boost the local and state economy. He and CEO Perry Gathings formed the company in 2002 to connect buyers and manufacturers of parts for the aerospace military, engineering/design and numerous other industries.

The federal funding would allow the military to identify parts in aircraft and weapons that are no longer made by original manufacturers. Those parts would be sent to Trenton to be reverse-engineered and the data to build the parts could be transferred to any of hundreds of state manufacturers through SourceHorizon.

The operation has the potential to create jobs all over North Carolina, as manufacturers see more business.

"That small-to-medium-sized shop in North Carolina would be the only manufacturers of that part in the world," Self said. "If this is fully funded, it would create five to eight new jobs just for us. Overall, every $150,000 in sales secures or creates a new position, so this could be significant to all areas of the state."