Bob Barker Company opens new corporate headquarters in Fuquay

     The Bob Barker Company (BBC) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, August 3, to celebrate the opening of its new corporate headquarters at 134 N. Main Street in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. BBC is the industry’s largest supplier to corrections facilities with textile manufacturing plants in North Carolina, Idaho and Florida and metal manufacturing plants and distribution centers in Fuquay-Varina and California.
     Calling the 30,000 square-foot building a “dream come true,” Barker, who is CEO and chairman of the board, said BBC began its operation in the back of a barbershop in 1972 and has grown to international status with strong representation in the Far East, Bangladesh and Mexico. “This is really a joyous occasion for us,” said Barker, whose company employs 265 people locally. “It not only commemorates the new generation of our family that is taking over our company, but it also supports the revitalization of downtown Fuquay-Varina.”
     Barker, who is a founding member of the Downtown Main Street Revitalization program, has always been heavily invested in the community. The new corporate headquarters represents a $4 million investment, the single largest contribution made to Fuquay-Varina’s Main Street Revitalization program.
      “I’ve always thought that putting something back into the community is the right thing to do,” Barker said. “If you can make it a better place to live then you’re not only improving the quality of life for your neighbors but you’re helping to attract the best and brightest employees.”
      A Campbell University graduate, Barker has served on numerous commissions, including the Fuquay-Varina Economic Development Council and the Industrial Managers Association of which he was a founding member. He has been mayor of Fuquay-Varina and Apex, N.C., and served as a North Carolina state senator from 1972-1974. He is a current member of the Campbell University Board of Trustees.
     BBC was selected by the Department of Defense to supply uniforms to the U.S.-managed prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and has supplied footwear, clothing and suicide prevention products to the U.S.-managed Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
     Barker’s son BBC President Robert Barker, Jr., said the decision to renovate the already existing building into new corporate headquarters was made strictly for the employees. “We wanted to provide an environment that was more productive to their activities,” he said. “We’ve given them more amenities such as plenty of windows, all new furniture and a spacious new break room with Plasma TV.”
     The building also contains five conference rooms and a strategic planning room, the Kitty Hawk Room, furnished in colorful leather couches and dry-erase wallboards for brainstorming and problem-solving.
     The Bob Barker Company manufactures and sells approximately 4,000 products to correction facilities.

 
Photo Copy: The Bob Barker Company held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new corporate headquarters at 134 N. Main Street in Fuquay-Varina Wednesday, August 3. Pictured from right are, Fuquay-Varina Mayor John Byrne, Nancy Barker Johns, Bob Barker, Patricia Barker, Robert Barker, Jr., and Andrew Tate, executive director of the Fuquay-Varina Area Chamber of Commerce.

Bulletin 0105-4/26/05