Industry in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem is the location of several corporate headquarters, including the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco corporation, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), TW Garner Food Company (makers of Texas Pete), HanesBrands, Inc., and Lowes Foods Stores, Inc.. Winston-Salem is traditionally associated with the textile, furniture, and tobacco industries, but the city is now attracting new businesses in the nanotech, high-tech and bio-tech fields. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is the largest employer in Winston-Salem. Blue Rhino, the nation's largest propane exchange company and a division of Ferrellgas, is also headquartered in Winston-Salem.

In December 2004, the city landed a deal with Dell, Inc. to build a computer assembly plant nearby in southeastern Forsyth County, near the junction of Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 311. Construction of the plant was completed during the summer of 2005, and the plant celebrated its official opening on October 5, 2005 with 350 employees. Economic studies have projected that, by 2010, the region will gain 1,500 Dell jobs and potentially as many as 6,000 indirect jobs.