Economic Development in South Carolina

[krazeeboi]

Isn't Indian Land located near Waxhaw?

Yeah, not too far. It's right on 521 as you cross the border into SC from Ballantyne. The address for a lot of places along that stretch is actually Fort Mill though, which is just to the west.

[gs3]

Two announcements for ICAR in one month....first Proterra and now Sage.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100224/BUSINESS/2240348/Auto-fabric-company-brings-entpreneurial-flavor-to-ICAR

[gs3]

It's great to have it official! I can't wait to see construction begin! Welcome to South Carolina, Proterra!

Looks like Proterra is having spinoff already. Upstate based Kemet will be adding 110 jobs this year to make DC bus capacitors for electric drive vehicles:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kemet-and-united-states-department-of-energy-sign-contract-for-151-million-government-grant-85971227.html

[GvilleSC]

Looks like Proterra is having spinoff already. Upstate based Kemet will be adding 110 jobs this year to make DC bus capacitors for electric drive vehicles:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kemet-and-united-states-department-of-energy-sign-contract-for-151-million-government-grant-85971227.html

great news!

[krazeeboi]

Speaking of spinoff, looks like Boeing is starting to have that effect too, and in a part of the state that really needs it. ACAS Landing Gear Services, a full-service repair and overhaul company with extensive capabilities to service a variety of aircraft, will open new operations in Marion County. The $5 million investment is expected to generate 300 new jobs over the next five years. ACAS’s new facility, located in the former Sara Lee building in Marion, will focus on re-manufacturing landing gear and landing gear components. ACAS currently services the Boeing 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777. The company also provides aircraft capabilities for Airbus and an array of military and commercial aircraft.

[krazeeboi]

The IMO Group, a German company that makes rings used in wind turbines, construction machinery, and ship building, will be opening its first American plant at an industrial park in Dorchester County. The plant will eventually employ 190 workers and represents a $47 million investment.

[Spartan]

That's good news, IMO.

[Spartan]

Here's an interesting situation. In Jasper County, a developer is looking to build a 1.5 million sq ft million mall call Okatie (pronounced oak-ah-tee) Crossings that will supposedly cost $400 million. No word on the design of the mall (traditional versus open air).

The developer is seeking a $100 million tax credit from the state, and the other supporters of this mall are using the argument of job creation and spin off jobs in Jasper County as justification.

This goes back to the argument I (and others) have made about tax incentives for retail development- it should not happen. South Carolina should not give tax breaks to developers or companies "just because" the create jobs. We should only provide incentives to companies that create non-service sector jobs, especially manufacturing and corporate type jobs.

My point is not that we shouldn't encourage the development of jobs like these. There is a good chance that a mall-like thing will happen at this site anyway. The "upscale" market they are targeting is not living in Jasper County, so this will not be intended for locals anyway. The service-sector jobs will likely be created no matter what, so IMO the people of South Carolina should not have to lose tax revenue because of it.

To that end, if they really wanted to be creative with tax incentives- make them pay taxes but give $100 million to Jasper County schools.

The State

[krazeeboi]

I agree. Tax incentives for a mall is just plain silly and stupid.

[krazeeboi]

Moulton Logistics Management will locate its new distribution and logistics facility in Berkeley County. The $25 million investment is expected to generate 500 new jobs in the next five years.

MTU Detroit Diesel Inc. will be opening a new manufacturing facility in Aiken County where it will begin building Series 2000 and Series 4000 engines by the end of the year. MTU is a subsidiary of the Germany-based Tognum Group, a global leader in diesel propulsion and power systems. The Tognum Group has committed to a $45 million investment in the new facility that is expected to bring 250 jobs to the Aiken area over the next four years. MTU will take over the former SKF USA plant in the Sage Mill Industrial Park in Graniteville. The 270,000-square-foot facility will allow for future expansion as market demand increases over the coming years.

[vicupstate]

Retailers bypass Columbia over geography

Excellent MUST read. It explains why major retailers locate in the cities (Greenville, Charleston and Columbia) they do and why.

The tourist angle is obvious, bu the geography issue is less obvious. Well worth the time to read.

[CorgiMatt]

Caterpillar in Newberry is adding 500 jobs.

[CorgiMatt]

The SC Employment Security Commission revised January's unemployment rate down a notch or two, and February's rate held steady compared to January's revised figure. Maybe they'll revise February's down and it'll show a slight decrease. There are some positive signs in February's numbers according to an economist. I didn't realize Anderson and Spartanburg's counties' numbers were quite so high. And Union county's hurts the Spartanburg MSA's rate even more. I just saw a report on CNBC about how bleak the future is for displaced manufacturing workers who have been unemployed six months or more. The guy in the report said this nation can forget 4 and 5% unemployment because that's not going to happen again. Some major county-by-county workforce training efforts are needed in all SC counties, but especially in those hit hardest by the loss of manufacturing jobs.

http://www.sces.org/lmi/news/February_2010.pdf

[krazeeboi]

Manufacturing was already in decline way before this recession hit, and now the problem is just exacerbated. We'll see what the state does to help out the smaller counties that are really being hit hard, shy of throwing a ton of incentives at companies providing $9/hr call center jobs or low-wage retail jobs.

[breed]

I didn't realize Anderson and Spartanburg's counties' numbers were quite so high. And Union county's hurts the Spartanburg MSA's rate even more.

Not trying to be annoying, just wanted to make a correction. Union County isn't in the Spartanburg MSA. Because of the way the report is laid out, it looks like it is, when it really isn't. Spartanburg's MSA consists of Spartanburg County and nothing.

[CorgiMatt]

I Googled it. You are correct. Good for Spartanburg.

[breed]

I Googled it. You are correct. Good for Spartanburg.

The tricky thing is that they change. And then once they change, every organization has to change the way they publish statistics. The Burueau of Labor Statistics only recently (within the past two years) finished making all of the historical changes so that it is possible to pull MSA employment data correctly.

[krazeeboi]

The Big Three landed in the top 20 out of the nation's 100 largest metro areas in a 2010 "best places for small businesses" study by Portfolio.com/Bizjournals. Charleston came in at 4th (up from 18th in 2009), Columbia 12th (up from 59th), and Greenville 16th (up from 28th).

[krazeeboi]

Forbes has come out with its yearly "Best Places for Business and Careers" list, which is one of the few lists by Forbes that I put stock in. The Big Three ranked pretty close together in the latest ranking; Greenville comes in at 55th, Columbia 59th, and Charleston 63rd. But to put it in perspective, almost all of NC's sizable MSAs ranked ahead of SC's: Raleigh ranked 3rd, Charlotte 17th, Asheville 21st, Durham 23rd, Wilmington 32nd, and Winston-Salem 51st.

[krazeeboi]

More spin-off from Boeing:

ACAS Landing Gear Services recently announced its intention invest $5 million to establish a new facility in Marion County that will create up to 300 jobs in the area. ACAS’s new facility, located in the former Sara Lee building in Marion, will focus on re-manufacturing landing gear and landing gear components. ACAS currently services the Boeing 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777. The company also provides aircraft capabilities for Airbus and an array of military and commercial aircraft.

Boeing Co. plans to hire 150 additional workers to make interior fixtures for the 787 jets that will be assembled in North Charleston. The new venture will be located within 20 minutes of the company's existing manufacturing campus at Charleston International Airport. The expansion is part of the company's plan to replicate all of its critical manufacturing operations for the new jetliner in South Carolina.

[GvilleSC]

Alexium Inc. is bringing 200 jobs to Greenville County! The company will locate in Greer, investing $8 million in a new technical fabric manufacturing and research and development plant. The first phase of hires will be chemical engineers, materials engineers, scientists and similar positions. The second phase will hire folks with experience in the textile industry!

Greenville New Article

[gs3]

Alexium Inc. is bringing 200 jobs to Greenville County! The company will locate in Greer, investing $8 million in a new technical fabric manufacturing and research and development plant. The first phase of hires will be chemical engineers, materials engineers, scientists and similar positions. The second phase will hire folks with experience in the textile industry!

Greenville New Article

Good news, not only about the jobs, but the fact this is an international company, and this facility will involve advanced materials research. Here is the website for the company.

[krazeeboi]

Nutramax Laboratories Inc. and Nutramax Manufacturing Inc. will locate new expanded operations in Lancaster County. The nutraceutical developer for veterinary and consumer markets will invest approximately $12.5 million in acquiring, updating and expanding existing facilities, with plans to create at least 203 new jobs over the next five years. The company expects to begin operations as soon as this fall and hopes to start hiring within the next 90 days.

[GvilleSC]

A paper company plans to hire 1,000 people in Anderson County, investing $1 billion. That's great news for Anderson!

EDIT: Link

Edited May 13, 2010 by GvilleSC

[vicupstate]

A paper company plans to hire 1,000 people in Anderson County, investing $1 billion. That's great news for Anderson!

EDIT: Link

Wow. That's big. Big tax receipts off of $1B too. Of course, they will be tax breaks too, but still. I wonder if SW announcement finalized this?