Economic developments in the Midlands

[CorgiMatt]

A California-based solar manufacturing company has chosen Columbia for a $300 million plant, citing the city's strategic location and the alternative energy research of the state's universities as factors in their site selection. State and local incentives also came into play to lure them here. The company hopes to create 1,000 high-paying jobs by 2014. This investment should help boost Columbia and South Carolina's reputation as an alternative energy research, production and distribution hub.

http://www.thestate.com/2011/01/05/1633125/exclusive-300-million-investment.html

[krazeeboi]

Another large economic development for the Midlands! Good job.

[Spartan]

Great news! Hopefully this will help Innovista too...

[krazeeboi]

DHL in Lexington County plans to hire 140 people for its shipping facility, which will be an addition to the almost 400 workers hired last year when it opened. The latest hiring wave would bring the number of workers at the facility to more than 500. When first announced in late 2009, officials said then it would hire around 200 initially.

There's been a nice steady stream of job announcements for the Columbia area lately. Hope the trend continues throughout the year.

[gamecoxfan1]

More great news! They keep poring in! Hopefully this will impact the future of retail/ restaurants downtown and all over the city in a positive way.

[CorgiMatt]

The new Verizon Wireless call center is adding 500 jobs. That will bring their employment up to about 2,000. The jobs will start at $27,000. It's in The State this morning.

[krazeeboi]

Aflac officials announced they will ramp up hiring in Columbia as the insurance company opens its new office today at 400 Laurel St. The company plans to double its workforce in Columbia to 300 workers by the end of the year, company president and chief of operations Paul S. Amos II said in a statement. The company will add more than 140 jobs, ranging from entry level to management positions. The company initially had projected it would hire 50 to 75 new workers in the area.

Although it's probably a long shot, since Columbia has a sizable insurance sector and Aflac appears to be doing better than expected in the city, it would be something if the company decided to relocate its headquarters to Columbia from Columbus.

[krazeeboi]

Columbia-based international engineering firm Wilbur Smith Associates has been acquired by wastewater and environmental remediation company CDM of Cambridge, Mass. The two companies have been in discussions since June, and this acquisition expands both firms’ global capabilities in water, environment, transportation, energy and facilities. Wilbur Smith spokeswoman Danielle Gadow said the company will retain its name and become a wholly owned subsidiary of CDM. Employees also will not be affected by the sale, she said.

[krazeeboi]

So Amazon.com wants a tax break would exempt from state sales taxes merchandise passing through the proposed distribution center in Lexington County that Amazon sells outside South Carolina for five years (goods sold to South Carolinians would be taxed). Amazon executives warned refusing the tax break is a deal-breaker for the project, projected to employ 1,249 full time by 2013 and provide up to 2,500 part-time jobs, some legislators and Lexington County officials said. State Commerce Department officials promised to seek the tax break as part of a deal, brokered in December under then-Gov. Mark Sanford, that led Amazon to announce it would open the center. But while they agreed to seek the tax break, Commerce officials did not promise the incentive.

The tax break would be on top of other state and local incentives — most of them common for companies bringing in large numbers of jobs — already promised or given Amazon. Those incentives include:

• Repeal of Lexington County’s local restrictions on Sunday sales, a move made to facilitate Amazon’s planned round-the-clock operation

• A site valued at $4 million that was given to the company for free

• Lower property taxes on the site. The center will be assessed for tax purposes at 6 percent of its value for 20 years, instead of the usual 10.5 percent.

• State tax credits of up to $3,250 a year for 10 years for each job created. Amazon has said its pay in Lexington County would start at $15 an hour.

[GvilleSC]

That's a lot of potential jobs at risk.

Personally, I don't want to pay sales tax on something that my tax dollars are already going to subsidize, while all others are exempt.

[krazeeboi]

Haley has come out and stated that she does not support the tax break that Amazon is looking for, but if lawmakers approve the incentive, she will not veto it.

[krazeeboi]

The House has rejected the sales tax exemption for Amazon. Oh well. I guess Columbia needs to land a huge plant that will employ a bunch of non-SC'ers with the skills to do the job so the Legislature can throw about $1 billion in incentives at it. SMH...

In other news, Interstate Container will invest more than $13 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in Lexington County and aims to add 60 new jobs. The new facility will be a containerboard manufacturing plant to produce specialty boxes used in shipping food products. The containers are considered green packaging and are much easier to recycle than traditional boxes, the company said. The company expects to have the facility in operation in September.

[krazeeboi]

TD Bank is planning on closing its call center in Lexington and consolidating those operations at its other existing call centers. It will result in the loss of about 60 jobs. However, this move does not affect the mortgage operations center in Lexington, which announced it was adding 50 employees last year.

And in a bit of good news, Michelin is expected to announce Monday that it will add up to 125 new jobs at its Lexington plant.

[krazeeboi]

Correction: the Michelin expansion will result in 270 new jobs.

[krazeeboi]

Calhoun County Council passed a resolution Monday in favor of a sales tax exemption for Amazon. The resolution urges SC representatives to re-address and pass an exemption so that the thousands of jobs Amazon promises will stay in the Midlands, according to the resolution's sponsor Councilman John Nelson.

I doubt that this will change anything, especially given the advantages of the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park (including it being a certified site) that a comparable site in Calhoun County (most likely Calhoun County I-26 Industrial Park, which is where the Starbucks plant is) probably lacks--not to mention SC leaving a bad taste in Amazon's mouth after the whole ordeal.

[krazeeboi]

In a stunning reversal, the state House overwhelmingly approved a five-year sales-tax exemption today for Amazon to build a distribution center in Cayce. The measure passed 97-20 three weeks after the House rejected it by a vote of 71-47.

House Republican leader Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington, said on the House floor that Amazon would invest at least $125 million and create 2,000 jobs in South Carolina. The Senate must approve the incentive. Gov. Nikki Haley of Lexington said today she has not changed her opinion on the exemption, which she opposes but declines to veto if it comes to her desk.

[krazeeboi]

The Midlands is getting its second fuel cell firm. Roswell, Ga.,-based LOGANEnergy is opening a Carolina branch at Midlands Technical College’s Enterprise Campus in Northeast Richland, according to a release from the USC-Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative. The company, which produces and deploys backup fuel cell power systems in the United States and Great Britain, will create up to 25 jobs, the release said.

[growingup15]

Not really Development but..........

S.C. Bank & Trust officially took control today of BankMeridian and its three offices in South Carolina, which were closed Friday by federal regulators.

Founded in 2006, BankMeridian is the first Columbia-based bank to wind up on the list of failed banks since the Great Recession ended.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed the bank at 5 p.m. Friday. SCBT was interested in acquiring BankMeridian so it could “get additional customers and additional market share,” John Windley, SCBT president and chief banking officer, said today.

Edited August 2, 2011 by growingup15

[krazeeboi]

German tire maker Continental made it official today, saying it will build a $500 million plant near Sumter with up to 1,700 new jobs. Included in those jobs is a $4 million investment to expand the company’s U.S. headquarters in Lancaster County by 80 jobs.

Pure Power Technologies is doubling the size of its research and development facility in Northeast Richland and Sensor Electronic Technology Inc., which makes light-emitting diodes, commonly known as LEDs, in southeast Columbia is also expanding. Each plans an investment of $25 million, requiring up to 150 new employees at each plant. These are two high-tech manufacturers that will be providing a total of 300 high-wage jobs in Richland County.

Combined with the 100 jobs coming to Orangeburg County and the Bridgestone expansion in Aiken County, the Midlands has been landing some significant economic developments in the last couple of weeks. Not sure if the newly-formed Midstate Chambers Coalition played a role in any of these developments, but if not, this is great momentum for them to build on.

[krazeeboi]

Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. is coming to the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park in Cayce (where Amazon has its distribution center) which will result in 300 jobs for the area.

[CorgiMatt]

Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. is coming to the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park in Cayce (where Amazon has its distribution center) which will result in 300 jobs for the area.

Now they're saying 700 jobs. This warrants an entry in the "Economic Development in S.C." thread.

[krazeeboi]

^Go ahead and post the news there.

[jmmiller]

Amazon growing, spurring additional development

• Amazon adding a second center adjoining the one just opened & putting one in the Upstate and another elsewhere.

  
  

• pharmaceutical maker plans to open a facility near Amazon soon; several other prospects are interested.
  
• Interest is taking root in redevelopment of empty stores in Cayce and West Columbia
  
• commercial growth will blossom along the 12th Street corridor that ends in the industrial park where Amazon’s center is located.
  

http://www.thestate....-model-for.html

Edited November 20, 2011 by jmmiller

[CorgiMatt]

I saw an eye-catching quote today from the CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals. He's quoted in the hard copy of Columbia Regional Business Report as saying he's excited to be back in Columbia and to have an opportunity to bring business here, and that he hopes it doesn't stop at 707 jobs, but that it ends up being thousands and thousands of jobs. CRBR doesn't put all of their articles online, that one included, so I can't link to it.

[CorgiMatt]

A pet food manufacturer is adding nearly 300 jobs in Columbia, tripling their payroll and creating a regional distribution center.

http://www.thestate....ion-to-add.html

Edited December 15, 2011 by CorgiMatt