Economic developments in the Midlands

[Spartan]

Here is an interesting article about Columbia's retail growth... its slow, but steady.

[CorgiMatt]

Colite, a sign-making company, is moving from Lexington County to Richland County for a space twice as large. They have 120 employees.

http://www.thestate.com/breakingbiz/story/480132.html

Edited August 4, 2008 by CorgiMatt

[waccamatt]

Colite may have been purchased by the current owners in 1992, but it has been around a lot longer than that. It's always nice to see locally-owned businesses expanding.

[Captain Worley]

Sure is, and they could definitely use more space and more modern facilities.

I was actually thinking they'd move into that closed sign making shop (can't remember the name) on American Way off Pineview Road.

[Captain Worley]

Colite may have been purchased by the current owners in 1992, but it has been around a lot longer than that.

The real article in the paper was much more detailed about the history of the company/

Edited August 6, 2008 by Captain Worley

[Spartan]

Columbia is not the government town that it used to be. The state government employment in the area has actually decreased 14% over the past 18 years which means that most of Cola's job growth has been from the private sector.

Article

[krazeeboi]

Those are some good numbers. Interesting that while state government jobs have decreased, local and federal government jobs have increased some. The city should hopefully see more private investment over the next few years.

[CorgiMatt]

The Target distribution center in Lugoff is about to go from big to massive, WIS News is reporting. Company officials aren't saying how many jobs they will be adding, but they are touting the Midlands as a great place to be doing business and are going to make the Lugoff center the largest Target distribution center in the nation.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8980161

[waccamatt]

Great news, Corgi, Target is a good company.

[Captain Worley]

That DC is huge already. I went in there right before they opened up and was just amazed by it.

[Spartan]

The Capitol Center has been sold for $47 million to Parkway Properties of Jackson, Mississippi.

The building is a 460,000-square-foot property that was 97.5% occupied as of Sept. 1.

Article

[krazeeboi]

I can never get over how poorly designed the base of that tower is. I realize it's a product of its era, but still.

[Captain Worley]

Yeah, it looks like an upside down Pez dispenser in that photo. I never noticed how the base looked until krazee pointed it out.

[CorgiMatt]

A Houston-based company has picked Columbia over sites in California, Connecticut and North Carolina for a fuel cell plant. They might relocate their headquarters here.

http://www.thestate.com/business/story/526668.html

[krazeeboi]

It's good to see a sustained effort on the part of local leaders and organizations to continue to lure these companies to Columbia. Looks like the city is in this thing for the long haul. I'm also glad to see Midlands Tech landing some of these companies with their business incubator.

[Spartan]

Wow, kudos to Columbia for attracting its first fuel cell production operation. I hope its the first of many to come here.

[krazeeboi]

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released its annual report that measures annual gross domestic product growth for the nation

[Spartan]

Wow, its great to see some positive news after today. Good for Columbia

[CorgiMatt]

An aviation maintenance facility is bringing 105 jobs to Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

http://www.thestate.com/breakingbiz/story/553643.html

[waccamatt]

An aviation maintenance facility is bringing 105 jobs to Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

http://www.thestate.com/breakingbiz/story/553643.html

Those are bound to be high paying jobs and good news for the area.

[Spartan]

It seems like Columbia has landed several of these types of companies recently. (no pun in tended)

[CorgiMatt]

Here's a more in-depth article about it. They mention not only high-paying jobs for the Columbia area, but also the fact that recently about 300 jobs have been announced in the Midlands when you include Sumter and Newberry counties.

http://www.thestate.com/business/story/554241.html

[Captain Worley]

Do any of the tech schools teach aircraft maintenance and help with the proper certifications? Seems like there'd be a good market for that type of training.

[CorgiMatt]

Columbia continues to make its mark as an insurance center. Companion has just acquired a large Mississippi insurance company.

http://www.thestate.com/breakingbiz/story/555684.html

[Spartan]

This sentence says it all. Columbia is fortunate to have this company. It looks like it will have a very bright future.

"Collexis was recognized as one of five rising stars in the scientific, technical and medical information (STM) market based on its impact on traditional business practices through its ground-breaking technology."

Source