Business Facilities - February 2008 - (Page A-12)

Western South Carolina offers yet another opportunity for auto-related companies. Aiken, situated on Interstate 20 between Columbia and Atlanta, GA, is home to the Bridgestone-Firestone light truck and automobile tire plant. Known as a region with a skilled workforce, Aiken is home to the Center for Hydrogen Research and the Savannah River National Laboratory. South Carolina is also home to 300 plastics companies; produces 20% of the nation’s capacitors; has over 100 companies that cast, forge, and extrude aluminum; and has 50 metal stamping and forging companies and 35 steel production facilities and foundries. The South Carolina Power Team, comprised of Santee Cooper and the state’s 20 electric cooperatives, provides a number of incentives, special electric rates, and grants that reduce the cost of locating or expanding manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the state. South Carolina’s industrial electric power costs 24% less than the national average. The Power Team has a full listing of certified sites, industrial parks, and buildings on its Web site, www.scpowerteam.com, including the following: • Black River shell building 4 in Sumter, SC, 104,600 square feet; • Marlboro shell building near Bennettsville in Northeast South Carolina, 56,000 square feet; • North American Container building on Interstate 95 next to Honda in Florence, 73,000 square feet; • Plastic Omnium building in Spartanburg County near BMW, 80,000 square feet; • UAV Warehouse in York County on Interstate 77 near Charlotte, 313,800 square feet; and • Woodfield shell building near Interstate 85 in Greenville County, 31,620 square feet. For more information on these buildings or how to locate your comA-12 pany in South Carolina, call Rusty Reed, vice president of Business Development for the South Carolina Power Team at 803-254-9211 or email at rreed@scpowerteam.com. Laurens County Has What Auto Companies Need Laurens County, SC is located midway between the metropolitan areas of Greenville-Spartanburg and the state capital of Columbia. It is bisected by two Interstate highway systems (Interstate 385 and Interstate 26), which make the county easily accessible to Interstate 85 and the Port of Charleston. BMW is located in Spartanburg County, which adjoins Laurens County. Clemson University’s new International Center for Automotive Research is located in Greenville County, which also adjoins Laurens County. Both of these facilities are easily accessible by interstate highways. Laurens County offers a readily available and highly skilled workforce for automotive companies. Automotive suppliers currently provide employment for 30% of the workforce in the county. The current unemployment rate is 7.3%, slightly above the state average of 5.9%. In addition, the availability of labor improved for prospective auto companies when Timken, which produces bearings for the auto industry, phased out its Clinton, SC plant in 2007. This resulted in an additional 1,000 available workers. With four major industrial parks, Laurens County also offers quality infrastructure with room to expand. Woodfield Industrial Park and Owings Industrial Park are located along Interstate 385 near the Greenville/Laurens County line. Woodfield Industrial Park has about 130 acres remaining, and Owings Industrial Park has 316 acres. Owings Park has rail service provided by RailAmerica, which has 41 short line and regional railroads. Hunter Industrial Park is located on Interstate 385 and U.S. Highway 221 and has almost 400 acres available, much of it rail-served by CSX, an international transportation company offering a variety of rail, container-shipping, intermodal, trucking, and contract logistics. Clinton Park Corporate Center is just over one mile from Interstate 26 and has 200 acres available. This site is rail-served by CSX. Hunter Industrial Park and Owings Industrial Park are certified by the South Car- The 1,387-acre Fleming Smith site in Laurens County, SC can be subdivided or remain intact. A S P E C I A L A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N O F B U S I N E S S FA C I L I T I E S A N D WA R D ’ S A U T O W O R L D IMAGE CREDIT: LAURENS COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

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Business Facilites - February 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Texas Capturing the Creative Class Green with Energy Automotive Opportunities in a Green Economy Corporate Moves: Wyoming Metro Spotlight: Overland Park, KS Metro Spotlight: Long Island, NY Get Ahead in Alabama Indiana: Sending Tech Messages How to Successfully Negotiate a Lease in Today's Real Estate Environment Legislation Spurring Innovation in Kentucky New Center will Propel Ontario's Automotive Future Virginia's Vital Signs Eating Well in the North of France Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - February 2008

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