Business Facilities - March 2008 - (Page 60)

CORPORATE MOVES South Carolina By Bill Trüb DuPont Dips $500 Million into Cooper River n December, DuPont announced its only do they provide excellent jobs for Cooper River plant, located 30 our citizens, they are also stellar corpomiles north of Charleston, SC, will rate citizens. This is definitely a winreceive a $500 million investment to win announcement for us all.” drastically expand production of highThe new facility will allow DuPont ® performance Kevlar para-aramid fiber to further refine Kevlar to improve its for industrial and military uses. The ballistic performance, providing multiyear, multiphase expansion will lighter-weight protective apparel for increase the global production capacity law enforcement and military personfor Kevlar by more than 25%, making nel. Among various other enhanceit the single largest investment in the ments, it will also produce gloves with fiber since it was introduced in 1965. higher dexterity to allow more freeDuPont Vice President Thomas G. Powell at Construction to expand the exist- the Cooper River expansion announcement dom of movement while still protecting facility began in January and ing hands from cuts. required 400 contractor jobs at the project’s peak. “The new plant at Cooper River, together with our Scheduled for start-up in 2010, the plant will bring other global assets, will help DuPont meet strong and 100 permanent jobs to the Cooper River factory, which growing global demand for Kevlar,” says Thomas G. opened in 1973. The plant currently has 60 employees Powell, vice president and general manager of DuPont and primarily produces Hytrel® thermoplastic polyester Advanced Fiber Systems. Between 2000 and 2006, elastomer for the automotive industry. DuPont successfully completed four Kevlar fiber “I can’t say enough about what [DuPont] brings to our expansion projects at its Richmond, VA and Maydown, entire region,” says Dan Davis, supervisor of Berkeley Northern Ireland facilities. DuPont also operates manCounty, where the Cooper River plant is located. “Not ufacturing plants in Japan and Spain. I Creates 1,000 New Jobs in Newberry I 60 MARCH 2008 PHOTO CREDIT: SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE n December, Kraft Foods announced that it will expand its Louis Rich plant’s manufacturing space in Newberry, SC by 75,000 square feet. The growth will also create 1,000 new jobs. Kraft currently has about 1,700 employees at its Newberry facility, up from 1,260 at the start of 2007. The anticipated job surge will support the increased volume of new products. The Louis Rich plant currently produces Oscar Mayer sliced luncheon meats, turkey bacon, deli- shaved meats, chicken breast strips and cuts, and ground turkey. These goods are distributed throughout the country or shipped for further processing to other Kraft plants. Lyle Olson, Kraft plant manager, says the expansion project “demonstrates the company’s confidence in our team of employees and in the Newberry community as a place for our business to grow and thrive.” Kraft has worked with the Newberry Adult Education Center and the Employment Security Commis- sion on a work certification course for its employees. The Newberry plant is well-regarded within the company for transferring talented employees to other Kraft sites for advancement opportunities. “This investment will have a tremendous impact on the local economy, bringing immediate employment opportunities and further solidifying the company’s commitment to Newberry County,” says Joe Taylor, South Carolina Secretary of Commerce.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - March 2008

Business Facilities - March 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots California Seeks Immigration Reform To Spur Economic Growth Outside the Biotechnology Clusters Global Biotech Competition Heats Up Location Is Key To Your Bottom Line New Incentives For New Hampshire Metro Spotlight: Jersey City, NJ Europe's Center For Goods, Real and Virtual Access Your Markets From Pennsylvania Corporate Moves: Illinois Louisiana Upgrades Important Port Road Projects To Accelerate Michigan's Economy Corporate Moves: South Carolina Metro Spotlight: Salt Lake City, UT Advertiser Index Inside LiveXchange

Business Facilities - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.