The year just past turned out to be quite a success for industrial recruiting in the five counties comprising the South Carolina I-77 Alliance and sets the stage for more to come during 2021.
Despite the pandemic, 2020 ended up yielding a string of notable announcements – 19 in all, including 12 from firms new to the area and seven expansions – that represent a commitment of $1.2 billion in capital investment and 2,580 new jobs.
A few highlights include the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and electric vehicle manufacturer ARRIVAL setting up shop in York County, Continental Tire expanding their Lancaster County headquarters for North American manufacturing operations, and Mark Anthony Brewing (White Claw and Mike’s Hard Lemonade) building a new production facility in Richland County. There’s many more and they’re in multiple industries, adding to the diversity of enterprises coming here.
Decisions Must Be Made: The Corridor Is a Great Choice
Our industrial prospecting work has continued through the pandemic via virtual platforms and we expect to continue that way for the immediate future until the Alliance and our county representatives are allowed to go back on the road later this year to meet company leaders in person.
In the meantime, we’re very optimistic about the economic development prospects for the corridor now and going forward. We’re going to continue to get in front of as many decision-makers as we can because we know they’re still making critical decisions about where to put down new stakes or expand their current operations.
Some industry segments will be doing that more than others, of course, as they go through their own cycles, however, there are always firms that have to decide now what and where to invest, and all those reasons to do that right here in the Corridor are good ones.
On a final note, we want to close by saying thanks to Rich Fletcher, our founding president and CEO, and wishing him the best of luck in his new role as CEO of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. Rich leaves behind an organization solidly positioned to help its stakeholders continue to build on the growing progress of the past few years.
