They say the only constant is change, but in the world of economic development and the SC I-77 Alliance, we’re happy to have both.
Remaining constant are the attributes that make the Palmetto State’s I-77 corridor an inviting place to invest and re-invest that include: a motivated workforce that’s younger and more educated than the national average, high quality of life, low cost of living, and, logistics.
Changing next year will be our focus, and to be more precise, the expansion of that focus. Details will be announced in the weeks to come. We can tell you that in 2018 the Alliance will forge new partnerships with allies that specialize in economic development and other stakeholders, who can help us continue building on the growth from Charlotte to Columbia in recent years.
Of course, that growth does not occur in a vacuum. We’re benefiting from global expansion in core industries such as the automotive and aerospace sectors, business services, and advanced materials.
We’re benefiting from that because the communities that comprise the I-77 Alliance have worked together to engage with international businesses who make up the increasingly agile, complex supply chain that holds these sectors together.
South Carolina’s industrial recruiters and economic developers have long looked around the world to identify enterprises to attract here. That won’t change. In fact, we’re now looking at some Asian and Western Europe markets that we previously haven’t mined for recruitment prospects.
However, we’re also going to look inward more now, too. The Alliance will be strengthening our marketing partnerships with other economic development groups in South Carolina, and we’ll also increase our efforts at targeting domestic companies as candidates for capital investment and expansion.
We’ll be using data and door knocks alike to power our presentations to these potential new partners for economic growth in York, Chester, Fairfield and Richland counties.
That hasn’t changed. We’ll continue to build on these fundamentals while fine-tuning our strategies to identify and target opportunities as they emerge.
Stay tuned!
Next Month In This Space: A look back at 2017’s final figures and what that means for the year and years ahead.
