Have you ever wondered how companies like Samsung, Komatsu and MM Technics made their way to little ol’ Newberry County? It is by the hard work of the county’s Economic Development office and other corporations who know the value of having companies, like these, in our county.
On Thursday, January 23 Leadership Newberry County met for our fourth class of the year to learn about economic development. This class was organized by Kara Cannon, Economic Development specialist with Newberry County Economic Development, Nick Shealy, vice president of Engineering and Operations with Newberry Electric Co-Op and Stephanie Sullivan, Operational Support manager at Newberry Electric Co-Op.
Many probably think local government, city managers, and economic development office decide the type of businesses that come to Newberry County, like the dollar stores and the new Huddle House on Wilson, but they are not. Smaller business, like restaurants and stores, are decided on mostly by the owner of said company. It is our Economic Development office who focuses on bringing in manufacturing industry to the county. Their focus is to bring in companies that will create jobs, pay wages above the county average, all which will ultimately increase the quality of life for those that live and work here. Pulling in manufacturing industries, like Komatsu and Samsung, help build our county’s future.
To bring in manufacturing industry, there has to be something to show the prospective industry that would allow companies to be up and running in one year or less. The Economic Development office partners with other entities within the county, like Newberry Electric Co-op (NEC), to help reel in prospective companies by showing them spec buildings or pad ready areas, along with other incentives like tax breaks in return for the businesses commitment to build in the county.
These spec buildings and pads are not cheap, NEC along with S.C. Power Team (a group made up of other co-ops across the state, which help promote economic growth by providing funding), the county and state invested over three million dollars to help develop the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park. This does not include the original six million dollar purchase price; two million on the spec, $650k on the lighting and irrigation; and another $500k on the public road portion of the new spec building.
For example, the original spec building in the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park, near the Mid-Carolina Golf Club, showed companies like MM Technics that our county was willing to provide the resources and support to build their business in Newberry County.
During our tour of MM Technics, we were able to see their process to stamp parts for automotive body structures. The company is doing so well that they will be expanding their operations, not only in their footprint at the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park through the expansion of an 18,000-square-foot addition, but they will also be adding 35 more jobs to the county’s growth.
After Caterpillar left Newberry, Samsung moved in and turned the MFG facility into a state of the art facility, where they are currently manufacturing washing machines, both front and top loading. The Caterpillar building was about 450,000 SF when Samsung moved in. Samsung has expanded the building to the current size of 1.4 million SF, effectively tripling the size. Soon, they will be making 20 models of their washing machines, where the majority of the parts are made right here in our county.
The Newberry site is the only appliance manufacturing site in the United States. They are putting out one washing machine every 12-14 seconds!
After a nice lunch break to not only digest our meal, but all the information we learned from the morning, we learned more about what downtown Newberry and Prosperity businesses are doing to encourage a prosperous downtown. First, we heard from the Newberry Downtown Development Association (NDDA) President Aimee Talbot. Aimee is the owner of Eurolux on Main Street. NDDA hosts the Groove & Brew fall music series, the Wine Walk that was hosted in November and First Fridays, which highlight women owned businesses in the city. They are also hosts of FastTrac, a 10-week education program for business owners.
The Prosperity Business Association, Co-Chair Kimberly Kitchens – owner of Servpro of Newberry and Laurens Counties — spoke to us about how the association promotes the businesses in downtown Prosperity. Some events you may have heard of include, the National Night Out, Prosperity Hoppin’, which is the first Saturday in May each year, Spooktacular in October. The association also sponsors the Shoppers Walk, which coincides with the Town of Prosperity’s Christmas Tree Lighting which, takes place the first Saturday in December. You may have noticed the recent upgrades to the sidewalks in the town’s center and the changes won’t stop there. There is a revitalization project ongoing to beautify downtown Prosperity. If you have questions on how you can assist please call 803-364-2622 or email vision2020@prosperitysc.com.
Another crucial aspect of economic development is the workforce and Scott Cain spoke to us how Newberry Workforce Development, a 501(c )3 non-profit founded by the Newberry Business Alliance, is working to bridge the gap by building a sustainable workforce through the education system. Newberry County has 1,200 businesses, with 12,000 jobs and average 7,700 employees. To ensure our businesses are able to hire qualified applicants, the proper training must be available to the next generation.
Next month we will be learning more about education in our county and I am sure that we will hear more about the workforce development aspect. Remember that so much goes on behind the scenes to help our county move in the right direction. Be proud of where Newberry County has been and where it is going. We have a bright future!
