THE SCANA LETTER
A Fresh Look at Economic Development
from SCANA Corporation
Power for the Way You Work
July 2014 Unemployment
N. Carolina 6.5%
S. Carolina 5.7%
National 6.2%
Second Quarter 2014
Dear Allies:
Southern manufacturing is busy as a hive of bees, positively humming this
summer with expansions and relocations:
Around South Carolina
Palmetto State Armory, a S.C. gun manufacturer, is investing $4.2 million to
expand its facility in Lexington County and doubling its workforce, creating
300 new jobs. At least 30 gun manufacturing operations are now located in the
South, which has become the new “Gun Valley.” Gun manufacturers that
relocated from the Northeast, such as Remington, Beretta, FNH/Winchester,
Ithaca Gun and Mossberg; a wave of start-ups, such as Daniel Defense,
Barrett, Kel-Tec, and Wilson Combat; as well as foreign companies, such as
Para USA and Taurus, are now thriving here [www.al.com/sports].
Other new announcements in South Carolina include:
Aiken County – Medac, a provider of services and products to anesthesiarelated health care providers, announced it is building a new facility in
downtown North Augusta. The $12 million investment is expected to create
615 jobs. AmbioPharm announced it will invest $5 million to double its
manufacturing operations in North Augusta, creating 20 new jobs.
Bamberg County – Augusta Fiberlass Coating Inc., the nation’s leading
manufacturer of custom fiberglass reinforced plastic equipment, is
expanding in Bamberg (and Barnwell). The $800,000 investment has created
69 new jobs. Green Link Wood Industries Inc., a hardwood veneer
manufacturer, announced plans for a new manufacturing facility. The $1.2
million investment is expected to create 44 jobs.
Barnwell County – Kronotex USA, one of the largest producers of laminate
flooring in the U.S., announced it is expanding its operations. The $29.5
million investment is expected to create 28 jobs.
Berkeley County – JBE, Inc., a supplier to the automotive, aerospace and
industrial electrical industry, announced it is expanding into Hanahan to
better serve its customers through its proximity to the Port of
Charleston. The investment is expected to create 20 new jobs.
Charleston County – New World Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a specialty
pharmaceutical company, announced it will be moving its headquarters to
Charleston. Its $21 million investment is expected to create 38 jobs.
Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a Canadian specialty biopharmaceutical company,
announced it is building its newest North American business and global
commercial operation in Charleston. The $1 million investment is expected
to create 60 jobs.
Colleton County – Palmetto Aero, a manufacturer and producer of sheet
metal fasteners and airframe components for the aerospace industry, is
building a 77,000-square-foot hangar and has acquired two more hangars.
The $2.5 million investment is expected to create 44 new jobs.
Darlington County - Birdsong Corporation, a Virginia-based peanut
processor, announced it will invest $47.3 million to locate a new
facility. The investment is expected to create 55 new jobs.
Dorchester County – Coastal Logistics Group, a third-party logistics
provider and warehouse operator, has established a new facility to serve
its international customers shipping through the Port of Charleston. The
$1.2 million investment has already created 30 new jobs and is expected to
create another 30 jobs. iQor US, Inc., a global provider of business
process outsourcing and product support services, is expanding its call
center. The $391,500 investment is expected to create 320 new jobs. The
BID Group of Companies, a Canadian equipment manufacturer for the forest
industry, will expand its Comact Equipment U.S. Inc. facility. The $1.8
million investment is expected to generate 60 jobs. Scout Boats Inc., a
sport fishing boat manufacturer, is expanding its facility. The $2.5
million investment is expected to create 300 jobs.
Fairfield County – Hidral USA Inc., a Spanish manufacturer of freight
elevators, platforms, lifts and conveyors, selected Fairfield for its
newest sales office – its first facility in North America. The $1.5
million investment is expected to create 25 jobs.
Hampton County – Dixie Poly-Drum Corporation, a leading manufacturer of
plastic safety and workplace products, is rebuilding its facility. The
$1.1 million reinvestment is expected to create 84 jobs.
Lexington County - Signode, a leading manufacturer and distributor of
protective packaging systems, is expanding its S.C. operations. The $15
million investment is expected to create 130 jobs.
North Carolina Perspectives
CNBC ranked North Carolina as the fifth best state for business in its annual
“Countdown to America’s Top State for Business” feature. This is the state’s
highest ranking since 2011.
Tourism spending in North Carolina reached a new record of $20 billion in
2013, up four percent from the previous year. The nearly 53 million visitors
to the state supported 198,270 jobs and $4.6 billion in payroll income.
“Tourism is a key element of our economic development strategy,” said Sharon
Decker, Secretary, N.C. Department of Commerce.
Sealed Air Corporation, the Bubble Wrap® manufacturer, announced it is
relocating its global headquarters from New Jersey to Charlotte, creating
1,262 jobs by the end of 2017 and investing $58 million for a new state-of–
the-art facility. The average annual wage will be $119,482.
In April, Governor Pat McCrory and state officials announced the launch of a
major workforce development program “NCWorks.” According to McCrory, NCWorks
will promote a consistent, cohesive strategy that focuses on one goal –
connecting N.C. workers with N.C. jobs.
The Southeast and Beyond
Time to cut social studies and sign up for shop class! Josh Mandel, State of
Ohio treasurer, visited Pioneer Pipe in Ohio and learned the company paid 60
of its welders more than $150,000. Pioneer Pipe’s owner, Dave Archer, said he
has had to turn down orders because he can’t find enough welders. According
to Mandel in The Wall Street Journal, shop class has been vanishing from high
school curriculums since the 1970’s, when it became conventional wisdom that
a four-year college degree was essential. Yet a 2012 Bureau of Labor
Statistics study shows that 48% of all college graduates are working in jobs
that don’t require a four-year degree - and according to a 2011 Skills Gap
Survey by the Manufacturing Institute, about 600,000 manufacturing jobs are
unfilled nationally because employers can’t find qualified workers.
Toyota announced a sweeping cost-cutting reorganization and the relocation of
its North American operations from California to Plano, Texas. California
will lose as many as 3,000 jobs, while Texas will gain 4,000 jobs. Texas
offered Toyota $40 million from its Enterprise Fund incentive program for the
move, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Energy News
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, a subsidiary of SCANA Corporation,
received the 2014 President’s Award from the SERC Reliability Corporation,
one of eight regions in the U.S. responsible for monitoring the reliability
of the power system. The award is given annually in recognition of electric
reliability excellence.
South Carolina signed into law S.B.1189, the Distributed Energy Resources
Act, a renewable energy policy that will open the door for increased solar
installation across the state. “Distributed energy” describes electricity
generated from many small energy sources - including rooftop solar panels and
wind turbines. The bill was the result of a successful collaboration by
lawmakers, regulators, environmental advocates, consumer groups, utilities,
businesses and non-profits [www.eenews.net].
On June 2, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its Clean Power Plan,
a plan to “impose drastic, 30% cuts in carbon emissions” that “would have a
dramatic impact on the American economy but only a minimal effect on global
carbon emissions” according to Edwin D. Hill, president of the 750,000 member
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, in the Wall Street Journal.
Hill says that when gauged by accepted industry metrics, the plan would
result in the loss of some 52,000 permanent direct jobs in utilities, mining
and rail; 100,000 jobs in related industries; and the loss of up to 49
gigawatts of coal generated electricity. The 49 gigawatts lost will be in
addition to another 60 gigawatts lost because of EPA’s 2012 Mercury and Air
Toxics Standards rule. Hill states, “The U.S. cannot lose more than 100
gigawatts of power in five years without severely compromising the
reliability and safety of the electrical grid. That would pose a danger for
the entire economy and all Americans.” The comment period on the EPA plan
remains open until October 14, 2014.
Coal retirements posing reliability problems. American Electric Power, one of
the country’s biggest utilities, reported that it used 89 percent of the
coal-fired power it is retiring in 2015 to meet electricity demand last
January. Another utility, PJM, was running “literally on the edge” of its
power reserve margin several times last winter and New England is also in
“crises mode,” said Commissioner Phillip Moeller of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission [www.themorningconsult.com].
U.S. Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) says that inexpensive energy has been
a key factor in industrial recruitment in his state and that federal carbon
policies are motivated by a desire to “erase Southeast’s competitive
advantage” [blog.al.com].
Continuing a federal ban on drilling off the Atlantic seaboard would cost up
to 280,000 jobs and $23.5 million a year in economic activity and would “deny
citizens and businesses in Atlantic Coast states and beyond from a major
opportunity to realize significant economic and societal benefits for many
years to come,” warns Chris Clark, Georgia Chamber of Commerce president and
CEO, in a response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management [in
wwww.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog].
Sound Bites & Factoids
On the EPA’s Clean Power Plan: “... the timing of this effort could hardly be
worse for the struggling U.S. economy.... [We] believe that consumers will
see higher rates. Businesses, large and small, and manufacturers will have to
pay much more for their electricity; these increased prices will be absorbed
or passed on and will further hurt the economy.” – Senators John Barrasso [RWyoming] and Heidi Heitkamp [D-North Dakota][Wall Street Journal].
Best to you,
Sharon K. Dovell, Editor
SCANA, headquartered in Cayce, South Carolina, is an energy-based holding company that
works in partnership with the S.C. Department of Commerce, regional alliances, local
communities and site selection consultants to assist with relocations and expansions in
the Carolinas. We provide natural gas to more than 1.2 million customers in South
Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia and electricity to more than 684,000 customers in
South Carolina. Please visit us on the Web at www.scana.com\ed or call us at 803-2179005. Send address changes and subscription requests to [email protected].