Orangeburg’s Cox Industries has been named a 2016 Best of Philanthropy award winner.

Central Carolina Community Foundation and Columbia Metropolitan Magazine will recognize the recipients of the 2016 Best of Philanthropy Awards at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at 701 Whaley in Columbia.

The community is invited to join in the celebration of individuals, businesses and groups who have made significant contributions to their communities throughout the year.

Each year, nominations are accepted from the community and winners are chosen in four categories: individual/family, student/student group, local business and young professional.

Winners are honored with a $1,000 donation made in their name to the nonprofit organization of their choice in the foundation’s service area and are featured in the November issue of Columbia Metropolitan Magazine.

This year’s winner in the local business category is Cox Industries. In the last nine years, Cox Industries’ philanthropic efforts have raised more than $450,000 for Edisto Habitat for Humanity and built homes for nine families.

Other winners are:

• Individual award: M. Todd Crump, M.D.

ST. MATTHEWS — Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College can play a pivotal role in preparing the area residents for employment at Boeing Aeropace Corporation and other companies locating in the region, OCtech President Dr. Walt Tobin said at a faith-based brunch last week.

St. Matthews Mayor Helen Carson Peterson contacted the church leaders in the community to arrange the brunch so Tobin could discuss the college’s job training opportunities with them.

Tobin said OCtech will play an important part in employment in the community in the next five years, which he said should see an additional 30,000 jobs generated in The Times and Democrat Region.

New companies are locating in the area to support Boeing as it grows in the Charleston area, he said.

Tobin said Boeing will have five times the impact that BMW has had in the upstate of South Carolina. He said 65 percent of local residents have no secondary training, noting that OCtech can prepare those residents for the incoming jobs.

“We’ve got to prepare our people for the future,” Tobin said.

The local school districts and OCtech are partnering in a program through which students can complete their first year toward a two-year associate’s degree while still in high school, Tobin noted.

He said it’s important to make the community aware of this opportunity.

“This will help break the cycle of poverty,” Tobin said.

Peterson said, “This is economic, which will provide for a lifetime of gainful employment.”

Electric vehicles and autonomous driving are expected to revolutionize the automotive industry in coming years, but what will the impact be for parts suppliers?

The Roland Berger consulting firm sees changes in what it takes to make a vehicle, as well as which companies will be supplying those parts, in its Global Automotive Supplier Study 2016. Collaborating with the Lazard financial services firm, more than 600 suppliers around the world were examined. Here are some highlights:

• Tire makers have seen the biggest increases in profitability since 2007, while powertrain suppliers saw profits fall.
• Profit margins for parts suppliers based in Europe and the NAFTA region currently are above average, while Japanese and Korean suppliers are below.
• Light vehicle sales are expected to remain flat in the NAFTA region through 2018, but grow by 12 percent in Russia and India.
• The automotive parts market is expected to grow from 700 billion euros in 2015 to more than 850 billion euros in 2025.
• The demand for parts related to assisted or autonomous driving is expected to grow by 500 percent over the next decade.
• The market for electric vehicles could grow 700-1000 percent over the next decade.
• Changes in automotive technology will shake up supplier dynamics, with companies from Apple to Uber gaining leverage.
• Global economic uncertainty – everything from Brexit to the lifting of sanctions on Iran – is expected to create volatility in the automotive parts market.