December 24, 2013 3:00 am • By Gene Zaleski
Gene Zaleski
gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com

Santa arrived two days early for Orangeburg County in the form of two industrial announcements that could bring a total investment of $27.5 million and 226 new jobs over the next five years.

Quality Model South Carolina Inc. announced Monday it plans to invest $3 million into a new product line at its facility in the Orangeburg County/City Industrial Park. It will add 26 new jobs.

In addition, Orangeburg County Council approved incentives for a company which officials are only calling “Project Compute” for now.

The Southeastern aerospace and automotive supplier is involved in metal fabrication. It is planning to invest $25 million and create 200 new jobs paying an average wage of $15 an hour.

“It is an exciting opportunity and an exciting time,” Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson said.

Robinson said Project Compute will be located in a 50,000-square-foot facility. He did not say where it plans to locate, except to note it will locate in the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities service area.

The county and the company are “still finalizing building acquisition or greenfield opportunities,” he said. The two locations under consideration are the John W. Matthews Industrial Park on U.S. Highway 301 and the Orangeburg County/City Industrial Park near the intersection of Interstate 26 and U.S. 301.

“We are still finalizing the package from the state of South Carolina,” Robinson said. “This is one of the necessary steps in recruiting the company.

“This proves aerospace and automotive finds Orangeburg to be a great location.”

Orangeburg County Council approved a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes incentive agreement with “Project Compute” on Monday
The incentive allows companies to pay a fee instead of property taxes based on a 6 percent assessment ratio, rather than the standard 10.5 percent.

In addition, the county will grant the company an infrastructure incentive.

Robinson said the county has been working to attract “Project Compute” for about year.

“This is a lot of work,” he said. “The market is tight.”

County Council also approved a fee-in-lieu of taxes agreement with Quality Model, an Ontario-based company.

“This expansion is a net new product line,” Robinson said, expressing his gratitude Quality Model chose to expand within South Carolina. “This could have gone to a different state.”

Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright praised both announcements.

“I think we have a good opportunity and we are in a good spot,” Wright said, about the potential of Orangeburg County becoming an aerospace hub. “I am very optimistic.

“It does not always come when you want it, but you have got to stay persistent and do all you can to attract them.”

Wright said, “We need to make sure we have a trained set of employees so when the opportunity knocks, we are ready to grab it. We are in a unique area where if Boeing continues to expand, we can’t help but to get something.”

Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler said the Quality Model expansion means Orangeburg has the “resources needed to grow and prosper.”

“We are excited to have the continued opportunity to work with such a quality, international company,” Butler said.

Quality Model South Carolina President Bill Szekesy said, “Since our move into South Carolina in 2005, our Orangeburg facility has become a key business unit within the Quality Models’ group. The expansion of the facility is needed to support our Southeastern U.S. customer base.”

Since the Orangeburg County facility opened in 2005, Quality Model has invested more than $13 million. Today, the company employs about 60, according to the OCDC website.

The company specializes in serving the power sports, industrial, automotive and lawn and garden industries with leading value-added products and services such as design, tool building, manufacturing, secondary assembly and painting.

“We are thrilled another international company is expanding in our state,” Gov. Nikki Haley said. “We applaud Quality Model for continuing to grow their business in Orangeburg County, investing $3 million and creating 26 new jobs.”

“Since 2011, South Carolina has recruited more than $1.7 billion in the plastics, rubber and chemicals industries, creating more than 3,800 jobs and comprising nearly 4 percent of the state’s total economic output,” state Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said.

“Today’s announcement by Quality Model demonstrates that South Carolina is just right for businesses in this industry to further grow and prosper.”

Wright said, “It makes us feel good not only because of the job situation but it makes us feel that somebody is doing something right and they are comfortable where they are at.

“The economy is picking up and any jobs we can get this time of year are very important looking at our unemployment rate. I am thrilled about it. I don’t care if it is one job, 25 jobs or 20 jobs.”

Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5551. T&D Staff Writer Martha Rose Brown contributed to this story.

The Chicago-based aerospace giant has selected GKN Aerospace in England to produce winglets for the new single-aisle aircraft. Final assembly of the advanced technology part will occur at GKN’s plant in Orangeburg, according to a Boeing statement.

The wingtip device for the 737 MAX is designed to reduce drag and optimize performance over longer ranges.

“(This) draws on our expertise in the efficient manufacture of complex composite and metallic wing structures and makes full use of our ability to assemble this advanced structure,” said Marcus Bryson, CEO of GKN Aerospace and Land Systems in a statement.

A GKN spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an email asking if the winglet work will result in new jobs at its Orangeburg facility.

The GKN plant in Orangeburg began operations last year with 75 employees over the first year and up to 300 within five years, according to GKN. It assembles all-composite fuselages for Honda’s HondaJet light business jet.

When the Orangeburg plant was announced in 2011, a GKN official said he expected the facility over the longer term “to serve a range of aerospace customers on assembly tasks across civil and military aviation.”

The first flight for the next generation of the 737s is set for 2016 with deliveries to customers beginning in 2017.

The winglet, one of several design updates for the 737 MAX, will deliver an 8 percent per-seat cost advantage over future competition, Boeing said.

“As Boeing celebrates 75 years of partnership with the UK in 2013, this agreement helps to ensure that our strong relationship with the UK aerospace industry continues for many years to come,” said Sir Roger Bone, president of Boeing in the UK.

GKN received its first winglet contract for Boeing aircraft in 2007 and is one of two winglet suppliers for the new airplane. Korean Air Aerospace Division in South Korea is the other.

Boeing already has more than 1,600 orders for the new passenger jet. The company is forecasting a market for 24,670 single-aisle airplanes worth $2.29 trillion between 2013 and 2032.

Parts for the 737 MAX will also be made in North Charleston.

Boeing broke ground last month on a 225,000-square-foot building called Propulsion South Carolina in Palmetto Commerce Park where engine inlet components will be designed and assembled for the 737 MAX and possibly future airplanes. The building is expected to be completed in about a year.

In an effort to show the importance of economic development collaboration, the Orangeburg County Development Commission held its annual Mayors’ Breakfast Wednesday.

The breakfast is held by the OCDC in an effort to get the county’s 17 municipalities together to engage in an informal conversation and to get input from the municipal leadership of the county.

“The Mayors’ Breakfast is an opportunity to get to know one another and to share information,” OCDC Chairman Kenneth Middleton said. “It is all about being ‘One Orangeburg.’”

Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright Sr. said having all the mayors involved helps to keep cohesion during a transitionary election year.

“Getting the former, present and newly elected mayors working together will assist with a smooth transition of power and helps to improve the quality of life” Wright said.

The mayors in attendance received an update on the third round of the 1-cent capital sales tax. The referendum was approved by Orangeburg County voters and will bring in about $84 million over the next seven years for a variety of building projects throughout the county, including new roads, economic development, municipal building, wastewater treatment plants as well as creating recreational areas.

The mayors were provided an economic development update and were introduced to an OCDC marketing outreach called “Faces and Places.”

The video promotes community and showcases the county.

NEESES — About 100 acres of land is being cleared at the western Orangeburg County industrial park in an effort to attract potential industries to the fledgling site.

“The bottom line is this will greatly reduce the time it takes a prospect to begin construction of a new facility in the industrial park,” Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson said. “Therefore, Orangeburg County is able to provide valuable savings to a prospect interested in CSX main line rail and ultimately create job opportunities for local residents.”

Orangeburg County Council has contracted with Richardson Construction for $759,000 to bring 100 acres to a “near shovel ready” condition with clearing, grading and grubbing. The work is to be finished by year’s end. The project is being paid for with the capital project sales tax.

Orangeburg County Councilman Heyward Livingston, whose district includes the park, said he is pleased with the work.

“They are making good progress,” Livingston said. “I will be glad when they get it cleaned up.”

Livingston said a clean property will prove attractive to industry.

“I think we will get some good prospects over the next few years,” Livingston said, adding there have already been three or four inquiries into the property. The work being done “will mean a lot, because once industry gets on this end, people will not have to drive so far to work. I think it will be a blessing for the western end. Once it gets started, I think it will grow. We are in a good spot.”

Incoming Neeses Mayor James E. Hoffman said he’s pleased with the work he’s seen.

“It feels good to see these things happen,” Hoffman said. “There is a lot on the plate and we are getting our menu together.”

Hoffman said, “I think it will be a boon to Neeses.”

“Shovel ready” industrial sites have all of the planning, zoning, surveys, titles, environmental work, soils analysis and public infrastructure/engineering completed or cost estimates identified.

“Certified shovel ready sites are in growing demand among companies and site selection consultants,” Robinson said. “They are an increasingly popular tool for communities to attract new business and industry.”

The park consists of about 230 acres. The remaining 130 acres will be addressed when money is available, Robinson said.

“I am trying to get it as shovel ready as I can,” he said.

There is no wastewater at the park currently, though it is scheduled to be added as part of the county’s capital project sales tax, Robinson said. It is expected at the park within the next five years.

Robinson said the park would still be able to serve light assembly and manufacturing facilities that could use commercial septic system until wastewater is in place.

Last year, the county’s Department of Public Works cleared land for roads at the property, allowing the property to be shown.

The road work was also paid for with money from the county’s capital project sales tax.

Approximately $3.7 million has been set aside for infrastructure at the park.

Robinson said the property has received some interest and has been shown several times to distribution-related companies engaged in light assembly and manufacturing.

County officials hope the park will have its first occupant within the next five to 10 years.

The park has been touted by economic development leaders because of its rail connectivity, proximity to interstates 20 and 26, and the elevated water storage tank already at the site.

The much-anticipated design plans and construction schedule for the upgrade to the Interstate 95/U.S. Highway 301 interchange were presented Friday afternoon to Orangeburg County community and government leaders.

“This has been a long time coming,” Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson told those gathered for the county’s annual industry appreciation luncheon at the Orangeburg Country Club. “We are talking about the ability to create a global linkage between our Port of Charleston to the Orangeburg area.”

After years of planning, work is scheduled to begin Nov. 6 on a $41 million upgrade to the interchange in eastern Orangeburg County.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” OCDC Chairman Kenneth Middleton said, noting the success of the county and industries is about all coming together. “There is a wonderful energy in Orangeburg County and the reason is you. There is a buzz afoot.”

Randall Young, South Carolina Department of Transportation project engineer for the Midlands area, said a full-access interchange will be created where I-95 and U.S. 301 meet.

The plan also calls for U.S. 301, which currently ends when it merges onto I-95 northbound, to be extended to connect with Old Number Six Highway outside the Santee town limits. The S.C. 6 connector will connect to S.C. 6 between Intercoastal Lane and Milligan Road.

Young said the entire project will ensure that mainline traffic will not have to slow down.

“The plan will make sure you have easy access to I-95,” Young said. “The design that the partial cloverleaf gave us is the ability to get on I-95 free of stoppage what we called free flow.”

The project will allow those traveling on U.S. 301 north to access both S.C. 6 without having to get on I-95, as is currently the case, as well as accessing both I-95 north and south. Those traveling on U.S. 301 south will also be able to access I-95 both north and south.

The project will also include a five-lane and three-lane urban and rural transition going into and out of Santee on U.S. 301 and the S.C. Connector.

McCarthy and CECS are contracted to work the project.

The project is projected to last 440 days or 15 months. Work is scheduled to be complete in early 2015.

“The purpose of this project is to provide economic development for Orangeburg County,” Young said. “It is to provide the hub that will drive a lot of industries you are going to see come through here in years to come. That economic improvement is what spurred a lot of our trying to develop this project.”

The interchange is currently a rather unusual one.

Robinson recognized the “vision” of the project and its potential from Congressman James Clyburn, Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnny Wright, and County Administrator Harold Young.

“In order for us to improve the poorest section of I-95 in the entire country, we have to have infrastructure,” Robinson said. “In order for us to deliver jobs to this area, we have to have the fundamentals.”

Young said the current interchange was built at a time when I-95 terminated at Santee.

The upgrade has been touted by county officials as a key to boosting economic development within the Global Logistics Triangle, which is name the county uses to market the area bordered by Interstate 26, Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 301.

Detours are planned during the construction of the full-access interchange.

The upgrade is being funded by the Lower Savannah Council of Governments, $17.2 million; a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grant, $12.1 million; federal earmarks, $11.2 million; and $500,000 in local funding from the Orangeburg County Transportation Committee.

The project’s initial approval of funding was through the LSCOG and Congressman James Clyburn’s office back in 2006. At that time about $3 million was allocated.

Initially, the project’s timeline was extended and it was much more expensive. Initial costs were about $35-45 million.

In 2011, about $13 million was identified through Clyburn’s office, COG and matching funds in Orangeburg County.

In 2012, a federal grant arrived, which not only provided the project with $12.1 million but also put it on a fast track.

In other matters, Holly Hill Holcim Inc.’s Plant Manager Joe McFalls was officially recognized as the Orangeburg County Economic Development Ambassador of the Year.

In March, Gov. Nikki Haley announced McFalls was the ambassador for the county during the state’s annual industry appreciation week.

Holcim has also been named the county’s industry of the year.

Orangeburg County industries, Universal Trade Solutions, Cox Industries, Federal Mogul Friction Products, Sunshine Recycling, Husqvarna, Mars Petcare, Aco Distribution. J.B. Hunt, Zeus and Monteferro USA were among the industries recognized for their contribution to the county’s economy. The county has more than 100 industries encompassing 13 million square feet.