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Aluminum tubing manufacturer brings good news in down times

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Aluminum tubing manufacturer brings good news in down times

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By GENE ZALESKI, T&D Staff Writer Sunday, February 15, 2009

A classic case of Southern hospitality was on display Thursday afternoon as Orangeburg County officially welcomed a start-up aluminum tube and fabricated aluminum manufacturer.

A bona fide Chamber of Commerce atmosphere prevailed as county economic development, government and community leaders ushered in Triumph Tube Inc., which will locate its flagship and U.S. headquarters at Carolina Regional Park. The park is located near U.S. 601 and Interstate 601.

During a brief welcoming ceremony held at the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce building, officials touted the news as positive and a “triumph” in light of the economic “gloom and doom” much heard about on the news.

The company will locate into a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

Triumph plans to invest $3.5 million and generate 40 new jobs over the next five years. Operations are scheduled to begin around April.

“It was a wonderful day when we first came to look for property, it was a wonderful day when we found the property and today is a wonderful day, and we look forward to many more wonderful days in Orangeburg County,” Triumph Tube Director of Sales Ernest Lengyel told the dozens gathered at the chamber. “We are a new company … and we look forward to working with you.”

“Everybody is laying off, cutting back and closing down. It certainly is refreshing to have the opportunity of saying that we have a new investment in our community and new jobs created for our citizens because that is what this is all about,” Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright said. “This is a team effort and this is Team Orangeburg County and we are ready to play.”

Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller offered a welcome on behalf of City Council and the residents of Orangeburg, and offered any assistance the company may need to be successful.

“We hope you makes lots of money,” Miller said to a chorus of laughter.

Orangeburg County Development Commission Director Gregg Robinson touted the announcement as key to bettering the community.

“Not only are we a world-class location, but we (are) world class as far as labor draw and proximity to market,” Robinson said.

Robinson thanked the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; Marion Moore and Johnny Evans, owners of Carolina Regional Park, and the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities.

Orangeburg was chosen because of its proximity to interstates and the company’s market.

Triumph Tube will distribute its products through the Orangeburg facility, where it will manufacture drawn tubing and fabricated aluminum products.

The company will focus its production on porthole-drawn tubing using several alloys that represent the majority of drawn tubing manufactured and sold in North America.

The cold-drawn processes provide the physical properties, the quality and the reliability needed in critical tubing applications.

The process makes the aluminum tube thinner and stronger.

Examples of cold-drawn tubing include flag poles, walkers, canes, high-end bolts on shipping vessels, hospital beds, shovels, ski and tent poles.

The company’s market segments include military contractors, sporting goods, automotive and transport, medical and distribution.

“We don’t make end products,” Lengyel said. “We supply people who do make end products.”

In about three to five years, the company hopes to ramp up operations to include weld tubing, which will take aluminum sheets, roll the sheets and weld them.

In addition to Orangeburg, other locations looked at were Richland and Fairfield counties and other states such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

The company received the traditional state and local incentives in relation to fee-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangements and others.

The initial announcement made last month received praise from state officials in light of the county’s December unemployment, rate which ranked 13th highest among the 46 counties at 13.6 percent.

As part of the ceremony, the company presented Triumph a South Carolina state flag to fly over the business.