Dec. 16, 2016 UBJ

DECEMBER 16, 2016 | VOL. 5 ISSUE 51

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TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK

| THE RUNDOWN | 3

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 51 Featured this issue: New BMW Chair at CU-ICAR outlines vision for auto industry .........................4 Former UCB exec to lead IberiaBank’s expansion into Upstate .........................10 Transportation Nanny’s business is picking up ...........................................................12

Lockheed Martin has installed computer simulators at its hangar at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center that student pilots would use for training. The most advanced simulator resembles an elaborate video game, combining a mock cockpit, half-dome screen and sophisticated software to let student pilots practice flying in formation, mid-air refueling and fighting other aircraft. Read more on page 5.

Photo by Jack Lukow.

VERBATIM

On preserving Falls Park “The new 55 E. Camperdown Way office building as originally proposed would have detracted from our river vista and removed for all time … a natural green connection between people on Main Street and the park.”

Greenville Mayor Knox White. Read his op-ed in this week’s Greenville Journal.

4 | AUTOMOTIVE |

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12.16.2016

Laine Mears, who will head Clemson and Greenville Tech’s new prototype assembly line program, says the system is a “playground” for automotive assembly.

Clemson, Greenville Tech announce prototype automotive assembly line TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com In a region not far removed from the reign of textiles, it can be difficult to defeat the stigma that manufacturing jobs are dirty, low paying and generally undesirable.

But two Upstate colleges have joined forces in hopes of attracting the best and brightest minds to automotive manufacturing and establishing South Carolina as a hub of innovation.

Clemson University and Greenville Technical College on Monday unveiled a program that will enable engineering students from Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research to work with Greenville Tech students on a prototype assembly line.

The program, which is set to launch during the summer of 2017, will be housed at Greenville Tech’s new $25 million, 100,000-square-foot Center for Manufacturing Innovation next to ICAR’s campus off Research Drive in Greenville County.

Laine Mears, who was announced Monday as Clemson’s new BMW SmartState chair of automotive manufacturing during a ceremony at ICAR, will lead the program. He described it as a “playground” for automotive assembly.

“Normally, you see technologies developed for manufacturing done in a research lab,” Mears said.

“We want to have the top Tech students join together with our research students to develop these technologies.”

Mears said the program initially will involve about 10 to 12 students and one BMW employee,

who helps advise the students on a particular process or technology.

The research will involve several manufacturing disciplines, including machining, injection molding, electrical engineering and design.

Students demonstrated a new virtual reality system that is being used in production processes and a machine that is collecting data on a new method of joining metal parts together.

Mears said he believes the program has the potential in the future to serve multiple automotive original equipment manufacturers and to create new opportunities for graduates.

“We’re not developing the guy who is turning a wrench,” Mears said. “My dream is to have a guy hired at a plant and, when he goes for training on a piece of equipment, for him to be able to turn to his supervisor and say, ‘I know more about this thing than you do because I designed it.’ When we get to that point, then I will consider this to be a real success. I want our guys to lead the way.”

Mears has more than 10 years of experience in the automotive industry and is considered an expert on how manufacturers can use sensors and data to improve quality and build cars more efficiently.

Tom Kurfess previously held Mears’ endowed chair position. Kurfess left in 2012 to work for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The position has remained vacant since then.

Mears said a Clemson selection committee courted experts from across the globe in hopes of replacing Kurfess, but could not find the right fit.

The university opened up the search internally and

Mears was chosen.

The position was created by a partnership between BMW Manufacturing Co. and the SmartState Program, which is funded by the S.C. Education Lottery.

Mears said there is no time limit on his appointment to the position.

“Dr. Mears is working on the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing, a critical piece of South Carolina’s economy,” said Andreas Gücker, vice president for quality and total vehicle at BMW Manufacturing Co., in a statement. “He is highly deserving of this endowed chair position. The work he is doing is creating technologies and processes that will directly benefit industry, while educating the workforce of tomorrow.”

Mears said he hopes to use the program to reach students in high school or even junior high, introducing them to opportunities in the industry before they get to college.

He said the program is a new paradigm where workforce development is happening during the process of technology development.

“He is an exceptional teacher and internationally recognized researcher on the leading edge of efforts to transform manufacturing with sensing, analytics and assembly automation,” said Zoran Filipi, chair of Clemson’s department of automotive engineering, in a statement. “Laine’s collaboration with BMW and other industry partners have helped put Clemson and South Carolina at the forefront of advanced manufacturing research.”

For more information, visit clemson.edu.

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| AEROSPACE | 5

Lockheed pushes to win Air Force contract, shows new trainer jet RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com

The military jet that Lockheed Martin Corp. hopes to assemble in Greenville County for the U.S. Air Force has begun flying over local skies.

The defense contractor first flew the T50A trainer at its complex in southern Greenville County Nov. 19 and showed it off to reporters Dec. 8.

Fire was visible in the tailpipe as the supersonic aircraft dipped low over Donaldson Field at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center before accelerating upward again.

The demonstration was part of Lockheed Martin’s latest briefing for reporters on its plan to supply 350 of the jets to the Air Force for training fighter pilots.

Lockheed Martin proposes to import the T50A in pieces from South Korea, where the jet is manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries, and assemble the pieces at its Greenville County complex, adding 200 jobs locally. But first, it will have to beat out three competitors, including a Boeing/Saab

alliance that proposes to build a new jet from scratch.

The Air Force is expected to select a winner sometime toward the end of next year. The contract is worth $8-10 billion over 16 years, according to Mike Griswold, a Lockheed Martin executive in charge of the company’s T50A campaign.

Lockheed Martin won’t say how much money it has already spent at its local facility as part of its efforts to get ready for the work and woo Air Force decision-makers.

It has dedicated one of 16 hangars at the complex to the final assembly of the T50A and shipped in three of the jets from South Korea.

Lockheed Martin executives said they plan to receive one more T50A in two cargo containers from the port of Charleston.

There’s also a full-size “mock up” of the jet in the hangar without an engine.

Two of the full jets will fly out of Donaldson Field an average of 10 times a month, and the other two will stay on the shiny, gray hangar floor to be used for assembly practice.

Hannah Spellmeyer Michael Bays

Lockheed Martin Corp. will submit its T50A trainer for consideration to the Air Force, which seeks a new aircraft model to use in training fighter pilots.

“We’ve got practice time, and we’re going to take advantage of it,” said Don Erickson, director of the company’s local site, which has refurbished military aircraft for more than 30 years but never before joined in original manufacturing.

Lockheed Martin hopes to assemble 45 of the jets a year, using eight workstations in the hangar. The company would paint them in another building on its local campus.

Lockheed Martin has also installed computer simulators at the hangar that student pilots would use for training.

The most advanced simulator re-

sembles an elaborate video game, combining a mock cockpit, half-dome screen and sophisticated software to let student pilots practice flying in formation, mid-air refueling and fighting other aircraft.

Lockheed Martin has also installed signage inside and outside of the hangar and put a one-fifth-scale model of the T50A in a corner of a conference room.

Members of the press on hand for the Dec. 8 briefing included a television crew from South Korea and reporters for national trade publications.

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| MANUFACTURING | 7

Magna International to add 480 jobs with new seating plant in Spartanburg County

Rendering by GPN Architecture

TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com Canadian automotive supplier Magna International officially broke ground last Tuesday on its new $29 million seating plant in Spartanburg County. The 230,000-square-foot facility is under construction on about 20 acres between Anderson Mill and Monroe roads off Highway 290 in Moore within Pacolet Milliken’s Tyger River Industrial Park North. It is expected to open in June 2017 and will create 480 jobs.

Company officials joined with state and local leaders to celebrate the investment, which will be Magna’s fourth facility in South Carolina, during a ceremony at the future site. The plant will initially produce seats for BMW’s next-generation X5 and X6 models, as well as the new X7 that will also be assembled in Spartanburg.

“This is a new chapter in the ongoing collaboration between Magna and BMW, as it’s our first seating business award with this valued global customer,” said Mike Bisson, president of Magna, in a statement. “With this investment and job creation, we are extremely pleased to join the growing automotive industry in South Carolina.”

Steve Salvatore, Magna’s plant manager for Spartanburg, said the company chose the site for a couple of reasons, including its proximity to BMW Manufacturing Co., easy access to interstates 85 and 26 and its nearby network of suppliers.

He said Magna has already begun hiring for the new positions and direct-

ed those interested to the company’s careers page online. The company plans to engage with Spartanburg Community College to fill key roles in the plant and to continue developing its workforce.

Salvatore said under Magna’s current partnership with BMW, he anticipates producing 1.2 million seat sets.

Carter Smith, executive vice president of the Economic Futures Group, said many of the automaker’s suppliers have invested in facilities in Spartanburg solely to serve BMW, but have expanded their business with BMW and, in some cases, other automotive manufacturers in the U.S. He said he hopes Magna will have the same success.

“We’re very excited to be here today,” Salvatore said. “Under the current program, we’re only going to build seats only for BMW ... But we feel like there is room for growth.”

Charlotte, N.C.-based SunCap Property Group owns the property and will develop the site for Magna.

BMW’s supplier network officials Werner Schmaderer and Franz Linner took part in Magna’s groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday.

Schmaderer said it felt like a groundbreaking not only for Magna but also for BMW’s new X models. Magna’s selection as a supplier of the new seats began more than three years ago, he said.

Linner said, aside from the engine, the seating system is the most expensive part of the car. And the seats that Magna will be making for BMW will

The $29 million Magna International seating plant, which broke ground last week, will produce seats for BMW’s next generation X5 and X6 models, as well as the X7 assembled in Spartanburg. be top-of-the-line in terms of comfort and technologies.

“When you first sit down in a car, [seats] help define the experience and the feel for the driver and passenger,” Schmaderer said. “You have to get that right.”

Magna’s operations span the globe and include 155,000 employees. The company automotive parts include body, chassis, exterior, seating, powertrain, electronic, vision, closure and roof systems and modules. The company also does contract manufacturing.

In South Carolina, Magna currently employs about 1,500 people.

Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt said since BMW first announced its plan to build a plant in the Spartanburg in 1992, $16 billion in new investment has flowed into the county and created more than 20,000 new jobs. He said it is a testament to the citizens of Spartanburg.

“We have the best workforce, not only in the state, but in the entire world,” Britt said.

S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt praised Magna’s decision to locate its facility in Spartanburg County and its partnership with BMW. He also lauded the county and its partners involved in landing the project, including Greenville-based Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, the owner of Tyger River Industrial Park, and John Montgomery, principal of Montgomery Development Group, as well as Garrett Scott, Givens Stewart and Brockton Hall with Colliers International.

“If we have a project in Spartanburg County … I worry very little about how the project is going to turn out because I know what Spartanburg County will do,” Hitt said. “I look forward to watching this new plant succeed.”

Smith said Magna’s decision to locate in the county is another example of the teamwork in Spartanburg between government entities and private groups.

“That’s really the crux of it,” Smith said. “The ability of a community to understand what product is needed and then to go out there and provide it.”

8 | HEALTH CARE |

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12.16.2016

Health care products company to bring 450 jobs to Greenville County RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com

A New York company that makes consumer health care products intends to create 450 jobs at a new factory and warehouse in southern Greenville County.

PL Developments of Westbury, N.Y., plans the facility in an existing building with about 200,000 square feet of space near the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center, said Evan Singer, the company’s president.

Singer said PL Developments would use the site beginning next year to receive raw materials by rail that will then be hauled by truck to its existing plant and warehouse in the Laurens County community of Clinton.

The company plans eventually to begin making new products at the Greenville County site that are under development now, and it may build a large warehouse there, Singer said.

The company doesn’t have enough manufacturing capacity at other plants around the country to make the planned new products, he said.

Singer said PL Developments would spend about $45 million at the Greenville County site in phases. He didn’t say exactly how much the new jobs would pay.

The company makes private-label alternatives to well-known brands of consumer health care products such as Tylenol pain medication and Vicks NyQuil flu remedy sold over the counter. PL Developments’ products are sold in major retail chains around the country such as Walmart, Walgreens and CVS. The product line includes medicine for allergies, motion sickness and sleeplessness, laxatives, probiotics, cholesterol and pregnancy tests, witch hazel and Epsom salts, according to PL

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PL DEVELOPMENTS Makes private-label over-the-counter medications for big-box retailers and pharmacies Headquarters: Westbury, N.Y. Developments’ website.

The company makes hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol at its plant in Clinton, which it acquired when it bought Aaron Industries in 2013.

The company, privately owned by the Singer family, employs about 1,100 people in New York, Florida, California and South Carolina.

In South Carolina, the company employs about 170 people at a warehouse in the Spartanburg County community of Duncan, in addition to the factory and warehouse in Clinton.

Greenville County Council approved a property tax break for the PL Developments facility on Tuesday night.

Council members also voted in favor of property tax breaks related to a 30-job, $78 million expansion at Sealed Air Corp.’s plastic food packaging plant in Simpsonville and a $5 million, 50-job Gower Corp. facility on Old Stage Road, according to paperwork related to the tax breaks.

The projects were among six economic development projects presented to County Council by the Greenville Area Development Corp., the county’s economic development arm.

Combined with other projects earlier in the year, they helped GADC set records in 2016 for total job creation and corporate investment, said Mark Farris, GADC president.

PL DEVELOPMENTS

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| HEALTH CARE | 9

J M Smith Corp. will acquire Burlington Drug Co. of Vermont TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com Spartanburg-based J M Smith Corp. will expand its reach into eight Northeastern states in early 2017.

The company announced last week it has reached an agreement to acquire Milton, Vt.-based wholesaler Burlington Drug Co. and to purchase certain retail operations assets of Pharmacy Health Services (PHS).

Under the agreement, Burlington and PHS will operate as subsidiaries of J M Smith Corp. Burlington will continue to manage its operations, customer service and sales functions out of its existing facility, and PHS will continue to serve customers at existing locations.

A company official said no jobs will be lost during the merger, but new positions could be created as a result of business growth from the combined product and service offerings of both companies.

Financial details were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close early next year.

“The Northeast has long been an important market for J M Smith Corp,” said William R. Cobb, chairman and CEO of J M Smith Corp., in a statement. “We opened a regional office in New England 30 years ago for our QS/1 customers and will now be able to offer an even greater array of products and services in New England. J M Smith prides itself on customer relationships based on trust and service, and Burlington Drug

Foreman said Burlington’s customers will benefit from Smith Drug Co.’s new HealthyWise Pharmacy services, which includes a suite of offerings, such as clinical solutions, consulting services, long-term care solutions, market intelligence, OTC merchandising and branding solutions and an intuitive predictive ordering solution to optimize inventory.

“Part of our strategic agenda is to grow our footprint,” Foreman said. “We’re a larger company so we can offer more synergies and access ... as well as scale to earn a better cost of goods.”

Foreman said he believes the merger will help the company grow its market share. J M Smith Corp. also chose to keep the “iconic” Burlington name because it “resonates” with customers.

Burlington has 120 employees in Vermont.

Foreman said the company would continue to run “somewhat autonomously.” Burlington’s management and sales teams will remain in place. The executive teams will share responsibilities and best practices.

“Our companies are cut from the same cloth — we share the same values, ethics and guiding principles,” said John Mitiguy, president of Burlington Drug Co., in a statement. “We have a long tradition over multiple generations in this business, so it was important to us to find an organization with a similar, successful history.

Our customers and our employees are going to appreciate being part of J M Smith Corp.”

“The Northeast has long been an important market for J M Smith Corp. …

Burlington Drug Co. will be a great addition to our business portfolio.”

William R. Cobb, chairman and CEO, J M Smith Corp.

Co. will be a great addition to our business portfolio.”

Burlington Drug Co. has been in business since 1891 and family-owned since 1913. The company serves independent retail pharmacies and long-term care facilities across New England and New York.

J M Smith Corp. began as a family-owned pharmacy in 1925. The company evolved into a wholesale drug distribution company, Smith Drug Co., in the 1940s.

Today, it has five divisions — Smith Drug Co., QS/1, Integral Solutions Group, RxMedic and Integra LTC Solutions — that serve independent pharmacies, institutions, government agencies and businesses across the country.

“Their culture is very much in line with ours,” said Jeff Foreman, president of Smith Drug Co. “They have a very family-oriented feel, and they are a private company. We’ve worked with them before at various industry boards … [The merger] establishes our access to eight more states in the Northeast, a market that is very important to us.”

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10 | BANKING |

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12.16.2016

Iberiabank moves into Greenville with former UCB exec at helm RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com

A regional bank from Louisiana has picked Greenville — and a veteran banker who lives in Greenville — to establish its first presence in the Carolinas.

South Carolina is the eighth state where Iberiabank will have retail branches once Sam Erwin of Greenville finds the right place to put one.

Erwin, Iberiabank’s new regional president for South Carolina, has worked as a banker around the state Sam Erwin for 26 years. His previous titles include chief executive officer of The Palmetto Bank and Upstate regional president for United Community Bank.

Erwin said Iberiabank, based in Lafayette, La., is focused on growth and has $280 million raised in a public stock offering to enter new markets and buy other banks.

Established in New Iberia, La., in 1887, Iberiabank operates nearly 200 branches and three loan production offices in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, Florida and Georgia, according to its website.

Erwin said Iberiabank is small enough to appreciate the community banking culture that he comes

from but has enough resources to invest for the long term and capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

“A bank that has $20 billion in assets has a tremendous amount of resources at its disposal,” he said.

Iberiabank bought Atlanta-based Georgia Commerce Bank a year and a half ago and, according to Erwin, is now moving up the Interstate 85 corridor.

“Having a presence along the I-85 corridor between

“A bank that has $20 billion in assets has a tremendous amount of resources at its disposal.”

Sam Erwin, Iberiabank regional president for South Carolina Atlanta and Charlotte makes a lot of sense, and Greenville sits right in the middle of that, as does Anderson and Spartanburg,” Erwin said, adding that the Upstate’s strong manufacturing base is attractive to banks.

One of Erwin’s first tasks in his new job is finding locations for a commercial loan production office and retail branch.

“We’ll initially focus on the downtown area, but that

IBERIABANK CORP. Founded: 1887 Headquarters: Lafayette, La. Publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol IBKC Earnings: $143 million (2015) and $44.5 million (Q3 ending Sept. 30) Number of branches: 199 Sources: iberiabank.com, Yahoo Finance

depends on availability,” he said.

Erwin, 48, is originally from Greenwood County.

He graduated from Clemson University, where he is on the board of visitors, and was named Outstanding Young Banker in 2005 by the South Carolina Bankers Association.

Iberiabank’s chief executive officer, Daryl G. Byrd, who grew up in Columbia, called Erwin a “key member of our team” in a press release announcing the Greenville presence.

“We are very excited to expand our footprint in my home state and confident that with Sam’s impressive 26-year banking career in South Carolina, his active role in the community and extensive relationships, he will develop and execute a very successful growth strategy for our company,” Byrd said.

Happy Holidays from Carlton Motorcars

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| RESTAURANT | 11

Spartanburg’s Monster Subs planning Greenville location TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com Monster Subs, a New York-style sub shop in Spartanburg, will expand to downtown Greenville in early 2017.

Pete Gambino, the restaurateur who brought his family-owned Monster Subs concept down when he moved from New Jersey a few years ago, said he has signed a lease on 1,350 square feet at 206 Coffee St., a space once occupied by Downtown Dogs.

Gambino said he hopes to open the eatery in March.

It will operate Tuesday through Saturday and feature a range of hot and cold subs, sandwiches and paninis.

“We’re very excited about it,” Gambino said. “When we started this, I said I’d give it three years to see if we’d be at the point where we could open a second one. And here we are. It takes some time to build it up. This is really a testament to how great our customers are. When they come in, most of the time my sons can remember what they usually order. We’re Italian. It’s all about making them feel like a part of the family.”

Gambino opened the Spartanburg location in June 2013 in the 2,500-square-foot former Sub Station II space at 115 E. Blackstock Road near Dorman Centre.

His wife, Robbin, and their sons, Peter “PeeJay” and Jordan “Grizzly” Gambino, and daughter-in-law, Amanda Gambino, are all a part of the business.

Monster Subs will be located in the space formerly occupied by Downtown Dogs.

Monster Subs’ menu includes several signature subs, such as the Godfather, the Good Fella and the Knuckle Sandwich.

One of the restaurant’s best-sellers, the Kraken, includes a hefty portion of freshly sliced turkey, roast beef and pepperoni with jalapeño bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, hot peppers and spices priced at $7.45 for the regular 6-inch size and $12.45 for the “Monster” version.

Gambino said he will keep most of the signature subs on the menu for the Greenville store, but could adapt other parts of it to give the restaurant a more Greenville feel.

“They key for us is freshness; everything is made to order,” Gambino said. “For the Greenville store, we’ll probably take a few things off the menu and add a

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couple of new things. But you know what they say, ‘If it ain’t broke.’”

Gambino said the Greenville store will be about half the size of his flagship location, which means a little less space for customers dining in. But he believes the store’s proximity to downtown will provide more opportunities for pick-up and delivery orders, as well as catering.

Jordan Gambino said the family had been looking at spaces in downtown Spartanburg and Boiling Springs, but the opportunity in Greenville was too good to pass up.

The Gambinos had another Monster Subs location in Ocean County, N.J., and a deli. They also had a profitable home disaster restoration business.

But the family started looking at moving South in 2012 when Jordan graduated from the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Pete Gambino comes from a line of Italian cooks.

Years ago, his grandmother, Lena Ciccola, plied her craft at Rocky Lee's restaurant in Brooklyn. She cooked for The Beatles, Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra.

“The thing about us is that we’re a small, family-run business,” Gambino said. “We care about our customers.”

For more information, visit monstersubs.wixsite.com/monstersubs.

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12 | ENTREPRENEUR |

UBJ

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

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12.16.2016

Ravii Glover started Transportation Nanny, which aids busy parents in taking their kids to and from school, home and after-school activities. Photo by Melinda Young.

After-School Uber Ravii Glover’s business, Transportation Nanny, is picking up — and dropping off MELINDA YOUNG | CONTRIBUTOR

myoung@communityjournals.com Ravii Glover knows what it’s like to be a full-time professional with two children who go to two separate schools. And she knows about the seemingly endless car rider line dropoffs and pick-ups. Now she has a solution for other busy parents like herself: the Transportation Nanny.

Glover first came upon her idea 20 years ago. “The idea came to me when I was a college student and found that my babysitting jobs evolved into transportation jobs,” Glover says. “I was picking up and dropping off, and it’s child care, but not really child care.”

The transportation service has been “a lifesaver” for Keona Banks, a registered nurse. Banks says her full-time work, which has hours that vary from week to week, would be impacted if she didn’t have help getting her children to and from their schools and after-school care.

Banks had been looking for a safe

carpooling solution when she saw the Transportation Nanny minivan drop off kids at her child’s school.

“I had no idea we in the Upstate area had a service like that,” she says.

“Whether you’re married or a single parent, when you work full-time and have children, you just can’t do it all and be everywhere at the same time.”

Several months ago, Glover quit her full-time job with Norfolk Southern Railroad and began to market her Transportation Nanny services to parents who need someone to help them take their kids to school, bring them home from school and transport them to the many sports, tutoring, music and other after-school activities that fill the schedules of school-age children.

Glover says she soon will need to hire additional nanny drivers. She’s looking for individuals who like children and don’t mind waiting in school car rider lines. Some parents may find it impossible to enjoy the car line, but Glover

says the key to success is a smart schedule.

“You have to figure out how the carpool line works and maximize your time,” she explains. “At one school, I’m there at five minutes until 2 p.m. to be in the inner loop of the carpool line. If I’m not there within the top five, I’m there within the top five cars.”

At another school, Glover uses the after-school bus line lane, an arrangement she established early on with the school. Her minivan is eligible because she transports children who are not her own to an after-school care program.

Her minivan has magnets advertising her company.

Her company charges according to a range of miles, rather than by time, with prices starting at $10 for a oneway, one-time ride of a mile or less from a child’s home to school. The cost ranges up to $140 for a five-days-perweek round-trip where the school is 9–10 miles from the home or destination. There are discounts for siblings.

The public’s relatively recent acceptance of ride-sharing services like Uber has made it easier for a child transportation service to launch, Glover notes.

“I think people now realize there are transportation options out there, and you don’t have to try to be in four places at one time,” Glover says. “Uber might increase the likelihood of someone reaching out to a service like mine for their children.”

Glover’s focus is on both the transportation and nanny parts of her service. She makes certain she meets the families that use her services before the first car ride. Also, she is CPRtrained and relies on her years of child care experience when dealing with children and their after-school moods.

“I like talking with the kids about their school work. We talk about football. We talk about the choir, and we talk about some book they were reading,” she says. “I engage them because I want them to look forward to that ride in the car with me.”

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14 | COVER |

CHRISTIAN CORTS & JON CHILTON OF BB&T

The Boys Are

UBJ

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12.16.2016

BACK IN TOWN Christian Corts and Jon Chilton return to Greenville as BB&T moves into the heart of downtown

Words by David Dykes | Photos by Will Crooks

12.16.2016

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

CHRISTIAN CORTS & JON CHILTON OF BB&T

BB&T

is on the move in Greenville, and two men who grew up here will lead the bank’s local charge as it raises its profile and seeks to grow.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based bank plans to relocate its main downtown Greenville office from its existing location at 301 College St. to nearby 2 W. Washington St., where it will occupy nearly 7,000 square feet.

The College Street branch will be relocated to the ONE building at 1 N. Main St. in the former CertusBank space, where a large electronic display board was a popular attraction. The move is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.

Two BB&T executives, Christian Corts and Jon Chilton, will be based in Greenville and play key roles as the bank pursues its strategy of gaining ground on local and state deposit-share market leaders Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America.

Corts, South Carolina corporate banking manager, and Chilton, BB&T’s Greenville market president, grew up in Greenville and are returning to the local market after stints with BB&T elsewhere.

Corts was corporate banking manager for Houston and central Texas. In his new position, he will be based in Greenville.

Chilton had been in Columbia, where he was a commercial relationship manager and regional corporate banker.

“When I was in Texas, when I’m traveling around, people know Greenville by that Main Street,” Corts said. “To be at the center of that, and to be in the middle of that, really puts our flag in the ground of ‘we’re here to stay, we’re here to be the player in the market.’”

“The College Street location has been a great home to us for many years,” Chilton said. “The move to this new facility is indicative of BB&T’s growth and commitment to this area.”

| COVER | 15

the time they have an issue and the time they get it solved,” Bopp said.

Bopp and his brokerage team, which includes six financial advisers and three full-time client-service associates, will move from offices at 40 W. Broad St., across from the Peace Center.

More financial advisers will be hired, Bopp said.

Closing the gap with Wells Fargo, B of A BB&T has been in Greenville for more than 30 years, entering the market with the acquisition of Community Bank of South Carolina in 1987 and eventually the merger with Southern National in 1995.

A challenge for BB&T today is to close the deposit-market share gap with the leaders, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

Data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shows Wells Fargo, with 148 offices as of June 30, had a statewide market share of 20.34 percent. Bank of America, with 82 offices, had 14.91 percent.

BB&T, with 112 offices, had 9.98 percent.

In the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metropolitan statistical area, Wells Fargo had a market-leading deposit share of 17.24 percent, according to FDIC data.

Bank of America had 14.19 percent and BB&T 11.87 percent.

Corts and Chilton believe BB&T is well-positioned to improve its standing across the growing Upstate, particularly Greenville.

Chilton began his career in 2002 with Grubb & Ellis/Wilson Kibler in Columbia. He was both property manager and commercial broker at the firm.

In 2006, he joined BB&T and entered the Leadership Development Program in January 2007. He worked in Columbia from 2007 into this year.

In August, Chilton was promoted as BB&T’s Greenville market president. He also is the incoming treasurer for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce (2017).

Chilton said he is responsible for leading the Greenville Commercial Banking Team and working alongside all Greenville BB&T associates to fulfill the bank’s mission “to create the best financial institution possible.”

The Main Street move “certainly increases our brand awareness, it expands our presence in the community and it provides efficiencies in bringing together various lines of business in a collaborative effort,” he said.

Where the action is The location at West Washington Street will house local BB&T retail, mortgage, wealth and Scott & Stringfellow offices. Approximately 70 employees will move into the new space at Two West Washington and the One Building branch.

The College Street office will house the mortgage servicing and institutional services operations. At some point, that location could be sold, but the timing is uncertain, BB&T officials said.

Paul Bopp, managing director of BB&T Scott & Stringfellow in Greenville, said having the bank on Main Street raises its visibility and brand awareness in a competitive marketplace.

“That’s where so much of the action is,” he said. “From the foot traffic to the people coming from out of town, Main Street Greenville is just a fantastic place to be.”

Additionally, it is essential to have the commercial and private-wealth operations and the Scott & Stringfellow brokerage group housed on the same floor, he said.

“You want clients to only have to tell their story only once,” Bopp said. “It can get frustrating for clients when they have to tell their story to their commercial banker, their personal banker, their investment person. As an integrated team being on that one floor, being able to work with clients, discuss client goals and situations and then be able to bring ideas to the table without having them have to Bank Offices Statewide market share go from office to office to office to office and tell their story over and over, we can Wells Fargo 148 20.34% be much more proactive in providing solutions.”

For the client, “it’s a big differentiator Bank of America 82 14.91% to all be housed together and be able to help clients seamlessly as opposed to having them tell their story to a bunch of disparate groups and have a lag between

BB&T

112

9.98%

Christian Corts South Carolina Corporate Banking Manager, BB&T Previously: Banking manager for BB&T in Houston and central Texas

Jon Chilton Greenville Market President, BB&T Previously: Commercial relationship manager and regional corporate banker for BB&T in Columbia, S.C.

Deposit share (Greenville/Anderson/Mauldin MSA)

17.24% 14.19%

11.87%

16 | SQUARE FEET |

UBJ

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

|

12.16.2016

rbell@communityjournals.com

Rendering provided by SGA Architecture

New development planned for old Plush Mill A developer plans to create 24,000 square feet of “creative” office space directly across U.S. 123 from the St. Francis Downtown hospital in the latest proposed redevelopment of a former textile mill in West Greenville.

The developer, Mark Peters of Fountain Inn, said he plans to put the office space in a 1925 mill building that fronts U.S. 123 where it intersects with Traction Street.

The development, to be called Plush Mill, will feature open space, high ceilings, original flooring, exposed brick walls and skylights, according to a marketing brochure from CBRE, a commercial real estate brokerage that’s been hired to lease the office space.

Peters, who bought the dilapidated industrial complex through a limited liability corporation in October, said he’s aiming to have it ready for tenants

by August of next year.

“I’m interested in this site for its significance to the community and as a brownfield redevelopment as well as the opportunity to rehabilitate the historic textile mill,” said Peters, who, in addition to being a developer, is president of Britt, Peters and Associates, a Greenville civil and structural engineering firm.

Peters said he’d demolish structures on the site that were added after construction of the original mill building and have no historical significance.

He said part of the office space could become retail space in the future and that he’s thinking about putting a self-storage facility on part of the property outside of the historic mill.

Traction Street No leases have yet been signed, he said.

The original mill, which has banks of At 24-pane windows on t h e both sides, was designed f o r m e r

by J.E. Sirrine, a wellWoodside Cotton known architect of the Mill along Woodside time, and was the first in Avenue, a developer plans South Carolina to make 300 apartments, a general store, plush, a fabric with a soft and offices, an event venue, a brewery or ad o luxurious feel, according to e R restaurant and possibly townhomes, accordidg historical research on the properr ing to an annexation petition filed by Woodside yB ty. sle Ea Mill Properties LLC. The former business, called Piedmont Plush Mill, operated 28 looms on the site by 1939 and sold plush, mohair, velour and auto upholstery, according to the research. It closed in 1983.

Peters has asked for the triangular, 2.94-acre property to be rezoned and annexed into the city of ORIGINAL NAME: Piedmont Plush Mill Greenville. The Greenville Planning Commission is scheduled to take up his request during a 4 p.m.

ORIGINAL ARCHITECT: J.E. Sirrine meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Dec. 15.

BUILT: 1925 Plans to redevelop two other former textile mills

PLUSH MILL

in West Greenville have surfaced in recent weeks.

At the former Judson Mill just down U.S. 123, North Carolina developer Belmont Sayre has proposed 190,000 square feet of office/warehouse/light manufacturing space in three buildings, 402,800 square feet of residential space in three buildings and 60,000 square feet of retail space in two new buildings.

CLOSED: 1983 PROPERTY SIZE: 2.94 acres NEW USE: Office space DEVELOPER: Mark Peters

12.16.2016

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

| SQUARE FEET | 17

RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR rbell@communityjournals.com

Rendering provided by LS3P Associates

The former Shinola art and antiques store

Charleston pizzeria first tenant for redeveloped Shinola complex on Mohawk Drive A purveyor of gourmet pizza from Charleston is the first tenant to take space in a new development underway along Mohawk Drive where it connects to Wade Hampton Boulevard in the North Main area.

Greenville developer Ron Rallis said he plans to create a total of 10,000 square feet of new restaurant, retail or office space by renovating an existing brick complex where the Shinola art and antiques store used to be.

The only tenant that’s signed a lease so far is D’Allesandro’s Pizza, which is taking 1,500 square feet for its first foray outside of Charleston.

PROJECT PARTNERS DEVELOPMENT: northpointe standard LOCATION: Corner of Wade Hampton Boulevard and Mohawk Drive DEVELOPER: Rallis Holdings ARCHITECT: LS3P Associates ENGINEER: Seamon Whiteside and Associates LEASING AGENT: John Gray of NAI Earle Furman

Rallis said he hopes to put a complementary brewery in a 2,500-squarefoot space that will open onto a 5,000-square-foot courtyard for patrons and neighbors.

He talked to Blue Ridge Brewing Co., a restaurant and brewpub that was on Main Street before moving to Greer, but it needed 5,000 square feet of space and he couldn’t meet city parking requirements for a restaurant of that size.

“We’ve been in talks with more than 20 restaurants and received five or more [letters of intent],” Rallis said.

“However, we were looking for the right fit for the neighborhood.”

Rallis said construction work began two weeks ago, and the renovation is scheduled to be finished at the end of March.

He plans units ranging in size from 1,000 to 2,500 square feet, but said he’d connect and enlarge units for the right user.

For rent, he’s asking $25–30 per square foot. John Gray of NAI Earle Furman is handling leasing.

Rallis owns other property in the area, including the building that used to house the Handlebar music venue.

He’s leased the upstairs of that building for Revel, an event space, and the downstairs for a bowling alley.

Nasha Lending and Banana Manna are pleased to announce Banana Manna breads are now available in Lowes Foods Grocery Store.

Chancy Lindsey-Peake, founder of Banana Manna and Nasha Lending entrepreneur, is best known for her presence in the downtown TD Farmer’s Market. Now customers don’t have to wait for Saturdays to get their fill of Banana Manna breads.

Stop by Lowes Foods today & pick up a loaf!

850 E Suber Road, Greer, SC

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Many new members have promise, that’s invaluable value and a dropped 5, 7, they don’t come). And they course don’t! of four ners willfor be coached through 12the structured workouts that are pathway you be part 8% Shockingly, 50% of people who sign even 10 pounds of fat in thetofirst few of weeks. expertly designed to take the most de-conditioned individual that actually accomplish their goals! up for a large gym membership never and gradually increase your strength and stamina over the go even once. It’s merely an idea of So...if you’ve set fitness that ONE-ON-ONE WITH COACHES: fitness. Or simply access to fitness. courseRELATIONSHIP of four weeks.

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12.16.2016

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

MOVERS, SHAKERS AND DISRUP TORS SHAPING OUR FUTURE

| INNOVATE | 19

Four myths about angel investment

By PAUL CLARK

Managing Director, VentureSouth

If your impressions about angel investing come from ABC’s “Shark Tank,” you might believe that in order to fund early-stage companies you need to be a self-made billionaire tycoon, a real estate magnate, an owner of an NBA team or a homeowner who hosts Mick Jagger and other stars at their pads.

In fact, this is one of a few common myths about angel investing.

MYTH 1: Angels are rare and unusual creatures.

REALITY: Outside of TV’s sharks, angels are more numerous than you might think, and each invests much less capital than you might expect.

To be an angel, you need to be an accredited investor, defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as having $1 million of net worth outside of your primary residence, or annual income over $200,000 for individuals or $300,000 for couples. There is no requirement to own a professional sports franchise, or even to pass an exam. The national Angel Capital Association estimates more than 4 million people in the U.S. are accredited by wealth, with around 120,000 in South Carolina alone.

MYTH 2: You need to invest a lot to be an effective angel.

REALITY: Again, not true — you don’t need millions of liquid capital to generate positive returns from early-stage companies. Consider the investments made by angels in VentureSouth groups like UCAN in Greenville, Electric City Angels in Anderson and Spartanburg Angels. There is never any obligation to invest anything in our groups, but the minimum investment is only $5,000.

This is sensible, as angel investment is risky: Most single investments lose some money. It is only through a diverse portfolio of “many small bets” that, on average, angel investing becomes an attractive financial investment. Assuming 10 investments at $5,000 each, you can create a diversified portfolio of angel investments for a total investment of $50,000. Not millions.

An even more efficient mechanism

to make “small bets” is a “sidecar fund,” like our Palmetto Angel Fund.

The minimum commitment was $25,000, which was invested in 18 investments over 2.5 years — an exposure for an investor of $1,389 per investment — an extremely efficient way to spread investments.

VENTURESOUTH

BY THE NUMBERS

• 52 companies in the portfolio • More than 1,100 investment checks • 383 investments of $5,000 minimum •406 investments of $5,000–$10,000 • $10,000 median investment • $14,000 mean investment

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MYTH 3: Building up a portfolio takes a long time.

REALITY: In many areas — including the Upstate until only fairly recently — this is probably true. But at VentureSouth today, we have 13 different open investment opportunities — from new plans we are funding and existing companies that are raising additional capital to accelerate their growth. So if you joined today, you could have a diversified investment portfolio before you finish your holiday shopping.

MYTH 4: You need to know lots about angel investing before you jump in.

REALITY: Again, false. Just less than one-third of the members that join our groups tell us that they have been angel investors before — meaning the majority of our members are becoming angels for the first time. But neither is thrown in the deep end when you join. Combining the comprehensive educational materials and information tools we provide with the knowledge of the experienced members (who have been angel investors for an average of seven years) helps you make well-informed and prudent investments.

So if you’ve assumed the myths of angel investing, perhaps 2017 is a good time to change the channel from “Shark Tank” to “Mythbusters.”

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20 | PROFESSIONAL |

UBJ

STRATEGIES FOR HONING YOUR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

|

12.16.2016

The Next Generation Executive coaching can be a proactive tool for leadership development

By MANFRED GOLLENT CEO, QLI International

Last week I had the opportunity to speak with two young leaders in our community. They both were inspiring entrepreneurs, early 30s, highly educated and very smart. Both of them have very similar challenges: Their businesses grew fast, a nice problem to have. Now they must transition very quickly from their role of knowing and doing everything themselves to leading others to get things done. I suggested they consider that they need to move from working in the business to working on the business.

Next step: Being the leader Being an effective leader on any level of the hierarchy is challenging at best. However, without an extensive “leadership toolbox” combined with the right attitude and habits, it is almost impossible.

The Upstate benefits greatly from global business opportunities and needs leaders ready to act in the given environment. The growing pressures of global competition and a fast-paced business environment fuel the demand for increasingly effective business leaders. These leaders bear the responsibility of setting the tone and style for the organization, their teams and any individual they interact with. They are also effecting cultural shifts to meet changing values and expectations. Consequently, leaders themselves must change and adapt, and be prepared to continue to change. No organization would develop a long-term strategic plan without taking stock of its current resources and historical data. The same principle holds true for entrepreneurs, an organization’s leaders and executives.

It’s commonly assumed that those who are in a leadership position no longer need personal development. That’s seldom true. Unfortunately, personal growth opportunities for leaders are regularly underutilized, because leaders are often insulated from meaningful feedback. Especially in smaller organizations and family businesses, the challenge is the lack of role model variety that could be most enriching. A professional coach typically comes with an extensive foundation of knowledge and experience, will provide appropriate feedback, add necessary content and becomes an “interactive sounding board” for the client.

A structured coaching process is generally regarded by developing leaders as a valuable privilege and a powerful tool for star performers who wish to shine even brighter — akin to the world-class athlete who seeks coaching in order to excel. The process also benefits the leader who has potential, but for some reason is not meeting his expectations. A professional coaching engagement helps improve performance and personal effectiveness while reducing stress. It offers a rare opportunity to stand back and take a fresh look at the experiences and assumptions of a lifetime. Keep

in mind that a professional coach is potentially the only person one interacts with who has a single focused agenda: the success of the client.

The process enables the leader to do the following: • Identify inner resources.

• Target areas for growth.

• Promote a healthy balance between career and personal life, so he or she can sustain the vitality necessary for effective leadership.

• Uncover specific behaviors and habits that need to change in order to enhance short-term and long-term performance.

• Challenge underlying beliefs and values, and offer possibilities for fundamental change that will enhance the overall quality of life, personal and professional.

A professional coach offers direction and assistance, but the individual client always retains freedom of choice. With the support of the coach, a coaching client is responsible for discovering the self-knowledge that forms the foundation for continued growth.

What is an executive coach?

An executive coach is a professional who works with individual clients or client groups to help them achieve results and initiate life-changing behaviors in both their personal and professional lives. Skilled coaches address the whole person, with an emphasis on uncovering blind spots and producing the right actions that leads to more fulfillment, more balance and more effective processes for living. The goal of coaching is to elicit action. The key ingredient is a collaborative, authentic relationship between the client and the coach.

Coaching is a very powerful interaction that enables people to make important changes in their lives. The primary benefits for the client begin after each coaching call. That’s when they begin the real work of redirecting their professional and private lives.

A proficient coach offers a powerful combination of advantages: • Independence from other agendas • Impartiality • Objectivity • Wide knowledge and experience • Different viewpoints • Experience of weighing opportunities, risks and rewards • Questions that stimulate the collaborative thought process in a productive way

What are the benefits?

Coaching yields a multitude of benefits for the seasoned pro or the up-and-coming rookie alike. The exact nature of these benefits depends in part on the precise form and style of the coaching relationship, but here are a few of the most common: 1 Coaching helps people order priorities. They gain clarity and confidence, because the coach helps

them think matters through thoroughly. True to the old adage “A problem shared is a problem halved,” the coach can lighten the executive’s burden.

2 The coaching process helps the executive identify the skill set he or she needs to move up to the next step on the career ladder, to acquire the resources and take the actions that are needed in order to get there and lead their businesses or departments to higher performance.

3 The coach often can bring a wealth of experience gained from other similar situations, which the executive will value as enlightening and refreshing. A leader’s problems are not as unique as he or she may believe.

Having a coach is like having your own personal navigator for your life’s journey. The coach helps you chart your course and reach your destination.

Imagine having someone in your corner who is totally committed to your success. Someone who always encourages the powerful part of you, who sees how profound you can be and constantly holds up that image for you, even when you can’t hold it up for yourself.

A coach will help you clarify your dreams, aspirations, passions and values, while being at your side to celebrate your victories. As you learn from your setbacks, a coach will guide you to press on toward achieving your goals.

A coach is a professional who provides a safe place for you to move beyond superficial, inhibited, self-limiting conversations, so that you have the confidence to express even your doubts and fears.

With help, you will gain the tools and strength you need to defeat the attitudes and behaviors that have sabotaged your past success and created stress in your life.

Potential outcomes from a coaching relationship can include the following: • Greater clarity • Greater focus • Improved decision-making skills • Enhanced creativity • Improved balance in all aspects of life • Greater effectiveness and better performance In the end, it all leads to increased profitability, enhanced satisfaction and authentic happiness.

Manfred Gollent is a Certified Business Coach (CBC), supporting clients to expand their potential and reach their goals more consistently. His clients range from individual entrepreneurs and professionals to Fortune 500 executives.

UBJ and QLI International have joined forces for a special leadership development project for leaders from the millennial generation: one year of executive coaching.

Visit leaders4tomorrow.org for more information.

12.16.2016

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINESS

| DIGITAL MAVEN | 21

Tech resolutions: Nail down the basics in 2017

By LAURA HAIGHT president, portfoliosc.com

I know it’s too early to start actually talking about New Year’s resolutions. We haven’t even hit Christmas yet. But this is the last Maven column of the year, so it’s my only chance to get to you before you start breaking those hastily made and half-hearted ones.

As important as technology is to nearly every business, it is frightening how little we understand about it, how untrained we are in maximizing the benefits of it and how poorly we protect it.

Here are four must-do technology resolutions.

1. Create a technology roadmap For many businesses, tech purchases are an impulse buy — something we get when something else breaks. But technology needs to be planned and budgeted for. And to do that you not only have to know what you want but also what you have.

An inventory of your hardware and software can shine a light on a number of problems. Without a roadmap and purchasing plan, a lot of businesses do not put the right technology in the right place with the right person. An accounting clerk’s desktop computer finally dies and has to be replaced immediately. A small business will often go online, look for a good sale and buy a new laptop. The impulse to get a laptop is a good one — we should see desktops pretty much disappear from the office landscape by 2020 — but who gets it? Often it’s the employee who had the dead computer, whether they need the faster and more efficient processors, hard drives and RAM, or not.

Smart businesses will make a plan — and the budget to back it up — not only for what they want to buy but the best place to deploy it. That does take more work. But it is work that will pay dividends later on.

2. Create, update and distribute technology policies The abuse/misuse of technology is more than just an irritant for business. It is a serious and potentially very expensive risk. Although having well-stated policies is certainly no guarantee of compliance, it goes a long way to letting your employees know that the appropriate use and security of technology matters to your business.

We often assume “everybody knows” the right things to do and, more significantly, not to do. But that is far from the truth. If it were true, the most common passwords every year — including this year,

according to SpashData (goo.gl/tzNK4g) — would not be “123456” and “password.” Because many systems require eight-character minimums, a new one cracked the top five this year: “12345678.”

A set of clear, concise and relevant policies is a critical first step. Policies should address the acceptable use of company technology, internet usage (including policies of websites that should not be visited while on company equipment or using personal tech on a company network), social media policies, best practices for protecting sensitive data (as well as an explanation of what sensitive data is), working-at-home policies and policies/security procedures on the use of mobile devices.

Three keys to effective policies: Involve actual employees in preparing them, review them annually and conduct periodic checks to test compliance.

If you’ve got a nice set of policy manuals in the HR office, it would likely be eye-opening to walk around your business and see how many employees have a) been given them, b) ever read them or c) really follow them.

3. Take security seriously 2017 must be the year businesses get serious about security. Hacking is everywhere and the costs are growing exponentially. In 2015, a Duke University/ CFO Magazine Global study (goo.gl/M4hecz) found 80 percent of all U.S. companies regardless of size had been hacked. The survey had been conducted for 77 consecutive quarters and spanned the globe, making it the world's longest-running and most comprehensive research on the subject.

This month, the IBM company Resilient and the Ponemon Institute released their 2016 Cyber Resilience Study (goo.gl/OiDYpN) and reported that 66 percent of businesses surveyed said they could not recover from a cyber breach.

If you knew that two-thirds of the houses in your neighborhood had been robbed, would you check your locks, test your alarm system and buy a dog?

If FBI Director James Comey is right, your business has probably already been hacked. And, in a testament to weak policies or lack of adherence and oversight, the FBI also says that the average length of time a hacker is in a business before being discovered is a full 18 months.

Wake up. Every business and nonprofit has something a hacker wants — even if it is only access to a bigger company.

4. Train your staff Taking security seriously doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money on technology. There certainly are some security-enhancing technologies that are worth considering, but the real bang for your buck is in educating and training staff.

The biggest risk to your business is already in the building. Every hack and data breach that has ever

occurred, without exception, has begun with an authenticated employee clicking on something they shouldn’t, going somewhere online that they shouldn’t be, downloading something they shouldn’t have.

Every one.

Technology is a great tool. Put the right tech in the right places and make sure your employees are doing the right things. That’s a resolution you can build a secure and successful year on.

THE 25 MOST COMMON PASSWORDS OF 2015 1. 123456 2. PASSWORD 3. 12345678 4. QWERTY 5. 12345 6. 123456789 7. FOOTBALL 8. 1234 9. 1234567 10. BASEBALL 11. WELCOME 12. 1234567890 13. ABC123 14. 111111 15. 1QAZ2WSX 16. DRAGON 17. MASTER 18. MONKEY 19. LETMEIN 20. LOGIN 21. PRINCESS 22. QWERTYUIOP 23. SOLO 24. PASSW0RD 25. STARWARS Source: SplashData

22 | SOCIAL SNAPSHOT |

UBJ

INSIDE THE UPSTATE’S NETWORKING AND SOCIAL SCENE

|

12.16.2016

PULSE HOLIDAY PARTY Last week, the Pulse Young Professionals organization of the Greenville Chamber held a holiday gathering at Revel, the new event space in the old Handlebar location on Stone Avenue in Greenville.

CONTRIBUTE: Got high-resolution photos of your networking or social events? Send photos and information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

12.16.2016

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

ELECTED

PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS

HIRED

APPOINTED

HIRED

| ON THE MOVE | 23

HIRED

MAURIE LAWRENCE

ALEX MCINTIRE

GINNY BEACH

BRENDA CONNELL

BRITTANY CHESTER

Elected chair of Wyche's executive committee by the firm’s membership. As chair of the executive committee, Lawrence will be responsible for the firm’s overall leadership and direction. She succeeds Ted Gentry, who served as chair of the executive committee for the past three years.

Hired in the role of content specialist by VantagePoint Marketing. As content specialist, McIntire executes public relations, content marketing and social media initiatives for several of the B2B marketing agency’s clients.

He is a New Hampshire native and graduate of Saint Michael’s College with a degree in journalism and mass communications. He brings five years of marketing communications and public relations experience to VantagePoint.

Named chairman of the Salvation Army of Greenville’s advisory board in 2017. Beach is Godshall Professional Recruiting & Staffing’s vice president of operations and has been involved with the Salvation Army since 2006. Beach also currently serves on the Better Business Bureau Board of the Upstate and has been active on the legislative committee for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.

Joined TK PR as sparkle creator. In this role, Connell will work to secure national media coverage for the lifestyle and hospitality clients represented

by TK PR, which include VisitGreenvilleSC and Table 301. She plans to complete her MBA through Clemson’s working professionals program in May 2017.

Joined FinTrust Investment Advisors as vice president of operations. Chester earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has experience in the financial industry working in both administrative and operational client services at Wells Fargo Advisors LLC and UBS Financial Services.

LAW

the Southeast.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart P.C.’s Greenville office was awarded the excellence in workplace diversity award by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce in the small employer category for the firm’s initiatives such as the Ogletree Deakins Women’s Initiative (ODWIN), affinity groups and the work of the firm’s diversity and inclusion steering committee.

REAL ESTATE

Wyche attorney Jo Hackl has been honored by the Greenville County Bar Association with the prestigious Tommy Thomason Award. The award was established in 1993 to recognize the Greenville lawyer who best exemplifies compassion, unshakeable integrity, strong personal values, dedication to the community, humility and diplomacy. The Greenville County Bar Association’s highest honor, the award celebrates those who are admired by peers, dedicated to improving the legal system and committed to resolving disputes in a way that minimizes conflict.

RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY South Carolina distillers recently collaborated to formalize the South Carolina Craft Distillers Guild and elect inaugural officers. The guild officers include president, Scott Blackwell, High Wire Distilling; vice president, David Raad, Six and Twenty Distillery; secretary, Steve Noblin, Rock Bottom Distillers; and treasurer, Dickie Butler, Gorget Distilling Company.

ELECTRONICS SCI Electronics Inc. announced it has hired Stephen Stambaugh and Michael Sease as account managers. In this role, Stambaugh will be responsible for new commercial and industrial business development and maintenance of enterprise-level accounts across the Southeast. Stambaugh is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Upstate and has held leadership positions in the retail industry. He has supported logistics and operations sectors throughout the Upstate.

Sease is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has more than 25 years of experience in technical sales and marketing capacities. He has supported the architectural, engineering and construction sectors throughout the Upstate and

The Marchant Company recognizes the following real estate agents for outstanding performance in October 2016: Barb Riggs – top unit listing leader and volume listing leader of the month; Tom Marchant – top unit sales leader of the month; Mikel-Ann Scott – top unit sales leader and top volume sales leader of the month; Anne Marchant and Brian Marchant – top unit sales team, top unit listing team and top volume listing team of the month; Valerie Miller Properties (Valerie Miller, Chuck Miller and Clint Miller) – top volume sales team of the month.

Coldwell Banker Caine recently recognized its top-producing agents in property sales and listings from October through the Circle of Excellence program.

The Circle of Excellence distinction is awarded to agents within the company’s five offices — Easley, Greenville, Greer, Seneca and Spartanburg — and celebrates $1 million in listing or closing volume, or four units listed or closed. Recognized agents include Berry Gower, Carolyn Dowling, Charlene Panek, Donna Morrow, Faith Ross, Francie Little, Holly West, Jacob Mann, Jane McCutcheon, Jere duBois, Kiersten Bell, Kristi Moon, Lori Thompson, Marcia Hancock, Marshall Jordan, Mike Dassel, Pat Loftis, Spencer Ashby, Susan Reid, Victor Lester, Virginia Abrams and Virginia Hayes. Circle of Excellence Teams (4+ agents) achieving $2 million in listing/closing volume or eight units listed/closed include Lewis and Company and Cheves Mussman Ouzts Group.

MARKETING Jackson Marketing, Motorsports & Events has been named a 2017 B2B Top Shop, a listing of the top U.S. B2B marketing agencies selected by the editors of Chief Marketer magazine. This is the third year in a row that Jackson has been named to the list.

CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

24 | THE FINE PRINT |

BUSINESS BRIEFS YOU CAN’ T MISS

UBJ

|

12.16.2016

Travelers Rest-based EnviroPure Systems helps New York hospitals tackle zero-waste goal

TRUSTWORTHY FOR 100 YEARS To Auto-Owners Insurance and your local independent agent, being trustworthy means that we will be there when you need us most - just like we have been for 100 years.

EnviroPure, a self-contained food waste disposal system, is helping Montefiore Medical Center in New York reach its zero-waste goal by diverting more than 125 tons of food waste from landfills in less than two years, converting it instead into safe gray water.

Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, a 242-bed facility located in New Rochelle, N.Y., installed the medical system’s first EnviroPure unit in September 2014 in order to handle 4,200 pounds of food waste produced each week.

After determining that the New Rochelle installation was successful in reducing costs and the environmental impact associated with food waste, Montefiore added a second unit at its Wakefield Campus, located in the Bronx, in 2015.

Within less than two years of installation, the New Rochelle unit alone has processed 250,000 pounds of food waste, resulting in 233,000 fewer pounds of carbon emissions and $15,000 in savings from waste hauling fees. Additional labor savings were realized over previous food waste management practices.

EnviroPure Systems Inc., a T&S company based in Travelers Rest, manufactures self-contained, on-site food waste elimination systems for industrial, commercial and institutional kitchens and food service operations.

Ashland expanding operations in Greenville County, investing at least $5.6 million in existing Upstate facility Ashland, a global specialty chemicals company, is expanding its existing Greenville County operations, located at 410 Old Pelzer Road in Piedmont, in order to accommodate continued growth. This new expansion is projected to bring at least $5.6 million of new capital investment to the Upstate.

A Fortune 500 company with customers in more than 100 countries, Ashland serves a wide range of consumer and industrial markets.

Ashland will be making upgrades to its infrastructure and production capabilities to support strategic growth in the specialty water-based adhesives markets.

HERLONG BATES BURNETT INSURANCE, INC Greenville • 864-527-0424 www.hbbins.com

Clemson Eye expands, will open new pediatric wing at Greenville facility Clemson Eye will be expanding its practice by opening a new pediatric wing at the Greenville facility on Pelham Road with the recent addition of Dr. Alison Schutt Smith to its medical staff.

“We are committed to offering eye care for all, and treating young children and adults with lazy eyes is a very specific skill set,” said Clemson Eye CEO Mary Louise Parisi. “Dr. Alison Smith is a highly respected pediatric ophthalmology fellow with a great personality and generous heart. It’s an honor to have her join the innovative doctors at Clemson Eye.”

Addison Homes solar-powered model home recognized by HBASC Greenville builder Addison Homes was honored with a 2016 Pinnacle Award for its model home in the solar-powered Trailside community during the 13th annual Celebration of Excellence.

Presented by the Home Builders Association of South Carolina, Pinnacle >>

12.16.2016

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

THE FRESHEST FACES ON THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE

| NEW TO THE STREET | 25

Open for business 1

1. Pat Allen (left), Danny Joyner (center) and David Crigler celebrate the reopening of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner, Realtors' Greer office during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 6.

Photo provided

2

2. DetailXPerts of Greenville is now open. DetailXPerts is the first ecofriendly, steam cleaning car wash franchise in the U.S. Learn more at detailxperts.net.

Photo provided CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon?

Email information to aturner@communityjournals.com.

>> Awards recognize the state’s builders and remodelers who have achieved the highest standard of quality craftsmanship, innovative problem solving and customer satisfaction.

HBASC handed out 17 awards in five categories. Addison Homes was awarded the Pinnacle Award for Best Achievement in Energy Efficiency.

Trailside is Greenville’s first all-solar community where every home is certified to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home standard for energy savings, comfort, health and durability. The model home is also the first in the Southeast to qualify for Active House — a European designation of optimal day lighting, indoor air quality and resource efficiency. This project also earned HBA of Greenville’s Southern Home & Garden Bridge Award for Green Building and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Award.

“Purveyors of Classic American Style” 23 West North St. | Downtown Greenville 864.232.2761 | rushwilson.com

26 | #TRENDING |

UBJ

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

OVERHEARD @ THE WATERCOOLER RE: PLUSH MILL DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR FORMER WEST GREENVILLE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

>John Boyanoski “Wow. That will be a game-changer if they can pull it off.” >Greenville Relocation “Great news for Greenville when unused buildings are repurposed.” >Mike Foley “Ready by August 2017? Ha.” >Mary Allison Zimmerman “Thrilled to see the continued preservation of Greenville’s rich textile history through the carefully planned repurposing of more of our historic mills.”

RE: HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS COMPANY TO BRING 450 JOBS TO GREENVILLE COUNTY >Bill Kane “Great day of job announcements!”

>> CONNECT WITH US

DECEMBER 16, 2016

eads to

Main S

| VOL. 5 ISSUE 50

treet

n’s downtow move to ket share bank’s s lead the er regional mar a bigg etown exec Two hom and a play for heart —

BB&T H

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The Top 5 stories from the past week ranked by shareability score

>> 411 1. Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans first of six Upstate restaurants

>> 270 2. Wells Fargo Center in downtown Greenville sold for $33.25 million

>> 246

>> WEIGH IN @ THE UBJ EXCHANGE

3. Spartanburg-based J M Smith Corp. will acquire Burlington Drug Co. of Vermont

Got something to offer?

Get it off your chest.

We’re looking for expert guest bloggers from all industries to contribute to the UBJ Exchange. Send posts or blog ideas to mwillson@communityjournals.com

RE: INFRASTRUCTURE, WORKFORCE AND PENSIONS TOP THE UPSTATE CHAMBER COALITION’S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

>> 233 4. A ‘Hometown Bank’ celebrates 70 years

>> 180 5. VisitGreenvilleSC claims 18 awards in national competition

>@lewis4schools “Best. Cover. Ever.” #yeahthatgreenville >@TABUPsc “‘Nuff said…” #infrastucture”

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BIZ BUZZ

Distilled commentary from UBJ readers

>Erik James Fuller “I was dreaming or hoping some movie bigwig would be turning that mill building into a film/ movie studio. I am an unrealistic dreamer, but this is much better and I hope it comes true.”

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DATE

WHERE DO I GO?

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Gadgetfest 13

Embassy Suites 670 Verdae Blvd.

11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Cost: $30 at the door or online For more information: ta5.us/gadgetfest13

Tech After Five

Pour Lounge 221 N. Main St. 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free, register online For more information: bit.ly/2hkb506

Clemson MBA Info Session

ONE North Main 1 N. Main St., Room 505 5:30–7 p.m.

Cost: Free, registration required For more information: bit.ly/2gG2lNE

Coffee & Conversation with Jason Zacher

Upstate SC Alliance Office 124 Verdae Blvd., Suite 202 8–9 a.m.

Cost: Free, registration required by 1/16 For more information: bit.ly/2h0uWQL

Wednesday

12/21 Thursday

1/12 Wednesday

1/18

| PLANNER | 27

EVENT INFO

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12/21

EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR

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DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ACCOUNT STRATEGY Kate Madden

jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport

1988

EVENTS: NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS AND AWARDS: onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com

with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.”

In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.”

Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning.

The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet.

Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s

Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com

Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.

Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during

Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood.

He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.

After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980.

In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he

learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage.

In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar.

“Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said.

Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders

>>

2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space

1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court

also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design.

Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series.

“In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.”

Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept

2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003

2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running

him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-prof non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family.

As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business.

“From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.”

Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”

2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people

2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award

pro-bono/non-proFit / Clients lients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School

CoMMUnitY nit inVolVeMent nitY in olV inV olV Ve eMent & boarD positions

JANUARY 13 THE MARKETING ISSUE Getting the word out in Greenville, Spartanburg and beyond.

lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board

November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21

20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013

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NOVEMBER 1, 2013

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JANUARY 27 QUARTERLY CRE ISSUE The state of commercial real estate in the Upstate.

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UBJ welcomes expert commentary from business leaders on timely news topics related to their specialties.

Guest columns run 700-800 words.

Contact managing editor Jerry Salley at jsalley@communityjournals.com to submit an article for consideration.

Circulation Audit by

1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993

1990 Jackson Dawson

acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.

>>

Holly Hardin

Chris Haire chaire@communityjournals.com

Trevor Anderson, David Dykes, Cindy Landrum, Andrew Moore, Ariel Turner

UBJ milestone

OPERATIONS ADVERTISING DESIGN

DECEMBER 23 THE BUSINESS OF DOGS The care, training and feeding of our best friends.

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