2015 SCBIZ - Issue 2

Summer 2015

Seasoned greetings

South Carolina welcomes the world to its table CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED 1439 Stuart Engals Blvd.

Suite 200 Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 SC Biz News

County Spotlight: Georgetown | S.C. Delivers

Table of

CONTENTS COVER STORY:

THE SMOKY SIDE OF HEAVEN 34

Prized S.C. barbecue worth the wait

Cover photo: Rodney Scott, Scott’s BBQ Contents photo: Joe Brunson, Sweatman’s BBQ Photos/Kim McManus

ISSUE FOCUS: GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA 22 Farming, food industry plowing new ground 26 Certified SC Grown puts state’s produce on the map 26 Sallie’s Greatest gives traditional jams an herbal kick 28 Swink brothers make leap to food processors 29 S.C.’s special foods are hot commodities 30 Charleston tourism boosts bakery’s wafers 31 Ag + Art Tour builds interest in Catawba area’s local farms 32 Rentable commercial kitchen helps farmers process produce Photo/McCall Farms

33 Food hubs connect growers with restaurants, groceries

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DEPARTMENTS

2

4 Bill Settlemyer’s Viewpoint

12 Partnership in Education

5 Upfront

14 Spotlight: Georgetown County

10 Business Accelerator

40 S.C. Delivers

48 1,000 words

From the

SCBiz Editor - Licia Jackson ljackson@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7546

EDITOR

Associate Editor, Special Projects - Jenny Peterson jpeterson@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3145 Creative Director - Ryan Wilcox rwilcox@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3117 Senior Graphic Designer - Jane Mattingly jmattingly@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3118 LOWCOUNTRY NEWSROOM Managing Editor - Andy Owens aowens@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3142 Senior Copy Editor - Beverly Barfield bbarfield@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3115 Staff Writer - Liz Segrist lsegrist@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3119 Staff Writer - Ashley Heffernan aheffernan@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3144 Editorial Assistant - Steve McDaniel smcdaniel@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3123 Research Specialist - Melissa Verzaal mverzaal@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3104 Graphic Designer - Andrew Sprague asprague@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3128 Graphic Designer - Emily Matesi ematesi@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3124 MIDLANDS NEWSROOM Editor - Chuck Crumbo ccrumbo@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7542 Staff Writer - Chris Cox ccox@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7545 Research Specialist - Patrice Mack pmack@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7544 UPSTATE NEWSROOM News Editor - Don Fujiwara dfujiwara@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 106 Staff Writer - Bill Poovey bpoovey@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 104 Graphic Designer - Jean Piot jpiot@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 115 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Kim McManus CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: James T. Hammond ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Director of Business Development - Mark Wright mwright@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3143 Senior Account Executive - Robert Reilly rreilly@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3107 Senior Account Executive - Alan James ajames@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7540 Account Executive - Pam Edmonds pedmonds@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 110 Account Executive - Bennett Parks bparks@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3126 Account Executive - Lucia Smith lsmith@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7547

Dear Reader, What could be more fascinating than the business of food and agriculture? As one of the people we interviewed said, “Everybody needs to eat, every day.” There’s not one of us who doesn’t enjoy a good meal. In this issue of SCBIZ, we take a look at the super engine that is agriculture in South Carolina, with all the associated businesses that grow more numerous by the day.

Agriculture and agribusiness are major players in our state’s economy. The farm producers’ economy has been measured at $3 billion, and the agribusiness cluster has a total economic impact of $41.7 billion, according to the S.C. Department of Agriculture.

For a generation or two, South Carolinians got away from appreciating the fresh foods grown right here. Now, fresh and local are what we want. Connections such as farmers markets, roadside stands and food hubs are making sure we have access to the foods that are being grown right here.

Licia Jackson The country cooking we grew up with in the South has Editor, unexpectedly become what’s cool. Not the least of these dishes SCBIZ Magazine is barbecue, and we give you a picture, quite literally, of the rich variety South Carolina has to offer.

A few weeks ago, the staff of SCBIZ had an amazing experience at our first-ever South Carolina Manufacturing Conference & Expo, held at the TD Center in Greenville. The manufacturing sector in our state is deep and wide, with innovation and enthusiasm in every corner. We learned a lot and were happy to present some awards, which you will read about in this issue.

We’re honored to report that SCBIZ has continued its winning ways and once again was named Best Magazine or Special Publication in the associate/individual division by the S.C. Press Association.

Our featured business accelerator this issue is the Dirt Works Incubator Farm in the Lowcountry. Want to be a farmer? The Dirt Works staff will let you lease some land, providing both expertise and a tractor.

And by the way, did you hear that Volvo is coming to South Carolina? What great news!

There’s a lot to look at here.

Enjoy!

President and Group Publisher - Grady Johnson gjohnson@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3103 Vice President of Sales - Steve Fields sfields@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3110

Event Manager - Kathy Allen kallen@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3113 Audience Development & IT Manager - Kim McManus kmcmanus@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3116 Event Planner - Jacquelyn Fehler jfehler@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 113 Accounting Manager - Vickie Deadmon vdeadmon@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 100

MailingCorporate address: & Commercial Publishing Division 1439 Stuart Engals Blvd., Suite 200 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Phone: 843.849.3100 • Fax: 843.849.3122 www.scbiznews.com

The entire contents of this publication are c­ opyright by SC Business Publications LLC with all rights reserved. Any reproduction or use of the content within this p ­ ublication without permission is prohibited. SCBIZ and South Carolina’s Media Engine for Economic Growth are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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Director of Audience Development - Rick Jenkins rjenkins@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677, ext. 112

SC Business Publications LLC A portfolio company of Virginia Capital Partners LLC Frederick L. Russell Jr., Chairman

3

Bill Settlemyer’s

VIEWPOINT Let common sense guide state tax policies

G

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ov. Nikki Haley should be thankful that she’s not Sam Brownback, the Kansas governor who went all in on Arthur Laffer’s supply side economic theories. Brownback drank the KoolAid about how big tax cuts would generate dramatic economic growth.

Didn’t work. As has been shown repeatedly, nationally and at the state level, when you cut tax rates, the unsurprising result is that you get less tax revenue. In Kansas, Brownback and the legislature are staring down the barrel of a budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year that could exceed $600 million. In the meantime, vital services, including education, are under the gun due to dwindling revenue, and legislators are beginning to talk about the need to raise taxes.

A recent article in The New York Times noted that ever since the Reagan era, conservatives have clung to Arthur Laffer’s theories, whether or not they worked in practice. It is, in a sense, a faith-based approach to economic policy. Generally speaking, conservatives want to believe that only good things come from cutting taxes and regulations and from shrinking government, and Laffer’s theories provide a convenient “expert opinion” to support that belief.

Fortunately, South Carolina is not facing Kansas’ fiscal problems, but unfortunately, Governor Haley is still following the Kansas script with her insistence that new taxes to

4

cover highway funding should be offset (or more than offset) by cuts in the state’s top income tax rates.

The reality is that South Carolina needs balanced and substantial sources of revenue to meet many ongoing needs, including education and infrastructure improvements among others. For example, the “we can’t afford it” mantra crops up whenever anyone advocates Medicaid expansion, which would insure several hundred thousand South Carolinians who are now uninsured, with 90 percent of the cost covered by federal funds. If we set reasonable goals for raising revenue, we could do a much better job of meeting the needs of our citizens and strengthen our economy at the same time.

Now just because I don’t buy into Laffer’s supply side economic theories doesn’t mean I believe the opposite, that raising taxes and expanding government magically grow the economy. There has to be a happy medium, a “sweet spot” that brings in enough revenue to meet the state’s needs without crippling economic growth.

What do companies looking at South Carolina for expansion want? The record is very consistent – they want an educated and reliable workforce. They want the infrastructure needed to support their operations. They want a healthy population and communities with a high quality of life that helps them attract and keep good employees.

Most economic development experts put a state’s tax rates and tax policies pretty far down the list from those top concerns.

Our state does earn points for being welcoming and supportive of businesses seeking to locate or expand here. We make it easy to do business here, and we generally do it without sacrificing environmental concerns or “giving away the store” in terms of economic incentives. We have strong universities, technical colleges and workforce development programs to help provide the workers our employers need.

And yet, if anything, we underspend in critical areas. We keep cutting funding for higher education. We’ve failed for decades to fund maintenance and infrastructure improvements. We sacrifice the health of our citizens by not taking advantage of insurance programs for the poor and low income workers.

There is hope, however. Our state’s legislators manage, for the most part, to throw in a bracing dose of realism along with their conservative leanings. As with most things, common sense and a balancing of interests are called for, and when our political leaders answer that call, good things happen.

Bill Settlemyer bsettlemyer@scbiznews.com

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UPFRONT

regional news | data

Quidditch World Cup takes over Rock Hill park

Q

uidditch players of all shapes and sizes took over Manchester Meadows park in Rock Hill for the eighth Quidditch World Cup competition April 11-12.

Never heard of Quidditch? Ask a 10-year-old, or alternately, check out any of the books in the Harry Potter series, where the sport is played on broomsticks flying through the air.

The World Cup’s down-to-earth version drew teams from colleges and universities all over the United States and Canada. They had names like Appalachian Apparators and Tufts University Tufflepuffs.

Taking the cup, for the third consecutive time, was the University of Texas at Austin, defeating the Lone Star Quidditch Club in the finals.

USC clashes with Lock Haven University in World Cup play. (Photo/Grant N. Jackson)

$917,520

80

1,800

6,000

Economic impact Number of colleges Number of players Number attending and universities participating Source: York County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

FAST FACTS | AGRIBUSINESS POULTRY IS NUMBER ONE When it comes to agriculture in South Carolina poultry has had a long reign atop the list.

FARMS

$1.48 BILLION IN SALES

48.6 %

PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL AGRICULTURAL SALES

Cover Story

Page 22

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2,210

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UPFRONT

PGA Championship coming back to Kiawah The top players in professional golf will be competing at South Carolina’s Kiawah Island Golf Resort again in 2021.

Nine years after its first visit, the PGA Championship will return to Kiawah’s Ocean Course in August 2021 for its 103rd edition, it was announced May 1.

The par-72 course has 10 seaside holes, the most of any course in North America. In 2012, Rory McIlroy won the Wanamaker Trophy for the championship at the course.

Roger Warren, president of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, said that traffic and infrastructure issues from 2012 will be resolved for the 2021 PGA Championship.

In 2012, 50,000 out-of-towners visited during the seven-day event, spending about $92 million. The economic impact on South Carolina was estimated at $193 million, according to a study by the College of Charleston School of Business and PGA of America data.

Kiawah Ocean Course Clubhouse at 18th hole.

(Photo Steve Uzzell, Kiawah Island Golf Resort)

NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Here are announcements made in South Carolina since Feb. 19, 2015 COMPANY

COUNTY

INVESTMENT

JOBS

Volvo Cars Corp.

Berkeley

$500M

4,000

Techtronic Industries

Anderson

$85M

216

SOPAKCO

Marion

$4.5M

56

Orchids Paper Products Co.

Barnwell

$110M

134

SYNNEX Corp.

Greenville

$6.5M

150

EuWe Eugen Wexler US Plastics

Anderson

$11.1M

49

$6.03M

34

$7.7M

14

ITECH South

Oconee

Inbra Industrias Quimicas Ltda.

Orangeburg

O’Neal Inc.

Greenville

$5M

60

WABCO

Dorchester

$17M

50

Hickory Springs Bottling

Calhoun

$16.3M

37

Red Bone Alley Foods

Florence

$3.5M

45

Wire Mesh Corp.

Calhoun

$13.9M

50

Amazon

Lexington

N/A

500

Arauco

Marlboro

Mercedes-Benz Vans

Charleston

Specialty Polymers

Chester

Broad River Furniture

York

Venus Group Expert Machine & Fabrication Moneypenny

Charleston

Med-Enroll

Florence

$30M

N/A

$500M

1,300

$5.5M

5

$12.6M

200

Chester

$2.5M

25

Dillon

$2.6M

25

$760,000

40

$3.5M

153

Continental’s new Sumter plant meets zero-landfill goal

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ontinental Tire’s newest production facility in Sumter has reached zero-landfill status in its first year of production.

The term “zero landfill” means 100% of the plant’s waste is converted into recycled products or used for energy, rather than being sent to a landfill. This waste includes steel, wood, glass, plastic, rubber, paper and other materials.

Continental’s Sumter plant works with waste management company HWI Envi-

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ronmental Technologies to process and repurpose all waste materials generated in the facility.

“Continental believes in being a strong community partner, and contributing to a cleaner environment is a high priority across our entire corporation,” said Sumter plant manager Craig Baartman.

In addition to the zero landfill initiative, Continental focuses on sustainability through conservation of water and energy within tire plants. In the Sumter plant,

cross-functional teams monitor water usage, steam leakages and other issues that could waste energy or harm the environment. The plant also educates employees about how to protect and preserve natural resources inside and outside the workplace.

The Continental Sumter plant also makes community donations for the preservation of natural resources, including trail restoration at Poinsett State Park just outside of Sumter.

Correction: An article in Cities Mean Business magazine, included in the last issue of SCBIZ, should not have suggested that Greenwood Mills was responsible for a dilapidated property in Greenwood that was cleaned up using money from the Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund. Greenwood Mills ceased operations at the site in the 1980s, said J.C. Self III, president of Greenwood Mills. The site changed hands twice after that and a later owner is responsible for leaving the environmental problems, Self said.

Five companies honored with S.C. Manufacturing Excellence Awards •

Gov. Nikki Haley with Chris Walsh, plant manager at Borg Warner, and Lynn Harton, president and COO of United Community Bank.

2015 Manufacturing Excellence Award winners •

•

Cox Industries Cox is an Orangeburg-based family owned and operated manufacturer and distributor of treated outdoor wood products for the residential, commercial, industrial and utility markets.

Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing Inc. Honda’s location in Timmonsville is

one of the company’s 14 major factories in North America.

Mack Molding Co., Southern Division The Inman-based company provides plastic injection molding and contract manufacturing services to a variety of industries.

UPFRONT

B

orgWarner TorqTransfer Systems was named the 2015 Silver Crescent Award winner during the S.C. Manufacturing Excellence Awards held in April at the TD Convention Center in Greenville.

The awards luncheon, which featured a keynote address by Gov. Nikki Haley, was part of the first S.C. Manufacturing Conference and Expo, presented by SC Biz News and Dixon Hughes Goodman.

The awards were judged by a panel of experts from the Association for Manufacturing Excellence and based on demonstrated performance in citizenship, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, environmental stewardship, innovation, financial performance and a longevity plan.

BorgWarner produces transfer cases for pickup trucks, SUVs and passenger cars at the company’s location in Seneca.

Toray Industries received the new Smart Choice SC Award, which honors a company that has made a significant economic development announcement for the state during the previous year. This award was judged by the editors of SC Biz News.

The Tokyo-based carbon fiber producer, plans to create 500 jobs and invest $1 billion in building an advanced materials manufacturing plant in Moore. Toray is one of Boeing’s largest suppliers of composite material for the 787 Dreamliner, which is manufactured and assembled in North Charleston and Everett, Wash., according to the company.

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UPFRONT

Workforce, $204 million in incentives bring Volvo to S.C.

By Liz Segrist, Staff Writer

V

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olvos will now be built in South Carolina.

The Swedish automaker plans to build the company’s first U.S. manufacturing plant in Berkeley County, joining BMW and Mercedes-Benz Vans as S.C. automakers.

In one of the largest economic development announcements ever made in the Lowcountry, Volvo Cars said it plans to invest $500 million in a facility at the Camp Hall Tract in Ridgeville and create 4,000 jobs there over the next decade.

The Volvo facility is another huge win for the Lowcountry’s growing automotive and advanced manufacturing sector. Volvo is the second European company to announce an automotive facility in the region in just over two months.

Mercedes-Benz will build a $500 million van manufacturing plant in North Charleston, bringing the total auto-sector investment to $1 billion this year for the Charleston area.

“The transformation of South Carolina into an advanced manufacturing state has just been an incredible change that continues at a remarkable pace,” S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said during a news conference at the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia.

Talks began with Volvo in July, and Berkeley County officials received their first call about the project in early February. At

8

S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said the department will seek funding for Volvo from the Joint Bond Review Committee, the S.C. Budget and Control Board and the Coordinating Council for Economic Development. (Photo/Chris Cox)

least five other states, including Georgia and North Carolina, were among the finalists for the plant.

The announcement was a culmination of collaboration among state agencies, Commerce officials and recruiting efforts, according to Gov. Nikki Haley and Hitt.

They traveled to Europe and New York to meet with Volvo officials, who in turn met with South Carolina companies, including Boeing, to vet operations and workforce capabilities.

Incentives also played a big role. South Carolina lured the company with a $204 million incentives package.

Among the incentives, an estimated $120 million will come from state economic development bonds, if approved. About $30 million is expected to come from state Com-

merce Department grants, and Santee Cooper will provide an additional $54 million.

Hitt said the state Commerce Department plans to seek funding in the coming weeks from the Joint Bond Review Committee, the state Budget and Control Board and the Coordinating Council for Economic Development.

Most of the funding will be used for public infrastructure, including a new highway interchange and roadways to the industrial park “that right now has no infrastructure whatsoever,” Hitt said. On-site rail is a possibility for the site, though few details on that were available.

“Rail is an essential part of the long-term development of the site. ... A strategy is in the works,” Commerce spokeswoman Allison Skipper said.

Photo/Volvo

Berkeley County will eventually own the Volvo site, according to Santee Cooper spokeswoman Mollie Gore.

The Berkeley County factory will make the latest-generation Volvo models for sale in the United States and for export to global markets through the Port of Charleston.

The S.C. State Ports Authority will work with the company to develop a supply chain at the port, according to CEO Jim Newsome.

The company will employ up to 2,000 people initially and up to 4,000 people by 2025, the company estimates. Details on the types of jobs were not yet available. ReadySC, a division of the S.C. Technical College System, is assisting with recruitment and training for positions at the new plant.

Construction of the Volvo plant will begin in early fall, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the assembly line in 2018.

The plant will have the initial capacity to produce up to 100,000 cars per year.

Volvo Cars, owned by Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., plans to use this plant to transition from an importer to a domestic manufacturer. Volvo began importing cars to the U.S. in 1955.

UPFRONT

Photo/Volvo

Santee Cooper’s board of directors unanimously approved the purchase of the 6,800-acre Camp Hall Tract a day before Volvo officially announced its plans on May 11.

About 2,880 acres of the 6,800-acre site will be used by Volvo. The remaining land will be used for future industrial projects, Volvo suppliers or future Volvo expansions.

“We will build an industrial town along Interstate 26 and populate it with 4,000 people over time,” Hitt said of Volvo’s presence in the industrial park.

Volvo Cars will be the anchor tenant of the industrial park. Santee Cooper, Edisto Electric Cooperative, Berkeley Electric Cooperative, the S.C. Power Team and Lake Marion Water Agency will provide water, sewer and electricity to the Camp Hall Tract.

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BUSINESS ACCELERATOR

Business Accelerator

Dirt Works Incubator Farm gives aspiring farmers a helping hand

By Jenny Peterson, Staff Writer

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I

10

t can be hard out there for a farmer.

Rural land is being lost with rising land prices due to development. The art of farming is no longer being passed down, and a retiring population of farmers without younger replacements to carry on the tradition threatens the livelihood of the industry.

“The aging farmer population in South Carolina is 59 years old and we are not producing enough new farmers to equal the number that are retiring,” said Jamee Haley, executive director of the non-profit Lowcountry Local First organization.

Dirt Works, an incubator farm that LLF began in 2012 on Johns Island, is hoping to change that trajectory.

Through its 10-acre incubator farm, aspiring famers have a helping hand in growing, producing and selling their bounty. Dirt Works provides affordable land access and a training site for farmers, just outside of Charleston. It’s the first of its kind in South Carolina.

“It’s just like any business incubator, but instead of access to a desk and WiFi they’re getting a plot of land and a tractor,” said Haley.

Applicants are chosen for the program based on business plans. For a yearly flat fee of $2,000, each farmer has access to: • approximately one acre of land • a farm manager who can provide professional assistance • tractors, washing stations, a packing shed and other packaging equipment

New farmers check the growth of greens at Dirt Works, an incubator farm. (Photos/Dirt Works)

•

professional business help getting products to restaurants or to market.

Farmers can use the space for up to three years and can get help with land-linking to continue to farm once they move on from the incubator.

Currently, there are seven farmers at the incubator operating four enterprises, including heirloom fruits and vegetables, honey from a beehive and flowers for cutting. Haley said there is a waiting list. The only restriction is that raising livestock is not allowed.

The layout allows farmers to practice community farming and learn from one another, Haley said.

The idea for an incubator farm came

when the need was noticed among graduates of the LLF’s farmer apprenticeship program. The apprenticeship program, which has evolved into a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Apprenticeship, provides a hands-on program for aspiring farmers to gain introductory knowledge and experience.

Haley said she noticed that graduates had nowhere to put down roots, literally.

“If there was affordable land, it was very far away from farmers markets and restaurants,” she said.

Haley connected with a local farming family on Johns Island and worked out an arrangement to use 10 acres of their 60-acre farm on Walnut Hill Plantation for a generous lease.

“Johns Island is a great location for a new

BUSINESS ACCELERATOR

Participants listen in a group session at Dirt Works farm on Johns Island.

farm operation with its proximity to local markets, an existing farmers’ network and island soils,” Haley said.

In addition to providing land and mentoring, LLF invites restaurant groups, chefs, community members and buyers to tour the property and meet the farmers.

A $50,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund is helping with operational costs.

A Kubota tractor was donated by Steen Enterprises.

“While agriculture is one of the state’s largest industries, most comes from forestry, not food production,” Haley said. “Ninety percent of food we eat is coming from outside of the state.”

Haley hopes Dirt Works can change that. The number of people applying to the program increases every year, she said.

“We’ll continue to refine it and make it even more appealing and more comprehensive for our participants,” she said.

BY THE NUMBERS

:PP[ `YPX[WZdXPY_ _LcP^ WZb QZ] dZ` LYO LWW BZ`_S 2L]ZWTYL M`^TYP^^ ZbYP]^

$2,000

Yearly fee for participants

Up to three years Lease length

Acreage per farmer

Source: Lowcountry Local First

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Approximately 1 acre

11

PARTNERSHIPS IN EDUCATION

Partnerships in Education

SAM unites an entire county to push for academic success

By Licia Jackson, Editor

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A

12

n unexpected discovery was made in Spartanburg County in 2008 when a Chamber of Commerce task force studied the link between economic development and educational achievement. The study found that, despite having seven colleges and excellent schools, the county’s adult baccalaureate achievement rate was just 19.2%.

That was a shocking recognition, says John Stockwell, executive director of the Spartanburg Academic Movement. Spartanburg County’s percentage of adults over 25 who hold baccalaureate degrees was below the state average of 22.7% and well below the nationwide average of 27%.

“We began to ask ourselves what we can do about it,” Stockwell said. Systemic changes, as well as cultural changes, were needed in an area where a high school diploma used to be enough.

After the effort began to focus on sending more of Spartanburg County’s students to college, it quickly became apparent that a cradle to career initiative was needed, Stockwell said. It would focus on such markers as kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading, eighth-grade math – all the way up to college and career readiness and beyond.

That was when the Spartanburg Academic Movement was born, in 2012. It involves 100 partners, including many of the county’s manufacturing employers, smaller employers, the Chamber of Commerce, United Way, all seven school districts and the seven colleges in the county.

SAM replicates “StriveTogether,” a model for collective impact developed eight years ago to help the schools of Cincinnati, Ohio, and northern Kentucky. “It pulls together multiple nonprofits and school districts and gets them collectively focused on significant achievements,” Stockwell said.

Representatives of partnership organizations take part in a SAM meeting. Below, the first published report on the movement, the SAM Preface. (Photos/Spartanburg Academic Movement)

SAM’s first target is kindergarten readiness. To work on this, a School Readiness Collaborative Action Network has been organized. Anchored by the Mary Black Foundation in Spartanburg, it includes private daycare providers, teacher educators, school district representatives and staff from the foundation. A “Toolkit for Kindergarten Readiness” has been developed to help parents and preschool educators.

“We’re trying to focus attention on what the research tells us are the most critical factors affecting success,” Stockwell said.

An assessment taken by all first-time pre-K and kindergarten students will measure their readiness.

Another Collaborative Action Network is addressing college and career readiness. It involves employers, school districts and colleges. The network has adopted the Profile of the Graduate developed by TransformSC,

which gives specifics such as critical thinking and problem solving, perseverance, self-direction and technology, as well as academic subject standards.

As SAM moves forward, other critical success points will be addressed.

“At every level, from cradle to career, kids face all kinds of challenges,” Stockwell said.

“All of these challenges, nonprofits try to address.”

SAM seeks to capitalize on the work of the nonprofits and try to get everyone focused on the big goals.

Already, there are some measures of success. SAM had its roots in the College Hub, which focused on increasing the percentage of adults with baccalaureate degrees. Since work started in 2009, that percentage has increased from 19.2% to 23%. The goal is to reach the level of the “best of the best,” the level of regions with the most dynamic economies: 40%.

The Mission

John Stockwell is executive director of the Spartanburg Academic Movement.

The Vision

A countywide culture that values educational achievement, and a robust economy that demonstrates that value.

The six stages of academic achievement

SAM, working together with Spartanburg County’s school districts, has identified six stages of academic achievement for which success is necessary in order to reach the “big goal.”

1. Readiness for kindergarten success 2. Third-grade reading success 3. Eighth-grade math success 4. High school graduation, college and career ready 5. Post-secondary enrollment 6. Post-secondary persistence to graduation

“Nothing has provided as much potential for change as SAM’s collective impact approach to academic achievement from cradle to career. Today’s third-graders are tomorrow’s employees. The more effective SAM is today, the more effective we will be tomorrow in addressing our workforce challenges. The Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce is deeply committed to The Movement because it is critical to our county’s economic future.”

Allen C. Smith

President & CEO, Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce

“What if enterprises across Spartanburg County – from major corporations to media, from foundations to faith communities, from nonprofits to neighborhood associations – joined as partners, committing to a shared sense of purpose … to ‘doing good’ for our children, cradle to career?”

Joe Salley

President/CEO, Milliken & Co.

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Pushing that figure is essential, Stockwell said. “A high school education is not adequate for high-tech manufacturing . . .

Post-secondary achievement is important for every child.”

Earlier in May, SAM published its second report, Chapter 1, Faces of Change.

The report noted new challenges as South Carolina changes its assessment models for students and schools.

The business community plays several roles in the SAM partnership. Business leaders see the wisdom of the Collaborative Action Network focusing on specific targets.

They are showing their support through funding. All the funds for SAM are privately raised, most from corporate employers in Spartanburg County, Stockwell said, and funding is in place for the next three years.

Businesses also work directly with nonprofits in the schools. BMW is providing Six Sigma coaching for each of the Collaborative Action Networks. “It’s a real bone-deep, roll-up-your-sleeves commitment,” he said.

The seven award-winning school districts of Spartanburg County, the first sustaining partners of SAM, are at the table, and metrics are moving in the right direction. The high school completion rate has climbed every year since 2006-07 and is now well ahead of the state average. The college matriculation rate is up 10% since 2012.

Beginning in primary school, children are being taught to expect that they will go on to college.

“This is a generational process, looking at our targets in 2030,” Stockwell said. The children who were in prekindergarten when SAM started in 2012 should be graduating from college just about then.

SAM IS AN “ALL-IN PARTNERSHIP” We’re an all-in partnership of schools and colleges, businesses, governments, foundations, faith communities and individuals across Spartanburg County in pursuit of high levels of educational achievement by: 1. Measuring academic accomplishments that matter – cradle to career 2. Setting achievement targets that escalate annually 3. Aligning networks in pursuit of these targets 4. Reporting progress with persistent regularity

PARTNERSHIPS IN EDUCATION

About SAM

Source: Spartanburg Academic Movement

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county spotlight

GEORGETOWN

Huntington Beach State Park. (Photo/Austin Bond)

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE IN GEORGETOWN COUNTY www.scbizmag.com

By Jenny Peterson, Staff Writer

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G

eorgetown County, a small county along the coast, is one of the oldest settled areas in the Charleston region. Residents boast that in Georgetown County, you can find something for everyone.

It has the coastal life with vibrant beach communities, the river life with abundant fishing, and the rural life with vast acreage and natural wildlife.

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Georgetown Co By the numbersunty 2013 population...... ........................ 60 ,440 2018 population (p rojected).......... 68 ,240 Labor pool............. ......................... 30 ,094 Unemployment rate (March 2015)..... 8.3 % Per capita income (2012)............. $38,9 04 Source: Georgetown County Economic Develop ment

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: GEORGETOWN Georgetown Shrimp Dock offers fresh local seafood. (Photos/Jackie Broach, Georgetown County)

The historic seaport city of Georgetown, South Carolina’s third oldest city, boasts oak-lined avenues, riverfront shopping and dining, a scenic Harborwalk, dozens of antebellum mansions and a rich past that attracts visitors from all over. It features plantations, natural beauty and authentic Southern charm.

Georgetown County boasts the best of both worlds in both its landscape and its demographics. Several colleges and universities in Georgetown turn out knowledgeable graduates and a ready workforce in a number of disciplines, from high-tech training in advanced manufacturing to marine sciences and coastal marine research.

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Aerial view of Georgetown County.

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Although tourism remains the largest industry, the business climate in Georgetown County has historically been in the metal and steel industries, taking advantage of convenient port access.

The county’s health care industry has thrived with two hospitals, Georgetown Hospital System and Waccamaw Community Hospital, as well as a number of specialty doctors and health care practices. Much of that growth comes from the area’s demographics: nearly a fourth of the county’s 60,000 residents are 65 and over.

Through its economic development department and Economic Development Alliance, the county is now going through

A restaurant on Front Street welcomes visitors.

a transformation with a move to recruit more technology-based businesses as well as advanced manufacturing, while retaining a relaxed quality of life.

Business incentives abound Georgetown County has attractive business incentives that make it a more affordable option than other nearby coastal communities without sacrificing quality of life.

“What sets us apart is our overall cost of doing business. Our land prices are very low in commercial, industrial, and beachfront real estate,” said Brian Tucker, director of economic development with Georgetown

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: GEORGETOWN

With water all around, folks in Georgetown can go fishing almost any time of day. (Photo/Austin Bond)

County.

The city of Georgetown, listed among Sperling’s Best Places to Live, has a median home price of $118,600, and the cost of living is 9 percent less than the rest of the country.

Business incentives for development include reduced property taxes and a number of labor resources including substantial workforce development and workforce training dollars.

“We’re also one of the few places in the state where you can find affordable barge and rail access,” Tucker said.

This is especially true with break-bulk materials and commodities that don’t need

to ship in a container, he said.

“The port is a big benefit for the county,” said Perry Collins, owner and president of Gams Stevedoring Gulf and Atlantic Maritime Services, based in Georgetown.

As there are plans to dredge the Port of Georgetown, Collins said, “We look forward to getting it dredged to create more activity in the area for port-related jobs.”

Other benefits for doing business in Georgetown include the number of grants available to businesses that make investments in the community, including buildout grants and renovation grants.

Industrial companies are large employers in Georgetown County. Andrews Industrial

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Ruby’s stone crab (Photo /Jason Rosenberg)

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COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: GEORGETOWN Top: A youngster shows off his catch at a fishing tournament.

Right: Players compete in a soccer tournament at Stables Park. (Photos/Jackie Broach-Georgetown County)

Park is the county’s primary industrial park and offers move-in ready sites with water, gas and rail access along with optic fiber, phone and Internet capabilities.

Tucker said a large announcement for a business expansion in Georgetown is expected in the next few months.

With a top-notch school district, nearby technical colleges and Coastal Carolina University preparing a ready workforce, many

stakeholders are inviting new businesses to take a look at all Georgetown County has to offer.

Ramping up for advanced manufacturing Aligning with major industries statewide, Georgetown County has announced it is partnering with Horry Georgetown Technical College to open a dedicated cen-

ter for advanced manufacturing and metal fabrication. Tucker said the goal is to open the center by 2017.

“We’re looking forward to a manufacturing center where younger adults can learn a trade and be able to stay in our area,” he said. “The center would teach people a number of advanced manufacturing skills, including robotics, mechatronics, machine tooling and welding and all there is to know about equipment in the heavy metal and fabrication industries.”

“We have a very high number of students who have an interest in that field, and employers that need these skill sets,” Tucker said. “Our industries are telling our school districts what they need from the workforce with regards to skill sets, and the district is responding to those requests.”

Already the school district’s welding program is a popular class, and Tucker said the district is working on a Technical Scholars Program that would offer a two-year advanced welding certificate to graduating high school students.

The program would take place in the final year of high school and the summer following graduation. Students would get exposure to welding techniques and training and have practical work experience.

Georgetown County students are already learning a number of critical skills at a

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Visitors break fo r ice cream at a shop on Front Street.

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Sunrise at DeBordieu Beach.

(Photos/Jackie Broach, Georgetown County) Special Advertising Section

business owner you get a lot of attention.”

Entrepreneur edge

Quality of Life

One of the newest industries on the scene in Georgetown County is the rise of entrepreneurs, especially in the booming technology sector. A startup program, Startup.SC, opened in Georgetown in 2014 to attract more entrepreneurs to the area, thanks to $350,000 in grants from the S.C. Department of Commerce’s Innovation Challenge.

StartUp.SC has also received multiple grants from the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation and recently has been named as a quarterfinalist in the Americas Best Communities competition.

The Grand Strand Technology Council, which founded the program, hopes it will bring in entrepreneurs who are developing mobile apps, games, applications and upgrades to existing computer programs.

Twenty entrepreneurs are currently working out of shared office space in Litchfield Beach in Georgetown County.

According to Ryan Smith, executive director of Startup.SC, a toy manufacturer and geocaching entrepreneur are among those working out of the space.

“The economic development department is very supportive of entrepreneurs,” Smith said. “Since this is a smaller community, as a

Visitors flock to Georgetown each year for the pristine beaches, picturesque water-

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: GEORGETOWN

young age.

The district has incorporated innovative partnerships with Horry Georgetown Technical College and focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. The district received an “excellent” rating from the state Department of Education for both its growth rating and overall rating.

Starting in the 2014-15 school year, every student in Georgetown Middle School and Georgetown High School received an iPad to use the latest technology and enhance learning.

“The district has quietly collected accolades as one of the best school districts in the state,” Tucker said. “It’s small district, which allows us to keep the imminent technology sector in mind.”

In addition to Coastal Carolina University, other colleges with a presence in Georgetown include campuses of the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.

Kayaking at Pawleys Creek is a favorite outdoor pastime. (Photo/Jackie Broach, Georgetown County)

ways and marshes, marine wildlife, quaint shops and memorable family activities.

The quaint coastal town and historic downtown is made up of small, local businesses rather than big chain stores, creating

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COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: GEORGETOWN A Pawleys Island dog walker enjoys a surfside stroll. The beach life is one of many choices for Georgetown County residents..

a small town charm. The laid-back lifestyle and natural beauty along tree-lined roads set it apart from other coastal cities, making it a frequent destination for tourists. For the true sportsman, fishing, hunting and boating are popular pastimes on the area’s many rivers.

“I can get in my boat and go fishing, and be back to work by 9 a.m.” Collins said. “If

you enjoy the outdoors and beaches, it’s a very gentle Southern lifestyle.”

Live oaks, historic plantations and mild weather draw in residents and visitors, with something for everyone to enjoy.

Events are held year-round offering a plethora of things to do, from surfing to world-class golfing. Brookgreen Garden is a

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Aerial view of the beach. (Photos/Jackie Broach, Georgetown County)

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unique attraction, situated on a colonial rice plantation.

“You can live in Pawleys Island and do the beach life, you can live in the city of Georgetown and do the historic downtown life or live in the rural part of the county near a 300year old plantation,” Tucker said. “We really do have something for everyone.”

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Grown in Sou

Farming, food industry pl

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outh Carolina’s food industry, from farmer’s fields to cottage kitchens to industrial-scale canning and processing operations, is expanding at a brisk clip, driven in part by a campaign by two state agencies to further invigorate traditional mainstays of the state’s economy.

A partnership between the state Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce, started in 2009, has resulted in new industrial-scale food processors expanding in or relocating to South Carolina. These operations have in turn created new markets for raw materials that give farmers fresh opportunities that promise higher profits.

See FOOD INDUSTRY, Page 24

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

uth Carolina

lowing new ground

By James T. Hammond, Contributing Writer

www.scbizmag.com

Photo/McCall Farms

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GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA Workers sort greens at McCall Farms in Florence County. (Photo/McCall Farms)

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FOOD INDUSTRY, from page 22

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One South Carolina operation, McCall Farms, has been a family farming enterprise in Effingham since 1848. But since the 1950s, the family owned company has expanded to include processing, canning and freezing vegetables for national markets.

In the past five years, McCall Farms has invested about $40 million in facilities and created jobs in rural Florence County.

Meanwhile, Titan Farms has become the largest peach grower on the East Coast, with more than 5,000 acres of peaches in production around Ridge Spring in Saluda County. The agribusiness company has 385 acres in bell pepper production and 325 acres of broccoli growing in its fields.

Owners Chalmers and Lori Anne Carr took over management of the company, formerly R.W. DuBose & Sons, in 1995, and purchased and renamed it in 2001. The company is expanding its ability to process the peaches it grows.

On a somewhat smaller scale, but growing rapidly is Sallie Porth’s brand of Sallie’s Greatest jams and syrups marketed in more than 90 retail locations nationwide including Whole Foods. Porth’s products are developed in her country kitchen in Cameron in Calhoun County. Her background in marketing has helped her company experience double-digit growth since its creation in 2010.

Porth says that sustainability and support

“Helping small farmers, which constitutes 83% of total farms in South Carolina, is a top priority.”

Hugh Weathers

S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture

of local farmers are what her line of herbalfusion jams is about.

These examples illustrate the breadth of ideas and creativity adding new vigor to traditional farming businesses in South Carolina. They provide avenues of market development to sectors of the food production industry that still provide the big bucks, but may be mature where growth is concerned.

Leading vegetable growers, for example, maintain test kitchens where they develop new recipes that might expand market demand for their products. A package of Nature’s Greens turnip greens, washed, chopped and packaged ready to be cooked, has a recipe for the leafy vegetable sautéed in olive oil with caramelized onions and roast bell red bell peppers. A home test of this recipe developed by Walter P. Rawl Farms in Pelion (Lexington County) found it a zesty alternative to traditional Southern boiled greens.

As for what’s king of agriculture in

South Carolina, poultry holds that spot, as it has for many years. In 2012, the last year for which data is available, sales by poultry farmers were $1.48 billion, an amount that is 49% of all agriculture products sold in the state’s $3 billion farm producers’ economy.

Those figures don’t include the downstream processing, packaging and marketing of farm products grown in the state. Kraft Foods, for example, operates its U.S. turkey processing plant in Newberry. And several large poultry companies maintain chicken processing plants in the state.

According to 2013 data provided by the state Department of Agriculture, the agribusiness cluster had a total economic impact of $41.7 billion. That growing sector supported 10.5% of the state’s workforce in 2013.

That’s a 23% spike in economic impact since state officials launched their drive to build up the sector in 2006. S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers has set a goal of making agriculture a $50 billion industry by 2020, what he refers to as the 50x20 program.

Food production is today and will continue to be an important part of that push for growth.

“Helping small farmers, which constitutes 83% of total farms in South Carolina, is a top priority,” Weathers said. “Our fruit and vegetable growers have increased sales by 5% since 2006. This growth is creating more opportunities for small farms in South Carolina, and in coming years we will continue to develop programs to help small farms grow.”

Weathers said the state’s plan to help small farmers is based upon expansion of existing products, value-added processing, development of new crops, new technology, sustainability and growth of marketing and export opportunities.

Central to those efforts, Weathers said, is the Certified South Carolina Grown program, which has drawn new attention to the state’s home-grown products from consumers, as well as marketing officials in other states. The branding campaign is displayed across the state on farming enterprises large and small and is expanding to carve out an identity in food service and restaurants as well as in supermarkets and roadside stands.

Ranking by market value of agricultural products sold in S.C.

Rank: 1 2,210 Farms $1,476,817,000 in sales 48.6% of total sales

Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas Rank: 2 3,323 Farms $499,618,000 in sales 16.4% of total sales

Cotton and cottonseed

Other crops and hay

Rank: 3 783 Farms $213,796,000 in sales 7.0% of total sales

Rank: 4 5,224 Farms $176,190,000 in sales 5.8% of total sales

Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod Rank: 5 658 Farms $165,740,000 in sales 5.5% of total sales

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Poultry and eggs

MILK Vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes Rank: 6 1,420 Farms $122,678,000 in sales 4.0% of total sales

Hogs and pigs

Cattle and calves

Rank: 7 571 Farms $93,527,000 in sales 3.1% of total sales

Rank: 8 5,778 Farms $92,352,000 in sales 3.0% of total sales

Fruits, tree nuts, and berries Rank: 9 1,094 Farms $65,762,000 in sales 2.2% of total sales

Milk from cows Rank: 10 75 Farms $56,008,000 in sales 1.8% of total sales

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012 Census of Agriculture

such products do not have price-support programs.

Food products that offer good returns for farmers include leafy greens, sweet potatoes and white potatoes, Shuler said.

“We are also a milk deficit state, so there’s an opportunity there,” he said.

Much of the growth in food crops is in the sandy soil belt that runs from Dillon County through Marlboro, Florence, Allendale and Barnwell counties. Shuler said soils there are best for food crops, and water

supplies are adequate. He noted that the drought ravaged farming regions of California face increasing difficulty remaining the nation’s breadbasket, opening up new opportunities for South Carolina to compete in markets nationwide.

“South Carolina consumers spend $11 billion to $12 billion annually on food, but we only grow about one-tenth of that amount,” Shuler said, noting that buying locally produced food keeps that money in the state’s economy.

At Olde Colony Bakery in Mount Pleasant, bakers prepare wafers and cookies by time-honored recipes.

(Photo/Olde Colony Bakery)

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“The food processing sector is ripe for growth in S.C.,” said Jack Shuler of the South Carolina Agribusiness Council. “We’re halfway between Miami and New York and we have the port. Companies locating here have found they can bring in raw materials, add value and ship anywhere.”

“We want to increase their ability to source their raw materials here,” Shuler said.

Shuler noted that farming operations such as W.P. Rawl Farms in Lexington County have made South Carolina the largest collard producing state. And companies such as Titan Farms have made it the second largest peach producing state, after California.

Peanuts have become a growth sector, he said, with 125,000 acres currently devoted to the crop. Ten years ago, he said, only about 25,000 acres were planted in peanuts.

“Those products are currently being processed in Virginia,” Shuler said. “We would like to bring the processing here.”

Commodities such as cotton are grown in a financial environment in which prices are “stabilized” by government price support programs, Shuler said. Farmers can increase their profits by switching to food products, but they also increase their risk because

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Sallie’s Greatest gives traditional jams an herbal kick

By James T. Hammond, Contributing Writer

Certified SC Grown puts state’s produce on the map Certified SC Grown is increasingly a soughtafter brand, in South Carolina and regionally, thanks to a strategic marketing campaign by the S.C. Department of Agriculture to boost consumption of food products grown in the state.

“We are seeing continuous interest from farmers in growing products,” said Ansley Turnblad, who coordinates the Certified SC Grown program.

There are today about 1,700 member growers who can display the badge of the marketing program on their establishments. In addition, the program has 350 members in its Fresh on the Menu restaurant certification program.

Participating restaurants and chefs must source 20% of their raw materials from South Carolinagrown produce.

“The Certified South Carolina Grown program has helped us make sales to food service companies and restaurants,” said Sallie Porth, founder of Sallie’s Greatest jams.

One of the newest innovations in the Certified SC Grown program is the Chef Ambassador program, operated in conjunction with the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, to promote South Carolina produce in restaurants, said Turnblad.

One example of branding is the listing of Manchester Farms quail on restaurant menus.

The Hopkins-based quail producer sells millions of quail and hundreds of thousands of quail eggs annually. The Manchester Farms branding on restaurant menus is part of the company’s efforts to grow sales of its premium products.

Chain stores are increasingly setting aside shelf space for South Carolina grown produce.

“They have certain standards for what they buy and we help farmers qualify,” said Turnblad.

And schools are getting onboard, she said, seeking to incorporate more locally sourced products into their menus and classrooms.

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former medical sales person and a former financial controller for the U.S. Postal Service have come together on a Calhoun County farm to create a specialty foods company built on their family’s traditional fruit jams.

Sallie’s Greatest, run by partners Sallie Porth and Dianne Lucas, links Porth’s gift for thinking up new recipes with Lucas’ financial acumen learned in three decades managing billions of dollars of post office operations.

Their office is the breakfast table in Porth’s country farm house, next to the kitchen where she tests her inspirations.

“When Sallie goes to bed, she dreams of these recipes,” said Lucas.

Porth said a friend who grew strawberries was looking for a market for the fruit he could not sell fresh. She had retired from a career in sales and marketing, and turned to her country kitchen and her mother-in-law for the answer. She also had a surplus, in her herb garden. The result was the marriage of fruit jams with herbs from her garden.

The product was different enough that it won awards and the attention of retailers of South Carolina grown products, as well as major chains. Today more than 280 gourmet shops sell Sallie’s Greatest products.

And the jams are on shelves of 54 Whole Foods Markets and 15 Fresh Markets.

A new line of fruit-based products, Simple Syrup, made from fresh fruits and herbs, is being marketed in Total Wine stores in South Carolina.

Sallie Porth and Dianne Lucas have worked together to create the specialty foods company Sallie’s Greatest. (Photos/James T. Hammond)

Since the company created an online marketing outlet in 2010, sales have grown at least 40% a year.

Jams are sealed in three different size jars for distinct sales initiatives, from 9.5-ounce jars to be mixed into gift boxes, to quart jars for food service sales. The warehouse for Sallie’s Greatest is the former feed storage building for the dairy that once operated at this farm near Cameron.

Packing and shipping is handled at the Gressette Center in St. Matthews, a day facility of the S.C. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, which takes contracts that can provide work for the center’s special needs population. Porth has a dedicated crew at the center.

Last year, Sallie’s Greatest shipped 1,770 cases of jam to wholesalers; had direct sales of almost 600 cases; and sold 1,466 cases to food service businesses. Special events, such as the food expo at the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, can result in the sale of 45-50 cases of products.

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Swink brothers make leap to food processors

By James T. Hammond, Contributing Writer

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“We produce value-added products, seasoned, that only required heating up to serve,” said Henry Swink. “If you like collards, you will like our collards.”

A series of investments totaling about $40 million took operations to a new level. The Glory Foods label was acquired in 2010, which expanded McCall Farms’ operation with the addition of a 150,000-square-foot shipping house, a $9 million investment and 65 jobs.

In July 2012, the company announced a $10.6 million investment that allowed an increase in the number of production lines. Then in 2013, McCall Farms acquired a new canning line, Bruce’s Yams, announcing that the $19.3 million investment would create 140 additional jobs in South Carolina as it transferred those operations to Florence County.

Today, McCall Farms processes 315 million pounds of vegetables a year, with 146 million pounds of the total grown in South Carolina.

cCall Farms Inc., owned by brothers Henry and Marion Swink, carries on the farming traditions of a family enterprise that has operated continuously in Effingham since 1838. But the brothers have boosted the family business from its producer roots to a modern processor of traditional Southern foods that employs hundreds and generates about 2 million servings of fresh, canned and frozen vegetables each day.

The company grows and cans tomatoes, okra, corn, squash, beans, peas, peaches, peanuts and greens. Its products are sold throughout the Southeast.

Vegetables are grown on McCall’s 2,000-acre South Carolina farm in Florence County. The company contracts with farmers in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas for another 3,000 acres.

McCall Farms manufactures about 40 different products under the Glory, Bruce Yams and Peanut Patch brands, as well as

private-label and food service products.

“The acquisition of the Bruce’s brand is an exciting addition to our growing company,” said Marion Swink. “Bruce Foods is a family-owned company that has shared our similar values, and their Southern style vegetables are the perfect addition to the McCall Farms product line.”

McCall operated as a traditional farm until 1954. A key acquisition was the purchase of Holmes Canning Co. in 1985.

Utilizing the popular Margaret Holmes brand obtained in the purchase, McCall Farms expanded initially into Georgia and Alabama, then throughout the Southeast and now the entire U.S. McCall Farms sells directly to the major supermarket chains nationwide.

The company operates a test kitchen with the goal of constantly developing new products and improving existing products. Products include such standards as its Southern style okra, tomatoes and corn medley, or canned, cooked collards.

Expansions have allowed McCall Farms processing plants to operate 24 hours, seven days. Here, a worker sorts peanuts.

After several acquisitions, McCall Farms now employs 815 permanent and temporary workers. Food grown on about 14,000 acres of South Carolina farmland is used to supply McCall Farms’ processing plants. (Photos/McCall Farms)

S.C.’s special foods are hot commodities

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tion business which had been selling his sauces to grocery stores, and in 2007 moved into a West Ashley facility where eight fulltime employees now handle the company’s manufacturing, distribution and catering.

Hagood also operates a small restaurant in Charleston’s downtown city market, where curious foodies can always stop by for a taste of his stone-ground grits or Charleston gold rice and artichoke relish.

Brooks Reitz has a similar backstory at Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. The Kentucky native started his business as merely a way to provide drinkers with more natural mixers which shied away from things like high fructose corn syrup – instead using cane sugar, real oranges and authentic lemongrass, among other ingredients.

See SPECIAL FOODS, Page 33

www.scbizmag.com

ara Alford answers the phone in her laid-back, thick-but-sweet Southern accent. On the other end is a reporter looking to track down her employer’s media relations director.

Truth is, Alford is about it. A part-timer at Blenheim Ginger Ale, she is a jack-ofall-trades secretary who helps out any way she can. She is one part of a small team operating in a building she describes as “two tractor trailers back-to-back.”

“There’s only five employees, including me,” she said, laughing. “I’m the secretary.

And our plant manager. The other three are house workers.”

Alford’s role is like many popping up across local South Carolina food businesses.

And as the industry grows, so too will the roles that come with it.

That growth is evident, from shelves of grocery stores statewide to the evergrowing roster of the S.C. Specialty Foods Association. About 150 companies are now members, compared to about 10 when it was first conceived in the mid-1990s.

Members include the Grey Ghost Bakery in Charleston, which has been featured on the NBC Today Show; Carolina Honeybee Co. of Travelers Rest; Charleston Tea Plantation; and Dottie’s Toffee of Spartanburg.

“We’re in the midst of a huge movement of Southern food products,” said Jimmy Hagood, founder of Charleston’s Food for the Southern Soul. “It’s fun. It’s great to be a part of this.”

Hagood, once the food association’s president, started his business like many do – with a dream (or a wife’s nightmare, as he likes to joke) that eventually became more than just a hobby. It began innocently enough at a Charleston wildlife expo, where he and his son finished second in a barbeque competition.

Not long after, they were hitting the road with their barbecue rig to Memphis for the Super Bowl of Swine. A few years of rave reviews ended with the artisan ditching the insurance business to fire up the cooker on his passion full-time.

He later purchased a local food distribu-

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

By Chris Cox, Staff Writer

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GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Olde Colony bakers produce 125,000 pounds of Benne Wafers each year., shown at left and above.

(Photos/Olde Colony Bakery)

Charleston tourism boosts bakery’s wafers

By James T. Hammond, Contributing Writer

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he Benne Wafer, with its roots in the diet of Africans brought to the South Carolina Lowcountry as slaves, is being preserved by a Mount Pleasant business, Olde Colony Bakery. The bakery produces 125,000 pounds a year of the tasty sesame seed morsel.

The business started in the 1940s as a traditional bakery on Charleston’s King Street, baking and selling cakes and pies as well. In 1990, Peter and Sheila Rix relocated to Charleston and bought the bakery, which had among its specialties the quarter-size sesame and ginger flavored wafers.

Sheila Rix said the rigors of the retail business and the breadth of its menu soon led the family to resolve to restructure and focus on its most marketable items. In 2000, they moved the business to Mount Pleasant and concentrated on the manufacture of the tasty wafers that were much in demand.

Today Peter Rix is semi-retired and Sheila Rix operates the business with their son Phillip and son-in-law Jim Barrett.

Charleston people still remember the former bakery on King Street. “We still get calls about wedding cakes,” said Phillip Rix. But the transformation into a narrowly focused specialty food manufacturing com-

pany has meant a more stable home life for the owners and a branded product that is much in demand, said Sheila Rix. “We bought the business because of the Benne Wafer,” she said. “We used to make 25 pounds of benne a week and 25 pounds of ginger wafers. Now we make 100 pounds every 30 minutes.”

Along the way, they have learned lessons about protecting their business. While they once swapped business information with other specialty food makers, “We don’t talk about our ingredients any more. People have tried to copy us.”

The evolution of the family-owned company has been “very, very difficult,” Sheila Rix said. “We had children who would help us, and a good bank that told us what we needed to do, which was raise our prices.”

“We did,” Rix added.

The explosive growth of Charleston’s tourism and a successful online marketing arm have built a business that today sustains three households. Now online marketing accounts for about 14% of Olde Colony sales.

“Boeing coming here, 44 people moving to South Carolina every day, and Charleston being a wedding destination have all been important to the growth of the business,”

Sheila Rix said.

Today, Olde Colony Bakery works with two distributors, who supply about 400 retail gourmet and gift outlets as well as restaurants in the Lowcountry and along the Eastern Seaboard. About 40-45% of the company’s business is concentrated in the Charleston region.

Making the 5-ounce packages of Benne Wafers employs seven to nine people, including the family members.

Christmas sales figure prominently in the company’s profit picture, and often include gift boxes with the Benne Wafers and Olde Colony branded pickled vegetables and other food products.

Niche markets have emerged. People employed by Boeing, for example, have been shipping a significant number of Olde Colony gift boxes back to friends and family in the Seattle area, said Phillip Rix. After author Pat Conroy mentioned the Benne Wafer in one of his Charlestoncentered books, Olde Colony began receiving orders from book clubs that wanted to serve the wafers when the book was being discussed.

And every spring, Phillip Rix says, “we get orders from schools doing social studies projects on South Carolina.”

By Licia Jackson, Editor

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he largest free farm tour in the nation — the Catawba Region Ag+Art Tour — happens June 27 and 28 in a five-county area in north central South Carolina.

Artists and farmers join to welcome visitors to 50 farms and markets across the region. Since its beginnings in 2012, more than 16,000 visitors have participated.

“When you go to a farmers market, you see produce and there’s also an art component,” says Ben Boyles, who with Strauss Shiple co-chairs the event. “We wanted to recreate that feel in the farm tour.”

Here’s one example: When you visit a goat farm, you might see a farmer milking the goats, sample and purchase goat cheese, and check out an artisan’s goat milk soap.

The tour has quickly become an important economic development tool for farmers, artists and tourism, said Boyles, an economic and community development agent for Clemson Extension in Rock Hill.

In fact, in one case the tour actually helped save a farm. “Last year one farm in the region was going out of business,” Boyles said. “During the tour they made some sales, and now they are expanding.”

About 600 people came through that farm on tour weekend, with an immediate economic impact.

The Ag+Art Tour was founded in York County in 2012. The next year it expanded to Lancaster County, then in 2014 Chester and Fairfield counties joined in. This year, Union County will be included.

Vendor w ith (Photos/J Yard art at Inma n farms. an Todd)

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Do

ert. ri Sanders on her farm in Filb

The tour includes family farms, vineyards, wineries, breweries and orchards.

Each participant produces food, fiber, unique crops or livestock; adds value to agricultural products; or offers other farmbased activities, such as a market.

A guide to the tour lists the farms, markets and artists. Visitors can download a passport and get it stamped at each place they visit, then turn it in at their last stop.

Adding the art element has been the magic touch for increasing participation in the farm tour, Boyles said.

When they started, organizers reached out to chambers of commerce, arts councils, tourism groups, farm bureaus, the Clemson Extension, economic development agencies — anyone touching local food or art.

The Catawba Ag+Art Tour has two representatives from each county on its leadership team. Each county also has a team to recruit volunteers and farms and raise funds.

The Catawba group hopes the Ag+Art movement goes statewide. And if your region is ready, the Catawba team has developed a tool kit. “We have all the lessons learned — a lot to share,” Boyles said.

The Catawba Ag+Art tour brings in visitors from Charlotte and other areas. This year the marketing will expand to Atlanta, Greensboro and Raleigh, as well as within South Carolina.

But there will also be the emphasis on local visitors. “People come with money in hand,” to visit the farms, Boyles said. “These are their neighbors. It’s a win-win for both.”

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Ag + Art Tour builds interest in Catawba area’s local farms

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Rentable commercial kitchen helps farmers process produce

By Ashley Heffernan, Staff Writer

S

outh Carolina just doesn’t keep enough locally grown produce to meet demand, according to Olivia Thompson, a College of Charleston professor who directs the college’s Farm-to-School Initiative.

Through research funded by The Boeing Co., Thompson found that about 90% of the state’s fruits and vegetables are exported to other states. Additionally, some of the produce that stays in the state actually goes out of South Carolina temporarily for valueadded processing, such as when lettuce is sent to a processing facility to be cleaned, chopped and bagged before it’s returned to the same place it was grown to be sold.

That step increases the price of food for consumers and maintains jobs outside the state.

“What we realized right away was that we have to do something to improve the produce supply chain,” Thompson said.

She teamed up with the Clemson University Cooperative Extension and the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston to develop a commercial kitchen on Johns Island that farmers can use to package and preserve produce.

The Crop Stop, a 60-foot-long structure that includes a 400-square-foot kitchen, is available to farmers for $6 per hour, which is significantly lower than the $20 to $65 per hour that most commercial kitchens charge, according to Harry Crissy, an agent for the Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development.

“The food goes to waste if they can’t sell it at the market and it wilts. It’s done,” Crissy said. “If you come in here and process the food, it doesn’t go to waste. It has a shelf life. You can do something with it.”

In the kitchen, produce that is Good Agricultural Practices-certified with the U.S. Department of Agriculture can be blanched, then shocked in an ice bath. Farmers can also freeze up to 200 pounds of produce in about two hours and cook 20 to 30 pies,

From left, architecture students Laney Tuten and Nicole Bronola, College of Charleston professor Olivia Thompson, Clemson instructor David Pastre and Clemson agent Harry Crissy. (Photos/Ashley Heffernan)

depending on the size, in under 20 minutes.

The site does not provide the farmers with storage for their products, and meat and seafood processing isn’t allowed.

“Now we’re providing local produce to the local restaurants, the local grocery stores, the local hotels and the local institutions,” Crissy said.

Farmers who use the facility must sell between 8% and 10% of their produce to kindergarten through 12th grade schools or use their crops as a teaching tool for students in the state. They’re also required to complete a free, six-hour training course offered by Clemson on how to use the kitchen properly and keep food safe.

At between $50,000 and $60,000 to build, the kitchen is easily repeatable, and interest is growing to add more of the centers across the state.

Clemson architecture students, taught

by David Pastre, designed and built the Johns Island prototype and are working on an Upstate Crop Stop for Greenville that’s expected to open in July.

The facilities can be customized with interchangeable amenity modules such as restrooms, farmers’ market space or tiered seating so students can watch the process.

The ultimate plan is for nonprofits, municipalities and cooperative extension offices to take the designs and build their own.

“Let’s say the community can only afford $40,000. If they put the kitchen in first, they could actually end up building the other modules later,” Pastre said.

About 40 farmers expressed interest in using the Johns Island kitchen. Running around the clock, it can serve only 10 to 15.

“I thought the people who responded would be local, but we’ve had people from two hours away coming because it’s so cheap and they don’t have access to something like this,” Thompson said. “People are willing to drive even further distances because there’s nothing like this that exists in the state at this price point.”

Food hubs connect growers with restaurants, groceries

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GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

By Licia Jackson, Editor Grow Food Carolina receives collards from C-Breeze Organics in Nesmith, at right; below, greens are carefully tended at Wabi Sabi Farm in Cordesville. (Photos/Grow Food Carolina)

marketing outlet,” Clower said. “We work closely with them because we need the supply. We ensure them some stability.”

The food hub is a great help to farmers like Johnna Livingston, who with her husband owns Wabi Sabi Farm in Cordesville.

“They are great for taking big amounts and they get a good price,” she said. “Without Grow Food, we might not make it. It helps make a mortgage payment.”

In Marion County, a new food hub, the PeeDee Agriporium, will open in August. It will connect the region’s farmers with the 2,000 restaurants along the Grand Strand, said Julie Norman, econonomic development director for Marion County.

Producers will bring their vegetables and fruits to the warehouse on U.S. 501 near Marion. The food hub will wash it, package it and label it. Then a truck will take it to the restaurants at the beach.

“It’s an economic development thing,” said Norman. The farmers can make more from their produce, and more of the money restaurants spend on food will stay in South Carolina. There’s also the hope of attracting young people to farming, by giving them a ready market that’s easy to serve.

The Pee Dee Agriporium so far has 80 farmers interested, and area Chambers of Commerce have gathered information from restaurants about their needs. The food hub, in a renovated building, will have a vegetable wash, freezers and coolers, and a loading dock. A commercial kitchen is planned for later on.

A food hub is in the planning stages for the Upstate, with a feasibility study already done.

“It allows everybody to do what they do best,” Norman said. “Farmers grow, and they don’t have to go sell.”

SPECIAL FOODS, from page 29

things that people my age are now aware of . . . That filtered down into beverage. Is there a local distillery or local beer brewery that’s making products closer to home and a little bit more on a smaller scale?”

Local grocers are doing their part, too.

All of the state’s remaining Piggy Wigglys – including some Bi-Los, which acquired many of its stores in 2013 – carry Blenheim, Alford said. Several in-state Harris Teeters, Bi-Lo, and Publix stores all carry Hagood’s products, as does Whole Foods, which of-

fers up Reitz’s mixers for purchase.

“You can see a display in just about every Bi-Lo you walk into these days that’s full of specialty food products and certified South Carolina signage,” said Laura Lester, marketing specialist with the Department of Agriculture, who works with the Specialty Foods Association. “That’s really something that we enjoy seeing. It always makes me excited to see some of our little guys in there doing big things.”

James T. Hammond contributed to this story.

He and a business partner initially produced all items themselves. But as interest grew, he shifted production to a North Charleston facility where his one full-time employee now helps with distribution across 42 states and seven countries.

“It’s a complicated sort of sociological thing,” he said. “It starts as a reaction against fast food and high fructose corn syrup and genetically modified corn, and all of the

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f you’re a farmer, you need to do more than grow fruits and vegetables. You have to find someone who wants to buy them, and you might not have time to spend at a farmers market every weekend.

If you’re a restaurant owner, you know your customers want local produce on the menu. But shopping at farm stands and markets takes time, and you may not find everything you need.

Enter the food hub, still a young concept in South Carolina but growing quickly. A food hub acts as a connection between farmers and restaurants, groceries and institutions. Farmers learn what to grow to meet local demand, and restaurants and groceries are assured a good supply of what they need.

The state’s first food hub is Grow Food Carolina, with a warehouse in downtown Charleston. It began in partnership with the Coastal Conservation League, out of concern for keeping farm land rural.

“The greatest part is that we are right at the crossroads of I-26 and U.S. 17,” said Sara Clower, general manager. Starting out in October 2011 with five growers, Grow Food Carolina now works with more than 50 within a 150-mile radius of Charleston.

Sales have grown to $1 million a year.

Farmers set their own prices. They deliver the produce to the warehouse, and the food hub workers market, sell and distribute it to customers. A portion of the sales price goes to the food hub for operations.

Grow Food Carolina helps the farmers plan, but doesn’t tell them what to plant.

“We don’t want to be the farmers’ only

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GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

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THE

Joe Brunson shovels embers made from oak, pecan and hickory wood to fire the pits at Sweatman’s BBQ.

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

aven SMOKY END OF

Prized S.C. barbecue worth the wait

By Jenny Peterson, Staff Writer

Photography by Kim McManus

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GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Left: Joe Brunson tends to cripsy pork skins at Sweatman’s BBQ. Above, from left: Charles Davis, Clifford Davis and Jeannette Washington break down cooked whole hogs for the weekend menu at Sweatman’s BBQ.

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y mid-morning on Friday, the parking lot at Sweatman’s BBQ in Holly Hill was starting to fill up. The restaurant doesn’t officially open until 11:30 a.m., but barbecue connoisseurs didn’t seem to mind the wait.

After all, Sweatman’s is one of the oldest and best-known roadside barbecue restaurants in the state, and like many famed barbecue spots, it’s open only two days a week.

Customers could see smoke billowing out of the stack behind the farmhouse building – a sure-fire indicator that this place was a bona fide barbecue joint, with meat slowcooked for 12 hours over embers of hickory, pecan and oak wood and taken off the grill within an hour of serving.

Inside, nearly a dozen employees moved about briskly setting up the all-you-can-eat buffet with sides like baked beans, macn-cheese and freshly whipped homemade banana pudding. Then, servers brought out the star of the show – trays of tender pulled pork, piled high. Those trays are the reason people drove miles and miles, well off the beaten path.

At more than 250 other barbecue places across the state, there’s a similar story, according to the South Carolina Barbecue

Association. With restaurants, festivals, cooking competitions and sauce sales, barbecue is a prime segment of the state’s food business.

If you’re a South Carolina native, you grew up eating barbecue. If you’re new to the area, you’ve probably already tried the local dish and have a favorite restaurant where you get your fix.

Meat is slow-cooked to a perfect, smoky state over heat that hovers just above 200 degrees for half a day. It’s overseen by dedicated pit masters who have one job: to patiently wait.

At Sweatman’s, employees had been working overnight since 5 p.m., preparing for the weekend’s menu offering, chopping wood to burn down into embers and laying whole hogs on the grill.

“Every hour and a half, they re-fire the grills,” said Mark Behr, owner of Sweatman’s BBQ. It’s been the exact same routine every weekend since opening in 1977 by the late Margie and Harold “Bub” Sweatman. The restaurant still operates in the old farmhouse, with the same employees manning the grills. They carefully and painstakingly make the barbecue sauce and sepa-

rate the dark meat from the light meat – a signature of Sweatman’s.

Behr, a Holly Hill native, loved Sweatman’s Barbecue so much, he used to have standing group lunches every Friday for years. When he heard the restaurant was going to be sold, he and his wife, Lynn, stepped in to buy it in 2011 and keep the tradition going.

Often pit masters carry on the tradition of a father or grandfather with closely guarded secret recipes.

Thanks to a $1.2 million campaign by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to promote South Carolina barbecue, and plenty of love from food channel television shows, South Carolina barbecue is getting the attention it deserves.

The BBQ Trail initiative includes maps of all of the famed barbecue places in the state (bbq.discovercarolina.com). The South Carolina Barbeque Association also lists its “100-mile BBQ” places — restaurants so good, it’s worth driving 100 miles just to try

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

“This is my sanctuary.

My all-day sanctuary.”

Rodney Scott

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GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA Scott’s BBQ operates out of a white wooden building in Hemingway, S.C.

them (top100bbq.com).

In June 2014, the South Carolina Legislature designated barbecue as the official state “Picnic Cuisine of South Carolina,” bringing even more awareness to the iconic dish.

Barbecue festivals across the state are a boon for local economies.

It’s not hard to lure in crowds — or TV networks — to check out what goes on beneath all that smoke.

Often family-owned barbecue places (referred to as “joints” because of their relaxed

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Crispier dark meat is separated from the lighter meat at Sweatman’s BBQ buffet.

38

atmosphere) have plenty of character, with plenty of culinary history to talk about.

Rodney Scott, pit master and owner of Scott’s BBQ in Hemingway, continues the barbecue tradition at the place his father opened in 1972. Scott smokes whole hogs in wooden boxes that once shipped tobacco; the design was created by his father, Roosevelt Scott.

Scott grew up working at the restaurant and was taught by his father. He still mans the smokers out back of the white wooden storefront. His duty includes slathering his

Mary Alice Benjamin uses fresh bananas for the banana pudding at Sweatman’s BBQ.

signature red vinegar sauce over whole hogs on the grill with a mop, dipped into a bucket of his secret savory sauce. A homemade seasoning blend adds a distinct hint of heat.

At Sweatman’s, Joe Brunson and Charles Davis have been working on barbecue for decades. Davis can deftly butcher a whole cooked hog in 25 minutes, separating the crispy skin, ribs, light and dark meat. Davis’ sister and sister-in-law both work in the front area of the house.

Dining on barbecue is woven into the fabric of South Carolina culture. Scott said

GROWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

the busiest time for his place is any time there’s a large family gathering, like graduations, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Barbecue graces the tables of church meetings and tailgating feasts.

The only thing South Carolina diners need to decide is whether to pour on the red or the yellow sauce. Many regard the yellow, mustard-based sauce as the state’s unofficial sauce, but throughout the state you can find all four basic types on the same menu: mustard-based yellow, vinegar-based yellow, vinegar-based red sauce and a heavier tomato-based barbecue sauce.

Outside of restaurants, amateur barbecue teams regularly cook and compete against one another at events all over the state.

Whether at a family gathering or a team competition, barbecue is a special food that brings families together for a meal that has been prepared and eaten in the same way for generations.

Eating at a roadside barbecue restaurant is all about that traditional experience. And the long history of dedicated families working together in the smoke houses is why there’s so much love on the plate.

Above: George “George Jr.” Dollard places an order with Ella Scott, Rodney’s mother, who founded Scott’s BBQ with her husband, Roosevelt “Rosie” Scott.

Right: Virginia Washington prepares a to-go plate.

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S.C. DELIVERS

Ports, Logistics & Distribution

Boyd Cycling co-owners Boyd Johnson (left) and Nicole Johnson with wheel builder Ian Harding. (Photo/Bill Poovey)

BIKE WHEEL COMPANY EXPANDS GLOBALLY www.scbizmag.com

By Bill Poovey, Staff Writer

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couple who have built their bicycle wheel design and assembly business in rented space beside the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville for six years are relocating while they expand their marketing in places like Asia and South America and pursue plans for a European headquarters. That doesn’t

mean Boyd Cycling, co-owned by former bike racer Boyd Johnson and wife Nicole, is leaving the Upstate.

The headquarters and shop are staying close to the company’s roots, moving just a few miles down the trail to be near a planned park close to downtown.

See WHEELS, Page 42

S.C. DELIVERS Cyclists on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. (Photo/Bill Poovey)

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WHEELS, from page 40

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Even with global recognition for innovation with a hub and other wheel-related products, Johnson said the Swamp Rabbit Trail offers an identity for his business and contributes to a quality of life that is too good for his family to leave. The couple have a 2-year-old daughter who enjoys the trail with them, he said.

“Greenville is known for the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and we want to have that association too,” the former professional racer said.

As CEO, Boyd Johnson oversees logistics, engineering and development for the handcrafted products. He said the “vast majority of what we do is U.S.-based sales but as we continue to grow as a company we are starting to branch out more into exporting. We are bringing on distributors from other countries.” Those countries include Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia.

“We’ve got a very big dealer in Thailand,” he said.

Nicole Johnson said she got into exports in 2011. She said the International Trade Administration office in Greenville, headed

by Denis Csizmadia, introduced her to exporting and “has been an integral part in showing us the ropes.”

“I actually went to one of their export

“There is a strategy we are implementing, and in the next couple of years you are going to see our export business go to probably 15%.”

Nicole Johnson

co-owner, Boyd Cycling

101 seminars,” she said. “That’s where I started to understand some of the programs that are in place and the support and that they want small business to export. We actually do a trade show in Germany called Eurobike. It is the biggest trade show in the world for cycling. They actually helped us with the embassies there, connected us with the embassies, and the embassies actually helped us with a marketing campaign. So last year when we went to Eurobike we had 12 appointments before we even got there.”

She said the embassies, including The Hague in the Netherlands, assisted.

“That’s how we actually got our distributor in the Netherlands last year was through that whole marketing campaign,” the Boyd Cycling sales director said.

Boyd Johnson, who helped build a cycling computer while previously work-

ing for another company, said exports now make up more than 10% of his business. He said the Boyd Cycling products have a reputation for quality at lower than competitor cost, but use of distributors and increased demand globally make it “tough with pricing because the distributor takes an extra level of pricing. We are working on ways of increasing our pricing, lowering our costs and looking at being able to work with them that way.”

Nicole Johnson said “Asia is a big cycling mecca. It is a different market though.

There are aspects of Asia that we would like to be present in. We’ve got customers in Japan now, Singapore and Hong Kong. Europe is a big draw for us as well. There are so many people that ride in Europe. It is a lifestyle there that we would like to be more involved. And also South America is on the radar.” She said promoting themselves as global requires being able to respond to large orders.

“We were just recently approached by a distributor in Korea, and the numbers that they wanted, I mean we are hand building all our wheels,” she said. “As part of our growth strategy we are working on getting everything aligned because the one thing you don’t want to do is say we’re international and then you can’t get your product out. There is a strategy we are implementing, and in the next couple of years you are going to see our export business go to probably 15%.”

Nicole Johnson said the firm has 10 employees, has doubled in size every year since opening and is looking toward opening new locations, particularly as the export side grows.

“The reality is companies that export go to the top,” she said. “The world is a viable marketplace now with the Internet. If the Internet was not around it would be very tough for us to do what we were doing. It takes years and years and years to get market share and brand recognition. Without spending millions of dollars on advertising it would have taken us forever.”

She said they have “talked about having a headquarters in Europe. We’ve put things in motion to have that happen in the next three years.”

Staff Report

Manufacturing

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MW executives and state officials celebrated production of vehicle No. 3 million recently at BMW Manufacturing Co. Dawn Burgess, an employee at the plant since production started in 1994, handed the keys to the X5 to Manfred Erlacher, the plant president and CEO. Erlacher said the growth of the Greer plant, with about 1,200 vehicles produced daily and a planned expansion boosting total employment to about 9,000 by the end of 2016, has been “quite extraordinary.”

“Today, as we witness another historic moment, I am delighted to announce that BMW’s profound impact in South Carolina continues,” Erlacher said at a ceremony attended by S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt and Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the S.C. State Ports Authority. Gov. Nikki Haley congratulated the automaker.

Erlacher said the vehicle was purchased

The 3 millionth vehicle produced at BMW Manufacturing Co.’s Greer plant was purchased by a customer in Kristianstad, Sweden. (Photo/BMW)

by a customer in Kristianstad, Sweden.

In February, the U.S. Department of Commerce said the BMW plant was the largest U.S. automotive exporter of passenger vehicles by value in 2014, at $9.2 billion.

About 250,000 vehicles were exported from the plant, more than 70% of the vehicles produced. The plant is the exclusive producer of all X3, X4, X5 and X6 vehicles.

Hitt, who previously worked as public re-

lations director at the plant, said BMW “has been a catalyst for the exponential growth of our state’s auto sector, which today includes companies in 40 of our 46 counties.”

“But beyond our borders, it’s a point of pride for our workforce that now 3 million world-class, quality-made vehicles have been delivered for the global market, from right here in South Carolina,” Hitt said in a BMW statement released after the event.

Celebrating the 3 million-vehicle milestone, Newsome said, “Automotive manufacturing is significant to the port for both import and export volume growth. BMW is the largest user of our roll-on-roll-off facility at the Columbus Street Terminal as well as the S.C. Inland Port, and their expansions have been exciting opportunities for us.

We value our role in BMW’s international supply chain and look forward to a strong continued partnership.”

S.C. DELIVERS

BMW says 3 million vehicles produced in Greer

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S.C. DELIVERS

Exporting

Staff Report

Upstate SC Alliance launches regional export plan

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ased on a market assessment and analysis of the region’s export economy, the Upstate SC Alliance has released a report with a new export strategy that focuses more on small businesses and looks to build on Upstate success in attracting foreign-owned companies. The Regional Export Plan was presented at the organization’s annual meeting in Spartanburg.

The plan outlines steps for business, community and government leaders to promote the 10-county region based partly on a data-driven profile of the region and survey of 118 businesses as part of the Global Cities Initiative, a five-year project of the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase.

The three-year plan does not immediately involve new funding and aims to transition the Upstate “from global player to global leader in the world economy.”

Plan objectives: •

•

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•

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Maintain export intensity at equal to or greater than 20% as the region’s economy continues to develop and diversify.

Increase exporting activity by 75% for domestic companies and small business, including actively developing new international markets.

Foster a strong, export-oriented business culture while building the area’s reputation as a competitive trading region.

The alliance will convene a group of investors and partner organizations to oversee implementation of plan goals, issue export policy recommendations on behalf of the region and generate public and financial support, the plan says.

Alliance Vice President and COO Jennifer Miller said the report shows the region with “great numbers in terms of our export intensity” can be better. She said international trade and recruiting efforts have been “kind of siloed” and need to be better coordinated.

Top 10 exports from the Upstate region

Transportation Equipment

$2.764B

Machinery Manufacturing $1.985B

Chemical Manufacturing $1.456B Electric Equipment & Appliances

$873M Total Upstate

Textile Mills

$799M

Plastics & Rubber $790M Exports

Royalties $434M

Fabricated Metal Products $371M

Paper Manufacturing $253M

Travel & Tourism $194 Source: Upstate SC Alliance Regional Export Plan

$11.6B

“Although we are talking to companies and we are going out and traveling internationally we are not doing it together,” Miller said in an interview.

“Most of our exports take place from our larger companies,” Miller said. “It’s not really from the smaller manufacturers that are from here. This is going to start looking at how can we teach those smaller manufacturers, some of the homegrown companies, even some of the entrepreneurial companies how to become exporters, so they can grow into multinational corporations.”

Miller said the report and plan are the first part of the global cities initiative.

“We have applied for the foreign-direct investment side of it, and we are waiting to get news back on that,” she said.

The report says Upstate leaders have “been successful at attracting companies like Michelin, BMW, Uniscite, ZF, Fujifilm and Toray Industries and cementing the region’s global reputation as a magnet for foreign-direct investment. That success provided relief from the textile industry being decimated by globalization and those foreign enterprises “brought higher wages, advanced technologies and increased exports. Now more than 10% of jobs in the region are with foreign-owned enterprises, and almost a quarter of the region’s output is from exports.”

“The Upstate’s positive export performance, led by foreign-owned enterprises, has long masked the fact that the region’s export support system is undersupported

and underdeveloped,” the report says.

The report shows Upstate exports totaled $11.6 billion in 2013, led by transportation equipment at $2.76 billion. Compared with the U.S. ratio of 66.2% goods and 33.8% services, the Upstate shows 88.3% of exports were goods.

Miller said Upstate exports are “mostly manufacturing. We are not really doing much service exporting. That could be anything, from engineering services … health care, architecture, what not. The Greenville MSA has been recognized by Forbes for being one of the top cities for engineering.

How do we capitalize on that to make sure that we are helping those companies connect” globally?

A report graphic lists export intensity by county, with Laurens at 31.7%, Cherokee at 27.8%, Union at 27%, Abbeville at 26.9%, Spartanburg and Pickens at 25.7%, Oconee at 25.3%, Greenwood at 23.2%, Anderson at 23.1% and Greenville at 15.5%. Export intensity is export value as a share of total output to gross domestic product.

The report says that “with renewed national focus on exporting and several key free-trade agreements in the works, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that could potentially increase our state’s exports dramatically by 187%, the Upstate must focus now to bolster capacity of existing exports services and to develop a fully functional ecosystem. By neglecting to do so we risk limiting our region’s future prosperity.”

By Liz Segrist

Distribution

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WV Specialty Chemicals and Sunland Logistics Solutions have partnered to open a distribution facility in Goose Creek that will handle 1 million pounds of chemical products each day.

Several years ago, MWV Specialty Chemicals, a division of Richmond, Va.based MWV Corp., saw a need to consolidate existing warehouses and expand warehousing capacity to handle growth and meet customer demand.

The MWV chemical plant runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and “real estate there is very tight” to store all of the products being manufactured, said Jerry McDowell, assistant plant manager for MWV Specialty Chemicals.

Chemical products were previously kept in an 80,000-square-foot facility dedicated to MWV, plus in five other warehouses that

Photo/Liz Segrist

the company leased around the state.

“We had a very fragmented approach.

We had multiple locations, and at times, we had the wrong product in the wrong location,” McDowell said. “This simplifies the system and enables us to put everything under one roof. It gives us one point of shipment to our customers, and we can gain lots of efficiencies as a result of that.”

Packaged chemical products coming from MWV Specialty Chemicals’ plant

on Virginia Avenue in North Charleston will be trucked to the new 300,000-square foot distribution facility at 300 Eagle Road, where they will be scanned, stored and shipped on demand.

The packaged products leave the distribution facility via truck, either for domestic shipments or to the Port of Charleston for international shipments. Company officials estimate about 500,000 pounds of product will enter the facility for storage each day and 500,000 pounds of product will ship out each day. About 20 people will be hired initially, and that number may grow over time as volumes increase, officials said.

MWV vetted more than 10 third-party logistics companies and decided to partner with Sunland Logistics Solutions, a Simpsonville-based third-party logistics provider with warehousing and distribution facilities in Greenville and Charleston.

S.C. DELIVERS

MWV, Sunland partner in Goose Creek distribution facility

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S.C. DELIVERS

Economic Development

By Chuck Crumbo, Editor of the Columbia Regional Business Report

Technical college program puts students on the work floor

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new economic development program is providing students at Central Carolina Technical College something that can’t be taught in the classroom — real work experience.

“We’ve done a great job of training students for a specific skill,” said Tim Hardee, president of the Sumter-based tech school, “but we felt like as a college we hadn’t done as much as we would have liked to get people ready for the workplace and set them up for success.”

The solution is a program called Work Experience, or WE for short.

The program involves the college’s Industrial & Engineering Technology students going to work at businesses and industries in the four counties — Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter — that the school serves.

The students, who are on track to graduate this month, are being paid to work 20 hours a week for a total of 200 hours. At the same time, they are gaining valuable experience about what happens on the plant floor, Hardee said.

Economic Development

Alvin Brown, a Work Experience student from Central Carolina Technical College, checks an electronic panel while working at Continental Tire.

(Photo/Provided)

“WE provides the potential for an increased per capita income for residents of Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter counties by providing job placement opportunities,” Hardee said. “The region will better retain skilled individuals, encouraging them to search for employment within our four-county area.”

Additionally, the program is designed to boost the region’s economic development efforts by providing business another tool for attracting and targeting local, skilled workers. The program develops a pipeline

of prospective employees for high-technology careers, Hardee said.

Central Carolina’s partners in the program include Santee-Lynches Workforce Investment Board, Sumter Economic Development Board, and area industries. The 19 students participating in the program at 17 companies are learning skills such as welding, engineering graphics technology, mechatronics and CNC (computerized numerical control) machine tool programs.

“This is the first time we’ve actually done this type of initiative in the four-county region,” said Areatha Clark, workforce board director. “The employers have expressed to us that they have a need for certain types of workers: mechatronics, CNC tool machine operators, welders, engineering graphics.

So we all came to the table and said how can we help our area employers fill that need for such employees.”

The Santee-Lynches board is providing up to $40,000 to fund students’ wages being paid through the pilot program. Students are being paid $2,000 or $10 an hour.

Staff Report

Refrigerated cargo, automotive and tires push port’s volumes up

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rowth in refrigerated cargo imports and exports, automotive and tire exports and discretionary cargo have boosted Port of Charleston container volumes in fiscal year 2015, according to board documents from an April meeting.

At that point in the fiscal year, the S.C. State Ports Authority had handled nearly 1.4 million 20-foot equivalent units, a common industry measurement that counts every 20 feet worth of container. This is up 14.3% from the same period in 2014.

The port handled 97,000 pier containers — total boxes, regardless of size — in March.

That was up 42% from the same time last

year and the port’s highest pier container volumes since June 2006.

“March volumes reflect the end of a very strong quarter, and I’m confident the port will handle over 1 million boxes (pier containers) by the end of our fiscal year in June,” Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome said in a statement.

About 136,000 passengers and 1,400 ships have come to the port in fiscal 2015.

The port also handled 594,000 tons of break-bulk cargo in the fiscal year to date.

“We’re seeing broad-based growth across all sectors, particularly refrigerated cargo and automotive manufacturing,” Newsome said. “Discretionary cargo volumes are also

up, with the growth of retail imports and agricultural exports reflected in a nearly 25% increase in rail moves last month.”

Crane operators had about 41 moves per hour, and truckers had an average turn time of about 22 minutes for all terminals. The port began offering Saturday hours for truck drivers earlier this year, and that day now averages more than 1,000 moves.

The ports authority’s operating revenues for the period ending March 31 were $141 million, up 21% from fiscal 2014.

Total expenses were $117 million for fiscal 2015, up about 10% from the previous year.

Operating earnings were up nearly 144% at $23 million.

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1,000 WORDS

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Too many times, the word to kids is “Don’t Touch.” At the S.C. Aquarium’s new Shark Shallows, “DO Touch” is the rule. Here, a southern stingray swims toward young visitors ready to check him out. (Photo/Kim McManus)