A RECORD-SETTING YEAR 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
YEAR IN REVIEW 2020 was a year like no other. Everything pointed to a down year: trade wars, immigration challenges, an election year and a suffocating pandemic. Despite these challenges, Richland County Economic Development recorded its best year since consistent records have been kept.
TOTAL ANNOUNCEMENTS IN 2020 Eight companies announced $638,795,000 in capital investment and 1,377 new jobs.
BREWING BUSINESS The crown jewel of the year’s announcements was the news that Mark Anthony Brewing would build the largest brewery built in the U.S. in the last 25 years.
$400M INVESTMENT
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325 JOBS
Richland County Economic Development Office | 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
THE BEST YEAR ON RECORD
SETI SETi, a high-tech manufacturer of deep UV-LED lights, announced a $55 million expansion that will create 40 high-paying jobs for its state-ofthe-art wafer fabrication labs. This expansion will allow SETi to market LED devices that kill viruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19.
$55M INVESTMENT
40 JOBS
THE COLUMBIA ACTION PLAN
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Columbia Action Plan, a collaboration
TIP Strategies, one of the top economic
among various community economic development partners, launched a
development consulting firms in the U.S., completed a comprehensive plan for
four-pronged strategy to development a path
the county by interviewing staff, council
forward to creating the jobs of the future for
members and stakeholders to develop a
Richland County’s citizens.
common vision.
XPLOR BOATWORKS Born from an idea from a garage start-up, Xplor Boatworks opened a new 63-employee, $3.4 million manufacturing facility in Columbia to build four models of boats. The new operation builds handbuilt, high-quality boats that are designed to go anywhere and everywhere.
$3.4M INVESTMENT
63 JOBS
www.richlandcountysc.com
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CAPGEMINI Capgemini, a global technology giant, located its first-ever service delivery center at the BullStreet District in downtown Columbia in 2018. In 2020, the company expanded operations, built out an additional 17,000 SF of space to increase their overall footprint to two full floors of the First Base Building, and committed to the creation of an additional 150 high-tech, high-wage jobs.
$2.3M 150 INVESTMENT
JOBS
CREATE OPPORTUNITY With seed funding from Richland County, Create Opportunity, an innovative approach to identifying and developing untapped programming talent, launched a new partnership with Midlands Technical College to train and place IT talent at local businesses.
INTERNATIONAL PAPER
CALL 4 HEALTH
International Paper, which operates a large paper
Call 4 Health, an innovative and growing
mill on the Wateree River near Eastover, announced
communications BPO for healthcare
a $175 million investment that will help maintain
services, purchased a small call center in
the facility’s long-term viability and provide security
Columbia and relocated operations to 7,800
for more than 800 employees on site.
SF in an office building on Dutch Square
$175M
INVESTMENT
Boulevard. The company will provide managed healthcare services including telemedicine, scheduling assistance and nurse triage in its newly renovated, stateof-the-art medical call center, and has committed to create 324 jobs.
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Richland County Economic Development Office | 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
$595K INVESTMENT
324 JOBS
BY THE NUMBERS Since the inception of Richland County Economic Development there has been
$2.2 BILLION IN INVESTMENTS MADE
8,204
JOBS CREATED
500
1,970
TOUCHLESS THERMOMETERS DISTRIBUTED TO LOCAL COMPANIES DURING THE PANDEMIC.
TOTAL ACREAGE UNDER CONTROL BY RICHLAND COUNTY
TOP 6%
OF ALL U.S. COUNTIES FOR PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR HIGHER
2.6 X
MORE CONCENTRATED IN THE FINANCE AND INSURANCE INDUSTRY THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
50,000
EMPLOYED IN MANUFACTURING WITHIN 60-MINUTE DRIVE
34.5
MEDIAN AGE: YOUNGEST COUNTY IN THE STATE
Sources: Richland County Economic Development and CentralSC
www.richlandcountysc.com
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ACTION PLAN What is our future? Where will our children work? What do those jobs look like? The answers to those questions lie with a groundbreaking new action plan spearheaded by RCEDO. The goal of the plan was to help us better understand the community’s assets and identify potential targets, while also helping us identify and eliminate barriers to success for our existing businesses. TARGETS •
Financial Services
•
Software and IT Services
•
Healthcare Information Technology
•
Aerospace
•
Medical devices
•
Biotechnology
PARTICIPANTS
USC McNair Aerospace
During January and February of 2020, community partners came together to form a coalition. Those partners included Richland and Lexington counties, the City of Columbia, the South Carolina Research Authority, the University of South Carolina, Midlands Technical College, the I-77 Economic Development Alliance and the Central SC Alliance, contributing time, funding and energy, each in its own way.
INCENTIVES
Capgemini
While South Carolina has an enviable track record of recruiting manufacturers, the state’s action plan identified weakness in tax and incentive policies for knowledgeeconomy employers. Working with both the South Carolina Economic Developers Association and a coalition of economic developers from the state’s most developed counties, RCEDO is driving positive updates to the state’s approach to attracting jobs of the future. Colonial Life
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Richland County Economic Development Office | 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Growco
STRATEGIC PLAN In early 2020, Richland County commissioned TIP Strategies in Austin, TX, to provide a comprehensive economic development plan. Through numerous interviews with county council members, senior staff, community stakeholders and national site selection consultants, TIP recommended the county focus its efforts in four areas:
1
Global Business Development Positioning the county to compete with any community in the nation for quality high-paying jobs.
2
Existing Business Retention and Expansion Foster a more resilient, innovative, and dynamic base of existing businesses in the county.
3
Communications and Marketing Engage in a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness of Richland County’s advantages and RCEDO’s successes.
4
Strategic Areas of Influence Commit targeted resources and work with regional allies to support workforce development, entrepreneurship, community development, and economic equity in the region.
In order to achieve these goals, TIP recommended the county explore graduating to a public-private partnership and growing the office’s capacity.
VISION
MISSION
Richland County will build on its strong
To advance Richland County’s
economic base and considerable assets to
competitiveness by building a dynamic,
emerge as a global center for innovative
diverse economy and increasing economic
businesses, technologies, and people.
prosperity for all residents. www.richlandcountysc.com
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RICHLAND COUNTY COUNCILMEMBERS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Bill Malinowski, District 1
Yvonne McBride, Chair
Derrek Pugh, District 2
Joe Walker
Yvonne McBride, Vice Chair, District 3
Overture Walker
Paul Livingston, Chair, District 4 Allison Terracio, District 5
ADMINISTRATION
Joe Walker III, District 6
Leonardo Brown, Administrator
Gretchen Barron, District 7
Lori Thomas, Assistant County Administrator
Overture Walker, District 8
John Thompson, Assistant County Administrator
Jesica Mackey, District 9 Cheryl D. English, District 10
STAFF
Chakisse Newton, District 11
Jeff Ruble, Director Tiffany Harrison, Deputy Director Kim Mann, Existing Industry Manager Mariah Washington, Administrative Coordinator Garry Powers, Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives
www.RichlandCountySC.com Phone: (803) 576-2043 | 1201 Main Street, Suite 1110 | Columbia, SC 29201