2020 SCBIZ Fall

Fall 2020

Headwinds

S.C. aerospace industry meets challenges, embraces new opportunities

ELECTRONIC SERVICE REQUESTED SC Biz News 1439 Stuart Engals Blvd.

Suite 200 Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

County Spotlight: Spartanburg | Trending: Aerospace in S.C. | S.C. Delivers

SCBIZ magazine is the resource South Carolina businesses need for statewide business news and information.

INSIDE BACK COVER AVAILABLE

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET IT ALL:

Business leaders have relied on SCBIZ magazine to provide the business community with the most comprehensive coverage of statewide business news and analysis.

IN EVERY ISSUE: • Upfront: Regional News and Data • S.C. Delivers: Ports, Logistics & Distribution • Trending Now: Top stories about what is impacting South Carolina’s economy • County Spotlight: Shines the spotlight on counties across the state.

DAILY EMAIL NEWS: SCBIZ Daily covers the top business news in South Carolina every morning.

Begin your subscription today!

Call 1-877-615-9536 or visit www.scbiznews.com/subscribe

EXPERIENCE MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF IN STYLE!

DUNES SKYBOX | 25 GUESTS | 17 GREEN DYE CLUB | 8 GUESTS | 17 GREEN

RESERVE YOUR HOSPITALITY PACKAGE TODAY. Corporate inquiries, contact Ben Rhodes, BRhodes@pgahq.com PGAChampionship.com/2021

MAY 17 - 23, 2021 | THE OCEAN COURSE | KIAWAH ISL AND GOLF RESORT

MDT SPEC BUILDING AT MID-CAROLINA COMMERCE PARK

Marlboro Development Te

60 INDUSTRIAL COURT, PROSPERITY, SC 29127 NEWBERRY COUNTY

PR OP

ER TY

A AIT T E R F U T B U I L D I N G A BVE LA BL E

INFRASTRUCTURE + BENEFITS • Convenient travel via GSP International Airport / CAE Metropolitan Airport

100,440 SF (EXPANDABLE TO 200,000 SF)

BUILDING SPECIFICATIONS • Building dimensions: 310’ x 324’

• 32’6” clear height

• 74 miles to Greer Inland Port

• Newly constructed, completed in Q2 2020

• Fifteen (15) 9’ x 10’ Dock Doors

• 130 miles to Port of Charleston

• 17.9 acre property

• Industrial electric rates 12% lower than the national average

• Insulated precast concrete construction

• 6” 4000 PSI Concrete Floors • White TPO membrane roof with 20 year warranty

• Only 0.25 miles to I-26 (Exit 82)

CONTACT INFO Brian Nash Senior Vice President 864.415.2039 bnash@marlborodevelopment.com Kyle Edney Executive Vice President 828.243.3142 kedney@marlborodevelopment.com marlborodevelopment.com

Table of

CONTENTS FROM THE COVER: AEROSPACE IN S.C. 18 Boeing adapts to changing conditions amid pandemic

19 Upstate companies form strong aerospace alliance

22 S.C. airports deal with pandemic fallout ABOUT THE COVER Airports across South Carolina are dealing with the disruptions in air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Passenger traffic fell sharply early in the health crisis, but some private companies at small airports are now seeing an increase in business from people seeking safer alternatives to commercial flights. See the story on page 22.

2

www.charlestonbusiness.com

July 13 - 26, 2020

PPP data for South Carolina 63,168 FEATURE

The following data shows companies and jobs retained through the loan program for all loans made under the Payroll Protection Program in the following states, ranked by number of jobs.

- 1,000 companies receiving loans

7,582

Companies approved for more than $150,000 - $4.9 million in assistance.

33

Companies approved to receive $5 million-$10 million.

657,957

52,393

11,190 24 PPP LOANS Number of nonprofit jobs retained through loans.

Number of companies with a listing in government data of 0 or no answer provided for number of jobs retained from emergency payroll loans.

2,621

DEPARTMENTS

Number of companies approved for assistance

Mississippi

25,926

Number of jobs retained

87 1 2 3 7 179

$150,000-$350,000

75 10 County Spotlight: Spartanburg

www.scbizmag.com

$350,000-$1 million

2

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E M U N I C I PA L AS S O C I AT I O N O F S O U T H C A R O L I NA

2,332

Less than $150,000

42 S.C. Delivers

24

$1 million-$2 million

11

393,016 156,810 121,913 109,227 93,287 73,827 65,803

South Carolina

Loans awarded by amount

$2 million-$5 million

30 BEST PLACES TO WORK

63,168 45,814

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

Celebrating excellence in Companies retaining more than 300 Jobsbusiness South Carolina City

Jobs

Jem Restaurant Group of Florida

Daniel Island

500

Jett Florida Bells LLC

Company

Daniel Island

500

VDV Management Company LLC

Charleston

466

Century Restaurants Inc.

Charleston

ISSUE 2

|

2020

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

Downtown Resurgence Cities and Towns Drive Revitalization

CITIES MEAN BUSINESS S.C. cities focus on enhancing, renovating downtown areas

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 439

Scout Boats Inc.

Summerville

387

MVP Group International Inc.

Charleston

349

SCBIZ reaches thousands of South Carolina’s top decision-makers.

Charleston 322 Add your name to the list by ordering a print subscription to SCBIZ. Approved for the Most Money J. E. M. Restaurant Group Inc.

The following companies approved for $2 million to $5 million loans, the most for companies and organizations in Berkeley County.

Your subscription also includes SCBIZ Daily. Delivered to your e-mail inbox each weekday Lender morning, SCBIZ Daily is your link to statewide business news.

United Community Bank Arborgen Inc. Synovus Bank forCo.$49.50; two years for $79.50, three years for $115.50.

Sportsman Boats Manufacturing Inc.One year Live Oak Banking Company

VDY Management Co. LLC

Scout Boats Inc. MVP Group International Inc. Knight’s Companies Inc. Jem Restaurant Group of Florida ITS Sprinturf Holdings Energy One America LLC

48 1,000 Words

Cities Mean

BUSINESS

973,961 916,996 800,221 672,861 657,957 412,492

Florida Georgia North Carolina Virginia Tennessee Louisiana Alabama

Federal program helps small businesses save more thanCOUNTY 650,000 jobs in S.C. BERKELEY

6 Upfront

3,224,664 1,471,782 1,246,594

Companies who received loans

Total Number of jobs saved statewide

2,567

SPECIAL PUBLICATION

Jobs retained Florida Georgia North Carolina Virginia Tennessee Louisiana Alabama South Carolina Mississippi

Companies approved for less than $150,000, totaling nearly $1.87 billion.

Nonprofit organizations approved for loans across South Carolina.

SPECIAL SECTION

Jobs retained in Southeast

Number of companies approved for payroll protection assistance in S.C.

55,553

An artist’s rendering of an F-16 Fighting Falcon flying above the Bahrain capital of Manama. Lockheed Martin is building the new generation of the venerable fighter jet at its Greenville facility.

CSS International Inc. Key West Boats Inc.

South State Bank Truist Bank

Subscribe or change your address online at www.scbiznews.com or call 877.615.9536.

Synovus

Valley National Bank Regions Bank

Aquesta Bank Truist Bank

Farmers and Merchants Bank of S.C.

From the

Editor - Steve McDaniel smcdaniel@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3123 Associate Editor - Jim Tatum jtatum@scbiznews.com • 864.720.2269 LOWCOUNTRY NEWSROOM

EDITOR

Executive Editor - Andy Owens aowens@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3142

Dear Reader,

Senior Copy Editor - Beverly Barfield bbarfield@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3115

Pandemic-related headwinds have buffeted all sectors of the world economy, none more than the aerospace industry.

Here in South Carolina, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and their suppliers are crucial parts of the state economy. All have been affected to varying degrees by disruptions in travel, manufacturing and supply chains caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Boeing, with its major East Coast plant in North Charleston, has been hit hard by a drop in orders from several partners, coupled with the ongoing 737 technical issues.

Lockheed Martin has been able to forge ahead during the pandemic, thanks mainly to its ongoing production of the new generation of the F-16 fighter jet. The Upstate aerospace facility has three major contracts to supply F-16s to Bahrain, Slovakia and Bulgaria and recently welcomed supplier Kellstrom to the Greenville area.

Small businesses bore the brunt of the economic impact of the Steve McDaniel coronavirus pandemic. The federal Paycheck Protection Program, Editor, rolled out in the early weeks of the pandemic, helped small businesses SCBIZ Magazine in our state save jobs with low-interest loans. Data shows the loans saved more than 650,000 jobs statewide and kept many businesses solvent at a critical time.

Spartanburg County is in the County Spotlight this issue. The Upstate has experienced significant growth in population and its economic base, thanks in large part to a vibrant manufacturing sector led by BMW. Long after the textile exodus pulled thousands of jobs out of the area, Spartanburg is finding new ways to build and expand a diverse economy with incentives and workforce training initiatives.

The annual Best Places to Work in S.C. are also included in this issue. We’re fortunate in South Carolina to have so many companies that value work-life balance, career advancement and inclusive workplaces. Read about what makes each of the winners around the state a special place to work.

Cities Mean Business is our semiannual partnership with the S.C. Municipal Association.

We’re proud to bring you articles on how cities and towns across the state take advantage of their unique qualities to attract and retain businesses, residents and tourists.

While we all continue to learn to live in a world of masks, social distancing and economic uncertainty, we hope you find the content of this issue of SCBIZ magazine valuable, useful and informative.

Staff Writer - Teri Griffis tgriffis@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3144 Digital Assistant Editor - Alexandra Ng ang@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3124 Research Specialist - Paige Hardy phardy@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3125 MIDLANDS NEWSROOM Editor - Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7542 UPSTATE NEWSROOM Editor - Ross Norton rnorton@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1222 Staff Writer - Molly Hulsey mhulsey@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1223 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 - Lucia Smith lsmith@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7547 Account Executive - Sara Cox scox@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3109 Senior Account Executive - Ryan Downing rdowning@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1221

South Carolina’s Media Engine for Economic Growth President and Group Publisher - Grady Johnson gjohnson@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3103 Creative Director - Ryan Wilcox rwilcox@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3117 Events Account Executive - Melissa Tomberg mtomberg@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1220 Subscription Services service@bridgetowermedia.com • 877.615.9536

Proudly printed in South Carolina by: Martin Printing | www.martinprinting.com

www.scbizmag.com

Mailing address: 1802 Dayton Street, Suite 101 North Charleston, SC 29405 Phone: 843.849.3100 • Fax: 843.849.3122 www.scbiznews.com

The entire contents of this newspaper are copyright by NWS Company LLC with all rights reserved. Any reproduction or use of the content within this publication without permission is prohibited. SCBIZ and South Carolina’s Media Engine for Economic Growth are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

NWS Company LLC A portfolio company of BridgeTower Media

3

VIEWPOINT Whining, preaching, but not shaking hands

I

www.scbizmag.com

believe I can speak for all of us when I say I sure am tired of the coronavirus pandemic. I know we sound like whiners to people who suffer from immunodeficiency and for whom living under normal circumstances is much more difficult than what is required for people like me to stay safe during this current pandemic. However, I’m still feeling as if I’m at the end of my rope. Not complaining, mind you, just whining.

I’ll be glad when I can cut back on the use of hand sanitizer, for one thing. But it does bring up a question that came up in conversation the other day: Have we seen the permanent end of the hand shake? If so, you can forget the hug. I don’t know if it’s a Southern thing, but at lot of people, myself included, are prone to hugging someone (male or female) we are genuinely happy to see.

Once we get this virus under control and start mixing in public again, I’m not sure what we’ll do. Anyone remember the Arsenio Hall Show? Maybe we’ll just stand six feet apart and Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! at people we like.

On a serious note, the focus of our issue is aerospace, and I do believe we should be genuinely concerned about the near-term effects of the pandemic on commercial aviation. At the beginning of this year, we were poised to continue

4

to grow this important economic cluster.

I fear we’ll see a slowdown in expansion that will take years to get back to the previous rate of growth.

As I write this, there’s still uncertainty around Boeing’s recent announcement of a decision to consolidate 787 production and what implications that has for South Carolina. Regardless, aerospace as a whole is still a strong and resilient cluster. I recently saw that Lockheed Martin Corp. received an order for 90 F-16 fighters to be built at the company’s Greenville facility, which you can read about it in this issue. Further proof that pursuing a diversified portfolio of industries, even within a cluster, is the wisest path for our economic development strategy.

Another point of interest as I write this is that in some of our South Carolina metros, residential real estate sales are at an all-time high.This is strictly anecdotal, but a lot of those sales seem to be driven by people fleeing the big metropolitan areas in the Northeast. The allure of living in the big city has vanished with social distancing requirements. When you take away big city amenities like concerts, theaters and efficient public transportation, the lifestyle drastically changes for the worse. What that means for us in terms of upside is still to be determined, but it’s a trend we’ll be watching.

And finally, the elephant in the room is our imminent school openings. It’s always risky to make any written predictions in a quarterly magazine. It’s a great way to look like a fool in about 60 days. However, there are two comments I will leave you with.

The first is the unintended consequence of remote learning in a state that has a significant number of its children living without access to the internet at home. If we get a spike in COVID-19 infections and have to shut schools down again, we’re going to need some solid plans to remediate a large number of already disadvantaged kids who will be left further behind.

Secondly, as business leaders and employers, we’re going to have to be increasingly sensitive to the burden placed on parents by having kids at home. There are large swaths of the working population for whom working from home isn’t an option. Employers are going to have to get very creative and flexible to help employees and bottom lines get through this thing.

Not whining. Just preaching.

Grady Johnson President and Group Publisher, SC Biz News

YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST PROJECT Many years ago, a client gave us that advice to let us know that whatever we were doing for that client, at that moment, large or small, should be the most important thing we were doing. We have worked to remember that for 45 years, 5,000-plus projects, in 38 South Carolina counties covering billions of dollars in capital investment. We did it one project at a time, from $200 to $200 million.

For all of our South Carolina clients over the years, thank you for the opportunity to serve you with the best we have. Let’s keep a good thing going.

YEARS

CELEBRATING

w w w.o n e a lin c.c o m

1975

2020

UPFRONT regional news | data

USDA invests $37 million in rural S.C. energy projects

T

he U.S. Department of Agriculture is granting $37 million to South Carolina farmers and rural-based businesses to help boost energy efficiency.

Grants and loans from the investment fund will be allocated from USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program and utilized by 12 recipients including Cherokee County’s Mohea Solar Energy Center LLC, Darlington County’s Robert E. Moore III Farms LLC and Chesterfield’s Centerfield Cooper Solar LLC to install new renewable energy systems or streamline existing systems, according to a news release.

Newly-founded Mohea Solar Energy Center plans to purchase and install a 6.5 MWdc solar energy utility scale solar system, expected to generate 9.9 million kWh of power for 8,860 homes in Gaffney — and three new jobs in the area.

Centerfield Cooper Solar LLC will take a $25 million loan from the fund to finance its plans for 539.3-acre solar farm, expected to

Millions of dollars have been allocated to South Carolina agricultural businesses to invest in renewable energy.

generate 97.7 MWDC and three additional jobs at a $30 per hour wage. The farm will be operated by Pine Gate Renewables and linked to the Santee Cooper Power Grid, the release said.

About $18,000 will go toward the Moore farm’s new grain dryer, expected to save the family-owned farm $10,000 and enough energy to power 10 homes each year.

“These investments will help farmers, ag producers and rural businesses make energy efficiency improvements and will

Section begins on

FAST FACTS | Aerospace in S.C.

400

www.scbizmag.com

firms in the private sector component of the SC aerospace cluster

6

55,000

South Carolinians employed in the aerospace industry Source: SC Aerospace

also create more jobs in their communities,” Debbie Turbeville, state director of S.C. USDA Rural Development, said in a news release. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA has been working tirelessly to be a strong partner to rural South Carolina in building stronger and healthier communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”

Page 18

$78,526

Average annual salary and benefits for an aerospace worker in S.C.

$12.4 billion

in export sales of aircraft in 2019

56%

increase in the export sales of aircraft from 2018 to 2019

$19 billion

annual economic output of aerospace industry including military facilities

Gen. Mike D. Groshon (above and top right), also known as G3, is The Citadel’s newest mascot. He is named after Mike D. Groshon, a 1976 Citadel alumnus who had cared for the military college’s mascots since 2003 and died in 2016. G3 follows a long line of bulldog mascots.

At right, Groshon rides with G2 and Boo X. G3, the newest mascot for the military college, is named after the late coach. (Photos/The Citadel)

In South Carolina, think ADS. For the past decade, ADS has provided innovative and durable drainage solutions for some of the Palmetto State’s most critical infrastructure needs.

Our thermoplastic pipe is easier to install, lasts longer than concrete – up to 100 years – and saves taxpayers money.

All while protecting our state’s most precious resource, water.

Thanks to South Carolina’s competitive marketplace, we’ll be here for the next 100 years.

So, in South Carolina, think ADS.

Visit ads-pipe.com to learn more.

ads-pipe.com 800.821.6710

www.scbizmag.com

©2020 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

A

s cadets return to The Citadel for the 2020-2021 academic year, they’ll notice one new face in particular — albeit a rather wrinkly one. The Bulldogs have a new mascot, Gen. Mike D. Groshon, or G3 for short.

The 15-month-old English Bulldog was publicly introduced on Aug. 10 during the Class of 2024 Oath Ceremony.

G3 follows in the stumpy footsteps of Boo X, The Citadel’s other living mascot, who will retire to “mascot emeritus” in the fall.

Cadet Sienna Gonzalez, a sophomore biology major and one of six members of the Mascot Handling Team, said everyone loves when G3 walks around campus.

“Every time we’re walking, 10-15 people stop us to ask to pet him. They get excited.

That’s the point — to get everyone excited and boost morale,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a tough time to be back on campus, but he’s really boosting morale and making people happy.”

It was as recent as 2003 that The Citadel had its first live campus mascot — despite the school being called the Bulldogs since the early 1900s. The moniker caught on after a newspaper article that said the football team was playing with “the tenacity of a bulldog.” From then on, alumni brought their own bulldogs to the game in support.

General, became the first live Citadel mascot in August 2003. He was followed by Boo IX in November and, upon their retirement in 2013, General II and Boo X stepped up to the role.

The newest mascot to join The Citadel was named after Coach Mike D. Groshon, a 1976 alumnus who had cared for the mascots since 2003. He died in 2016. Dr. John Bradford, a local veterinarian who graduated from The Citadel in 1977, chose the name after donating G3 to the school.

UPFRONT

The Citadel welcomes G3 as its new mascot

7

UPFRONT

Mashburn Construction completes Myrtle Beach office renovation

C

olumbia-headquartered Mashburn Construction has completed renovations on its Myrtle Beach office in the city’s downtown Arts & Innovation District.

Mashburn purchased property within

the district, part of a master revitalization plan, and began renovating an existing historic building earlier this year for its fourth S.C. location.

“We wanted the new office to represent the authentic character of the community and include both modern and historic elements,” Lee Mashburn, president of Mashburn Construc-

Columbia-headquartered Mashburn Construction has completed renovations on its 2,500-square-foot Myrtle Beach office in the city’s downtown Arts & Innovation District. (Photo/Provided)

tion, said in the release. “Mashburn has had a presence in Myrtle Beach for decades and we are proud to officially announce that our expansion is complete.”

The renovation of the 2,500-square-foot office at 807 N. Kings Highway, once home to Darden Jewelers in the 1960s, received historic tax credits. Columbia-based architect LS3P also worked on the project.

Richard Kinard, vice president of Mashburn’s Coastal Division, will lead both the Myrtle Beach and Charleston offices.

“We intend to continue to expand our footprint and project portfolio throughout the Grand Strand,” Kinard said. “Project activity is thriving right now, and we are looking forward to seeing some exciting deals become finalized soon.”

Get back to business – safely.

Call today about workplace entry solutions.

| On-site COVID-19 Testing | On-site Antibody Testing | On-site Flu Shots

www.scbizmag.com

Doctors Care Employer Health Services

8

| DOT Physicals | Drug Screens | On-site Biometrics

Employers.DoctorsCare.com

| Workers’ Compensation | Occupational Medicine | On-site Medical Centers

888-845-6887 | Sales@DoctorsCare.com

Staff Report

KRA Operations LLC, a subsidiary of South Korea-based Precision Co. Ltd., is establishing its first U.S. operations in Newberry County with an $11.5 million investment expected to create 57 jobs.

The 110,000-square-foot metal stamping and injection molding facility will serve existing clients in South Carolina, according to a news release from S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s office.

“In examining where to locate our first U.S. operation, we became convinced that South Carolina and particularly, Newberry County, would be a great place to do business,” Wonyoung “William” Chang, KRA Operations president, said in the release.

“From the beginning of construction to starting our operations, we have experienced first-class customer service, a reliable and skilled workforce and a business-friendly

environment. We are very excited to have joined the business community of South Carolina and Newberry County and look forward to being contributing members of our community for years to come.”

The facility, located in the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park, is fully operational.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project, and a $400,000 set-aside grant was also awarded to Newberry County to assist with costs of site preparation and building construction.

“We believe Newberry County can compete with any other community in the world for quality manufacturing projects, and I think this announcement further demonstrates that ability,” Newberry County Council Chair Henry H. Livingston III said. “We’re delighted to welcome KRA Operations LLC to Newberry County and into our corporate community.”

opening site in Florence County Staff Report

Effingham Pellets LLC, a subsidiary of Charles Ingram Lumber Co., is investing $5.4 million to establish operations in Florence County. The newly formed company manufactures and supplies wood pellets for export sale to Europe.

The new facility, located at 4905 Ingram Bypass in Effingham, is expected to be online by June and provide 10 jobs.

“Effingham Pellets LLC is a welcome addition to the business community of Florence County,” Florence County Council Chair William Dorriety Jr. said in a news release. “Innovative ideas, such as creating useful products from previously unused material, are a representation of the unique opportunities Florence County has to offer.”

www.scbizmag.com

At Stevens & Wilkinson we create sustainable environments that are positive impact on our communities. #smartdesignsolutions 1501 Main Street, Suite 730, Columbia, SC 29201 - stevens-wilkinson.com

UPFRONT

KRA Operations LLC establishes 1st Wood pellet exporting company U.S. facility in Newberry County

9

county spotlight

SPARTANBURG

A couple enjoys a relaxing moment at Historic Drayton Mills in Spartanburg.

SPARTANBURG COUNTY: COMMON VISION LEADS TO PROSPEROUS FUTURE

By Jim Tatum, Associate Editor | Photos provided by Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce

www.scbizmag.com

S 10

partanburg County continues to build on its reputation as an emerging place to live, work and play. With a reasonable cost of living, many urban, rural and outdoor amenities, diversity of living areas, variety and strength of educational opportunities, and welcoming business climate all contributing to a superior quality of life, Spartanburg continues to blossom and grow.

Located at the intersection of two major interstates, near the Inland Port of Greer and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, and within easy driving distance of major metro areas as well as recreational amenities, the county is both strategically located for businesses and conveniently located for people to enjoy a wide variety of urban and rural amenities.

Special Advertising Section

Spartanburg Co by the numbers unty

Demographic infor mation (population size, average incom e, age distribution) : Total Population .... ............... 319,785 Median household income .. $50,179 Age distribution: Persons under 5 ye

ars, percent: 6.1% Persons under 18 ye ars, percent: 23.1% Persons 65 years an d over, percent: 16.

4% Source: U.S. Cens us Bureau

4

th

Nationwide in Economic Strength

19

th

Fastest Growing Metropolitan Area in the U.S.

GSP

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Direct domestic flights

15

th

Best Performing Cities in the U.S. 2020

INLAND

PORT

GREER

Direct international freight flights to continental Europe and Mexico

Next-day direct rail service to port of Charleston

gspairport.com

scspa.com

3+

MILLION FT 2 spec space available or under construction

6.8B

$

In Economic Development Projects since 2010

292M

$

In Development Either In Progress or Announced in Downtown Spartanburg

2

NATIONAL INTERSTATES

From the intersection of I-85 and I-26, 239.7 million people are reachable within 2 days by truck

SPARK

FIND MORE AT

at Spartanburg Community College — soft landing office and warehouse space for new and expanding projects

KYLE A. SOX Vice President of Industrial Development

sparkcentersc.com

ksox@spartanburgchamber.com

CENTER SC

economicfuturesgroup.com

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SPARTANBURG www.scbizmag.com

12

Founded in 1785, Spartanburg County would, by and throughout the 20th century, become well known for two important products, textiles and peaches. However, as agriculture faded and textile production moved overseas for cheaper labor, Spartanburg found itself at a critical juncture, a crossroads, as it were.

“For a hundred years or more, we were dependent on textiles,” David Britt, vice president/general manager of Tindall Company’s S.C. Division, said.

“That can work — until whatever it is you depend on goes away.”

State, regional and local leaders in business, industry, education and government recognized and capitalized on Spartanburg County’s assets. One of those leaders is Britt, who has served on Spartanburg County Council since the early 1990s and has played key roles in recruiting industry to the area. He recognized early the need for a well-coordinated, cooperative vision and effort — something he noted is much easier said than done.

“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “We did it, but it takes hard work.”

The most important selling point, ultimately, was the people and the Special Advertising Section

Spartanburg’s commercial property options include over 3 million square feet of class A industrial space.

opportunity for new industries to take part in uplifting and building a strong and vibrant community, Britt said.

“We sold them on the fact that we had 100 years of manufacturing experience, the best tech system in the state, and a work ethic second to none,” he said.

“But we really sold them on the opportunities for what they could do for and in the community. That’s basically what convinced BMW, a company that had never built anywhere outside Germany, to come here.”

Indeed, BMW’s arrival in 1992 marked the turning point in Spartanburg, the Upstate, and South Carolina’s fortunes, he noted.

Britt said that not only has the business/industry community truly stepped up as community partners, but companies such as BMW and others are enthusiastic, energetic and valuable partners in recruiting new business and industry.

He also noted that companies that located in the area did so fully engaged with the idea of building fruitful,

SPARTANBURG’S PREMIER BUSINESS PARK FLEXIBLE OFFICE, MANUFACTURING, WAREHOUSE, LAND AND BUILD-TO-SUIT OPTIONS

GSP INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

SC INLAND PORT AUTHORITY

INTERSTATE 85 ACCESS

EASY ACCESS TO CHARLOTTE VIA I-85

21 MILES

19 MILES

1.4 MILES

71 MILES

±400,000 SF OF FLEXIBLE OFFICE, MANUFACTURING AND WAREHOUSE SPACE ±90,350 SF OF CUSTOMIZABLE FLEXIBLE SPACE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE TWO ±50,000 SF BUILD-TO-SUIT BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION LOADING DOCKS AT REAR SERVICE AREA SITUATED ON 193 ACRES

RICHARD BARRETT, MCR

Senior Brokerage Associate 864.527.5448 ro.barrett@colliers.com

BRANNAN HUDSON

Senior Brokerage Associate 864.527.5443 brannan.hudson@colliers.com

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SPARTANBURG

Tyger River Industrial Park – South

INVESTING IN MORE THAN SQUARE FEET Pacolet Milliken is honored to contribute to a prosperous future for Spartanburg County.

Whether build-to-suit projects, speculative buildings or standalone industrial

www.scbizmag.com

developments, our Class-A, Tyger River Industrial Parks provide great locations

14

for economic expansion in the Spartanburg community.

Learn about our industrial portfolio at pacoletindustrial.com

Special Advertising Section

symbiotic relationships and working toward the underpinning goal of building a vibrant, prosperous, community.

“We are not just cheap labor; we have steered companies away because of that,” Britt said. “If you are just looking for cheap labor, we are not where you need to be.”

Geographic advantages as well as a hard working labor force that understood production were key in Spartanburg County being able to attract European manufacturers such as Michelin, Menzel, Hoechst Celanese, Staubli, Rieter, and BMW, the county’s largest employer, Kyle Sox, vice president of industrial development for the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce said In addition, with seven school districts, several private schools, technical education institutions and world-class colleges and universities such as Wofford College, Converse College and USC Upstate, Spartanburg’s education community is both an attractive amenity and an integral partner in the area’s success, Sox noted.

“BMW came to Spartanburg for a variety of reasons,” BMW Corporate Communications Manager Sky Foster said. “The state’s pro-business climate was certainly a deciding factor. Governor Carroll Campbell and his team, along with the Spartanburg business community, worked tirelessly to bring BMW to the Upstate.”

The area was well-known for manufacturing, a skilled workforce and manufacturing experience, and excellent transportation infrastructure.

BMW’s long-range strategic plan for the Spartanburg plant included exporting vehicles globally — currently about 70 percent of what is produced — so being near the port in Charleston was critical, Foster said.

Senator International, a logistics firm, came to the Upstate because of the automotive industry and its suppliers, Ralf Schneider, Chief Operating Officer said.

“We have built a strong relationship with the automotive industry that con-

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SPARTANBURG

tinues today,” he said.

However, Schneider noted that Senator International’s leadership team had, long before COVID-19, thought very carefully about its future, including the possibility, unlikely as it seemed, that the automotive market may change.

While the pandemic has presented significant challenges — including a fiveweek shutdown of the manufacturing side of the business — Senator International has not only survived but thrived.

“We are fortunate to have a CEO with great entrepreneurial ability, and a skilled leadership team, so we have been positioning ourselves for growth, diversifying our services and our client base,” added Business Development Manager Gregor Ulbrich. “When the pandemic hit, we were able to handle disruptions and continue to move forward.”

Ulbrich noted that the Inland Port in Greer and GSP International Airport have been important partners and valuable assets not only to Senator International, but to the Upstate business community. For example, it takes only a few

Downtown Spartanburg has enjoyed a redevelopment and resurgence.

Right, mascots from Spartanburg County’s seven colleges, including Converse College, Sherman College of Chiropractic, Spartanburg Community College, Spartanburg Methodist College, the University of South Carolina Upstate, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and Wofford College.

Delivering Constructive Solutions to Spartanburg Since 1976 Interior Design CONNECT WITH US

DesignMCA.com | 864.232.8204

Special Advertising Section

www.scbizmag.com

Architectural Design

15

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SPARTANBURG www.scbizmag.com

16

“I think we’re going to see a lot of activity. I see a very bright future for Spartanburg County, the Upstate, and South Carolina.”

— David Britt, vice president/general manager of Tindall Co. S.C. minutes to an hour to get a truck into and/or out of GSP, compared to many hours, even days, at a time at larger airports in major metro areas.

Spartanburg County continues to diversify its industrial base, with projects such as AirSys, Toray, Kobelco, SEW EuroDrive, AFL, Contec, Ritrama, Michelin, and Keurig Dr Pepper, which is building a 700,000-square-foot production manufacturing facility. It will be the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficiency Design) certified facility of its kind in the nation, Chuck Hollingsworth, the company’s director of operations said.

Like everyone else, Keurig Dr Pepper had to adapt to the challenges of COVID-19, Hollingsworth said. This included allowing only essential staff in company facilities and going to great lengths to keep them safe. The pandemic has delayed construction, but Hollingsworth said they hope to have production underway by early 2021.

Ultimately, Spartanburg’s success can be credited to many people at all levels of the public and private sectors.

Concentrated, unified economic development efforts have not only nurtured existing industries such as Inman Mills and Milliken but attracted new industries to the area.

And despite the challenges of COVID-19 — or perhaps because of it — Spartanburg and the Upstate are likely on the cusp of another boom.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of activity,” Britt said. “I see a very bright future for Spartanburg County, the Upstate, and South Carolina.”

Special Advertising Section

Spartanburg County is home to numerous outdoor and urban amenities. Whether you launch a kayak from the Glendale Shoals bridge, enjoy a stroll on one of many greenways and walking trails such as the Mary Black Rail Trail, or just want to gather with friends at a local venue, Spartanburg County has something for everyone.

THE WADE FAMILY IS FINISHING THE TRAIL Members of the Wade family hiked and biked the entire Palmetto Trail from Walhalla to Awendaw in 2018. Our family’s experience showcased the importance of the Trail in providing the opportunity for all to appreciate the beauty and diversity of our State.

Blue Wall, Hub City and USC Upstate passages of the Palmetto Trail

For Palmetto Trail info, visit palmettoconservation.org.

The Wade Family Fund is pleased to support improvements to the Blue Wall, Hub City and USC Upstate passages of the Palmetto Trail. New boardwalks and signage have been installed on the Waterfall Loop of the Blue Wall passage, enhancing this hiking option on one of the most popular passages in the Upstate.The Hub City passage will be re-routed with new signage highlighting the beautiful corridor in downtown Spartanburg. Finally, .5 mile of new trail, a 30-foot boardwalk and new signage will make the USC Upstate passage an attractive gateway to Spartanburg.

Together, Let’s #FinishTheTrail!

Want to help #FinishTheTrail?

Call (803) 771-0870 | (803) 771-0590

TRENDING: AEROSPACE IN S.C.

Boeing faces challenges in uncertain climate

B

Staff Report

www.scbizmag.com

oeing continues to grapple with a volatile market underpinned by the ongoing coronavirus pan-

18

demic.

In a preview of the company’s second-quarter earnings report, Boeing Co. President and CEO David Calhoun laid out concerns the company has as demand continues to fall amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“These past few months have been unlike anything we’ve seen,” Calhoun began in a message sent to employees and shared with the media. “The pandemic’s effect on our communities and industry is ongoing. And the challenges we face as a company are still unfolding.”

One of the options on the table is consolidating production of the 787 Dreamliner to one location, which could mean closing operations in North Charleston,

moving all operations to North Charleston or a third option.

Calhoun didn’t give specific details, but he said Boeing would reduce production of the 787 to six per month in 2021, down from 10 per month, which led the company to consider the consolidation.

“With this lower rate profile, we will also need to evaluate the most efficient way to produce the 787, including studying the feasibility of consolidating production in one location,” Calhoun said.

The company hopes to get back to a production of seven each month by 2022.

Boeing builds Dreamliners using a global supply chain, including final assembly, paint and delivery center operations in North Charleston. Sections of each 787 jetliner go through the company’s North Charleston site, but the Lowcountry is the only location in the world that does final assembly for the largest of the Dreamliners, the 787-10.

The company also has a final assem-

bly operation for the 787 in the company’s largest manufacturing site, in Washington state.

Calhoun stressed that the production rate changes were not a reflection of work produced by employees at each of the company’s manufacturing facilities.

“The market simply won’t support higher output levels at this time, and we need to adapt accordingly,” he said.

With fewer people not traveling because of fears of COVID-19, Boeing wants to reassure the public that the company is taking every precaution to endure passenger and employee safety. Not only are Boeing aircraft equipped with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems, but developing safety protocols across the industry are being adapted and implemented, Boeing spokesperson Libba Holland said.

“Boeing aircraft are designed to help minimize the risk of disease transmission,” Holland said. “High efficiency

particulate air (HEPA) filters used in all Boeing airplanes trap 99.9+ percent of particulates — including viruses and bacteria — as recirculated air passes through them and helps prevents those particulates from recirculating back into the cabin.”

Airplane cabin air flows primarily from ceiling to floor, not front to back, and the volume of air is exchanged every two to three minutes with outside air and through HEPA filters, which are similar to those used in hospital operating rooms and industrial clean rooms, Holland noted.

“These design aspects, combined with layered safety approaches now starting to take shape across the industry, help protect the health of passengers and crews,” she said.

Nonetheless, the impact on air travel and cargo flights continues to be “severe” because of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, Calhoun said, adding that he anticipates the industry will need about three years to return to 2019’s passenger numbers.

Along with other measures, the company is issuing $25 billion in new debt to handle the fallout from the pandemic, he said.

“Though some fliers are returning slowly to the air, their numbers remain far lower than 2019, with airline revenues likewise reduced,” Calhoun said.

“This pressure on our commercial customers means they are delaying jet purchases, slowing deliveries, deferring elective maintenance, retiring older aircraft and reducing spend — all of which

affects our business and, ultimately, our bottom line.”

“While these steps help us navigate the pandemic, they don’t change the fact that the commercial marketplace is different, and we must change with it. To align to a smaller market, we lowered commercial production rates and took tough workforce actions throughout the quarter.”

The company had previously announced a 10% workforce reduction, using buyouts, attrition and layoffs; however, he said the prolonged impact of the pandemic means more reductions are likely to occur.

“This is difficult news, and I know it adds uncertainty during an already challenging time. We will try to limit the impact on our people as much as possible going forward,” he said.

TRENDING: AEROSPACE IN S.C.

“Boeing aircraft are designed to help minimize the risk of disease transmission. High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters used in all Boeing airplanes trap 99.9+ percent of particulates — including viruses and bacteria — as recirculated air passes through them and helps prevents those particulates from recirculating back into the cabin.” — Boeing spokesperson Libba Holland

Upstate aerospace cluster continues to grow

By Molly Hulsey

L

mhulsey@scbiznews.com

Still, Lockheed would “continuously evaluate opportunities for competitive regional suppliers,” John Losinger, the company’s F-16 production spokesperson told SC Biz News in May. A general’s high recommendation from California propelled one opportunity announced this July.

Darryl Mayhorn, CEO of a Livermore, Calif.-based military aviation sustainment company Kellstrom Defense, first contacted Greenville Area Development Corp. to follow up on a request from his board member, Brigadier Gen. Hank Taylor – a former site manager for Lockheed Martin.

“Gen. Taylor was saying “you really ought to talk to Greenville,” Kevin Landmesser, senior vice president of GADC said, adding that it was Taylor’s personal experience with the city as well as Mayhorn’s ties to Honeywell — which has a

www.scbizmag.com

ocal aviation industry leaders cite the Upstate’s business climate, legacy infrastructure and work force — “if you can’t find them here, you can relocate them here” — as the factors that first ushered them into the area and grounded them here year after year.

Still, the sector’s supply chain tends to radiate outward and above. There’s not too much in terms of interweaving from a distribution standpoint, professionals say, such as in aerospace clusters Wichita, Kan., or Seattle.

At least not yet.

“It’s so different than say, the automotive supplier industry,” Jody Bryson, CEO and president of the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center, told SC Biz

News. “When you’re making automobiles, you’re making thousands more automobiles a year than aircraft manufacturers produce. If you’re BMW and you’re rolling off thousands of cars off your assembly line, it’s critical that all of your suppliers are really close, and they are getting those parts to you just in time to plug them into the assembly.”

However, when one builds aircraft, it’s a much slower process, he said, echoed by Christian Sasfai, president of SCTAC’s Stevens Aerospace and Defense, who pointed out that most specialized parts are able to be flown in at a timely manner.

After aerospace giant Lockheed Martin shifted its F-16 Fighting Falcon jet production from Fort Worth, Texas, to Greenville’s SCTAC airfields, the company reported that few of its 400 supply chain partners came in tow.

19

TRENDING: AEROSPACE IN S.C. www.scbizmag.com

20

facility in Greer — that put the city on the California company’s radar.

That was in February, a few weeks before OEM-based military aftermarket component management company Aero Precision acquired Kellstrom Defense and its Lockheed Hologram Product Program for certified F-16 and C-130 aircraft parts, according to Tony Smith, the company’s vice president of business integration. Now, the merged “powerhouse” company — set to unveil its new name in a few weeks — is the process of building out its Piedmont location through a $1.2 million investment and will launch its website presence in September.

“Hank is a huge proponent to bringing business into South Carolina. I can’t be specific, but he may have had some influence in the decision (for the acquisition),” Grant said.

Lockheed aside, a number of the company’s 35 distribution partners, including Honeywell, Collins Aerospace, GE Aviation and Champion Aerospace, also have set up shop in the area.

“We had a specific location we were targeting,” Grant said, “So thankfully, we were able to find a space which was strategically positioned where we wanted to be in terms of our OEM partners, customers and supply base.”

These companies all make components for the F-16 ranging from pneumatic valves to ignition systems. If the parts aren't made at a South Carolina facility, they can be shipped to one. As the commercial industry takes a hit from COVID-19’s impacts on air travel, the Upstate’s defense industry continues to pulse ahead.

“We always got to make sure we’re mission ready in terms of our military air force. Not just our U.S. government, but also our allies around the world are always looking to be mission ready,” Grant said.

Local economic development groups also helped prime the pump, Grant says, while the workforce development team with ReadySC and Greenville Technical College also demonstrated the area was ripe for fostering an expanded workforce.

Above: Stevens Aerospace and Defense specializes in the refurbishment and repair of Beechcraft’s King’s Air line. Top photo: Lockheed Martin has had a presence in Greenville for 35 years and announced that it was moving its F-16 fighter aircraft production line to the facility in 2018. (Photos/Molly Hulsey)

The company expects to create 21 new jobs, and Grant remains hopeful it may be able to one day exceed that number.

“I’m very optimistic that once we get the current climate that we’re in behind us that things will come back,” Grant said of a decline in orders for the commercial aircraft industry and to a lesser extent, the military-defense sector.

“Luckily for us, our portfolio is primarily military-defense.”

The Upstate aerospace industry generates almost $5 billion in output

alone, according to a 2018 study by the S.C. Council of Competitiveness and employs over 20,000 people — or $1 billion in employee wages. Over 33% of the state’s private aerospace companies are based in the region, ahead of Charleston’s 22.1%, the second highest percentage in the Palmetto State.

Lockheed Martin also noted that the presence of suppliers, potential suppliers and other industry partners like SCTAC incentivized the company to relocate its Fighter Falcon production to the air-

—Ben Peat, deputy site director and senior programs manager at Lockheed Martin

Reach Molly Hulsey at 864-720-1223 or @mollyhulsey_gsa on Twitter.

The S.C. Aeronautical Training Center houses: • Aeronautical studies programs • High-tech manufacturing programs • readySC’s Boeing Training Center • Advanced manufacturing work force training

For more information: 843.323.3501 or 843.323.3502

AT20-012

THE BRIDGE TO A BETTER FUTURE 66 YEARS OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE. QUALIFIED FOR THE FUTURE.

davisf l oyd.c om

www.scbizmag.com

fields of the former Donaldson Airport.

“The market here in Greenville, for aviation specifically, for aerospace and defense is healthy,” Ben Peat, deputy site director and senior programs manager at Lockheed Martin told SC Biz News.

“I think a lot of that has to do with the foundation that was laid here. Lockheed Martin has been here for 35 years, built some strong partnerships and then is continuing to perform on existing contracts with the customers that we have. We saw very strong growth, even through this COVID period.”

Greenville’s plant is positioned between local and global supply networks, Peat said.

Lockheed has at least three current projects in the pipeline for U.S. allies, including jets for the Bahraini, Slovakian and Bulgarian air forces. According to SC Biz News’ reporting in May, a finalized $8 billion contract with Taiwan would also boost production to 48 aircraft a year at the Greenville plant.

“To be transparent, Lockheed Martin has worked closely with Kellstrom over many years,” Peat said. “Kellstrom is a current supplier to Lockheed Martin and we look forward to continuing to work with Kellstrom on those opportunities where it would make sense to do so. I certainly see that them coming into the Upstate as potential for easier access and things of that nature … I’m glad to see them adding to the industrial base here for the aviation industry.”

The S.C. Aeronautical Training Center at Trident Technical College is transforming how education and industry work together in the regional, national and global economies.

TRENDING: AEROSPACE IN S.C.

“The market here in Greenville, for aviation specifically, for aerospace and defense is healthy.”

21

TRENDING: AEROSPACE IN S.C.

Recovery faster for general aviation than for commercial airports

By Ross Norton

www.scbizmag.com

T

22

rnorton@scbiznews.com

he shutdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic started with a flurry of activity for general aviation airports as people turned away from commercial flights. Charter flight companies that operate out of general aviation airports saw a sudden spike as people tried to find another way home.

“If you go back to the beginning when it was first announced about the pandemic, things kind of locked down and you saw charter spike for about two weeks with people trying to get back to other states and other countries,” said Doug Goldstrom, president of sales and marketing for Special Services Corp., based at the Greenville Downtown Airport. “We did a lot of international flying during that time to get people out, and to get some back, and then the charter business stopped. And there was nobody flying because most of charter business is business related.”

That’s when April arrived, a bleak month for aviation generally, and aviation airports statewide mirrored the decline suffered by commercial airports.

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and Charleston International Airport, the two busiest in the state, reported passenger traffic was down

Charter flight companies pitch convenience and privacy as selling points to conduct business travel through smaller airports. (Photo/Provided)

nearly 96% from April 2019. The state’s other large airports in Myrtle Beach and Columbia reported similar declines.

At GSP, business travelers make up 70% of its passenger traffic. For charter flight companies, business travel is 90% of the mix, Goldstrom said.

And they weren’t going anywhere.

State and local governments had shut down many destinations while company policies closed offices and halted business travel.

“We had trips booked and they just started canceling one after another due to states on lockdown, counties on lockdown, companies not opening their doors to outside vendors,” Goldstrom said. “So that put a hold on it.”

Aircraft owned and operated by corporations flew some, mostly taking care of business within the company.

The season came for part-time Florida residents to charter flights back north for the summer months, but those calls never came, he said.

Goldstrom said almost nothing happened for seven or eight weeks until states started making efforts to reopen the economy. When that happened, business travelers started looking for alternatives.

“We’ve been busy ever since. We’ve had a number of people to reach out to find out what kind of services we offer, what kind of pricing, because they were

wanting to move to private travel and no longer fly on commercial airlines, not only for themselves but for their employees,” Goldstrom said. He’s confident the new clients are in it for the long haul.

“It will become permanent business,” he said. “Aside from the pandemic, the approach we have always had for people looking at charter is the fact that if you take a jet, you can fit eight or nine passengers onboard an airplane versus flying each one of them to a location, with rental cars and hotels and all the time it takes to coordinate all that. You’re sometimes better off to take a jet, especially for those day trips because you’re on your own schedule. You’re not having to adhere to an airline schedule. You just come and go as needed.”

Goldstrom said business was down to 20% to 30% of normal in April. Now it’s close to 70%.

“We are still not where we were (before the pandemic) but we have picked up business; we have picked half a dozen clients that do not want to use airlines anymore,” he said. “We’re flying some people who are doing business within their own company but there’s still less business-to-business travel.”

James Stephens, executive director of the S.C. Aeronautics Commission, said the story is similar at business-focused airports across the state. There are 58 publicly owned, public-use airports

95

95

301

Bio-Medical Development Opportunity at the crossroads of I-20 and I-77 in Columbia, S.C.

Concept Building Design

CONCEPT DESIGN 8,500 SF ea. floor | Two Story Office 9,000 SF | 25’ Clear Story Bio Manufacturing/Lab 600 SF | Entry Corridor Concept Building Layout Claris Construction

26,600 SF | TOTAL BUILDING

CONTACT: Charlton L. “Chuck” Whipple, SCCED, EcDMP 803.691.3954 | whipplec@midlandstech.edu MIDLANDSTECH.EDU/enterprise

www.scbizmag.com

Reach Ross Norton at 864-720-1222 or @RossNorton13 on Twitter.

TRENDING: AEROSPACE IN S.C.

in South Carolina. Fifty-two are general aviation airports, the busiest being Greenville Downtown Airport, known as GMU to the Federal Aviation Administration. Fifteen of them are, like GMU, are classified as S.C. II corporate/business airports.

Stephens said busy flight schools are keeping the flight counts up at some airports, including Greenville Downtown, but those flights don’t make up for lost business travel.

“From what I’ve seen operations are not drastically down but fuel revenues are down so what that tells me is flight schools are doing very well,” he said. “So when you look at the operation counts, and because students are flying with instructors, those counts are up, but when you look at the fuel sales that tells me that the corporate guys are not quite back to where they were because they’re your big fuel purchasers.”

Even if they are not buying much fuel for now, those flight school students could be economic beneficiaries of the pandemic. As the aviation industry rebalances staffing, some pilots are leaving for good, hastening a predicted pilot shortage, Stephens said.

“Prior to COVID-19 we kept hearing about a pilot shortage and a mechanic shortage. They were saying there’s not enough people in the pipeline — the demographic was much closer to retirement, some are calling it quits and that is right-sizing staffing levels as of today,” Stephens said. “But what happens in three years when COVID is gone and the airlines start to track back upward in passenger levels? As passenger levels grow the aircraft that were parked during this are going to have to be put back into the system and as they are, they are going to have to be piloted. So the young pilots that are training today will, in a few years if they’re positioned properly, they’ll be able to get on to a great career at an airline and they should be able to get a good job pretty quickly in the next five years.”

23

FEATURE

Buying time South Carolina businesses use billions in guaranteed loans to save 658,000 jobs

By Andy Owens

www.scbizmag.com

B

24

aowens@scbiznews.com

illions of dollars in federally backed loans flowed onto the balance sheets of 63,000 S.C. companies over the past few months, all against a backdrop of a global pandemic that transformed into an economic crisis.

The Paycheck Protection Program, quickly passed by Congress under a larger coronavirus relief package, made low-interest loans available for businesses to keep employees safely at home but still on a company’s payroll.

In thousands of loan applications, S.C. businesses said the money would help save a total of 657,957 jobs across the state after coronavirus shutdowns began cutting demand for products and services in early March.

Many of the companies receiving loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act are small businesses, and 88% of the loans in South Carolina were under $150,000.

On the other end of the scale, some loans went up to $10 million.

An analysis of Small Business Administration data by the Business Journal shows that the fallout from the pandemic threatened employees in every county with job losses and salary reductions.

Statewide unemployment in February was 3.2%, a rate that had held steady for eight months.

By May, the jobless rate had risen to 12.4%, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce reported, before dipping back down to 8.7% in June.

Elena Bottari, co-owner and CFO of Mariplast North America in Greer, said

a loan saved jobs and maintained salaries for workers at her company. The Italy-based manufacturer has 21 employees in South Carolina.

“We only had a very small layoff before we received the money, then we didn’t lay off anybody or terminate anybody,” Bottari said. “We were able to preserve all employees. We didn’t reduce salaries. We didn’t reduce time.”

Mariplast lost 70% of its business when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Bottari said the company was ready with safety guidelines and procedures before the full effect of coronavirus infections hit the Palmetto State. The company was deemed essential because it manufactures fibers used in personal protective equipment.

“We are from Italy, so we knew in advance what was coming, so we started all of the precautions very early,” she said. Italy was an early outbreak site for the pandemic, with nearly 245,000 confirmed cases and over 35,000 deaths as of press time, according to the Italian Department of Civil Protection.

Across the state, thousands of companies in a variety of sectors received loans, including law firms, nonprofit organizations, hospitality companies, construction companies, financial consultants, defense contractors, information technology companies, religious organizations and private schools.

The Business Journal contacted several companies in the state’s largest cities, but few were willing to talk about their experience with the federal program.

Robert A. Chisholm, president of M.B. Kahn Construction, a builder in Columbia that works on large-scale commercial projects across the state,

said the PPP loan prevented layoffs and kept workers on the job with benefits, including health insurance.

“We have seen projects completed during the pandemic period, have seen new opportunities shrink, and have seen other jobs placed on hold or canceled,” Chisholm said in an comment to the Business Journal. “Ordinarily we would have had layoffs in these situations.”

Fred Green, president and CEO of the S.C. Bankers Association, said $5.7 billion in loans have been written for companies operating in South Carolina.

“It has worked very well for the banking community, primarily because they have been able to help so many of their customers,” Green said. “It was a costly program, but a very worthwhile one based on the end results and saving a lot of companies and keeping their employees on the payroll.”

Green said COVID-19 has changed how customers see banks, which had a somewhat damaged reputation after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. He said businesses are relying on relationships with local bankers to stay in business through the pandemic, and they will be looking for guidance afterward.

“I’m so proud of all of them, because they all did everything they could to help their clients,” Green said. “It just makes me proud to be a banker.”

Loans big and small Even though the majority of the Paycheck Protection Program loans in South Carolina were for less than $150,000, each loan had to have documentation and a lender to be approved before time ran out June 30. The program has since been extended to Aug. 8.

FEATURE

C O N G RAT U L AT I O N S for winning a coveted spot on the 2020 Great Game of Business All-Star Team AMBAC is part of a growing community of Great Game companies who have reimagined capitalism as a transformational force for good. Each year, the Great Game community recognizes companies like AMBAC who have the courage to do business differently.

AMBAC, Elgin, South Carolina They are using the power of business to transform their associate’s lives, and the communities which they serve, for the better. They are part of a movement that's trying to Change the Game.

Since implementing GGOB, AMBAC employees have shown tremendous interest in improving the company’s bottom line. Employees have become more involved in the overall financial health of the company and now truly act more like owners than employees.

-Janelle Haik, Account Executive

To learn more about AMBAC, read their Case Study at greatgame.com/2020casestudies VIRTUAL EVENT // REAL ENGAGEMENT

greatgame.com/conference

www.scbizmag.com

Many financial institutions set aside other priorities to focus on paycheck protection loans even as they were adjusting to working remotely and ensuring the health and safety of their own employees.

Banks that participated in the SBA program received federal repayment guarantees. If a business can’t repay the loan, the federal government will cover 100% of the amount. Typically, SBAbacked loans have a 50% to 85% guarantee to make them less risky for banks.

Under the Cares Act program, the banks charge 1% interest. Not a large amount, but bankers said that wasn’t what mattered during the chaotic runup to helping clients stay in business, before the deadline was extended.

“There have been economic hardship periods before, but there were so many circumstances in this that made it unlike anything we’ve seen up to this point,” said Cutter Davis, an executive vice president and director of commercial banking for South State Bank. “It’s been unprecedented. Companies were trying to survive and adapt and figure out how they were going to move through this.”

Davis said bank employees were already working remotely, so everything was operating differently. He said at one point, the bank had every functional and technological resource directed toward the closing of these loans.

“This became sort of mission No. 1 when it happened,” Davis said. “We ended up installing a new technology platform and network tool to support this process. We are proud of the role that we played.”

Green said that many banks in South Carolina took all of their workers and operated in shifts to focus on just paycheck protection loans.

“All the banks that participated shifted resources, and many, if not all, were working 24/7 because there were tight windows on when you had to get it in,” Green said.

Davis said South State and other banks were reacting to what was happening in real time when the crush of loan applications came down. He said the motivation

25

FEATURE

make it easier for loans to be forgiven, but a lot depends on how the law is written and what is passed. Green said legislation that would simplify the process to as little as a declaration on a one-page document for loans under $150,000 would help small, struggling businesses tremendously.

“It’s extremely important that congress support it, and there’s support for it. That will allow the small-business customer to focus on running their business,” Green said. “We are strongly supporting it as well as many, many other trade organizations and chambers of commerce.”

Green said early in the PPP application process, a huge demand caused delays because the loans were being approved by the SBA, not by banks. He said without a bill to streamline the forgiveness process, there could be a similar delay in repayment processing.

M.B. Kahn said the application process was relatively easy to navigate, and because the federal guidelines have increased the window from eight weeks to 24 weeks during which the money can

was to help however they could.

“That translated into some positive impact, but I think we all felt a real sense of mission in this,” he said. “It really had nothing to do with competition or anything else; it really had to do with how to get these funds out, because it means jobs.”

Paying back the money One of the signature parts of the CARES Act was that some loans would not have to be repaid by businesses, but the regulations on how that would be accomplished remain unclear, Green said.

He said the coronavirus pandemic isn’t over, and businesses are concerned about whether they’ll be required to repay the loans.

“The program was intended to convert a loan to a grant — in other words forgive the loan — if you kept your employees on the payroll,” Green said. “The process by which you get that loan forgiven has not been defined by SBA, so at this point in time, even though there are quite a few who would like to apply for forgiveness, there’s no mechanism to do it.”

Congress is considering a measure to 2

be used, the company has not addressed the forgiveness of the loan. The company received a loan between $5 million and $10 million, and said it plans to also use the money if the economy worsens.

“Immediately after receiving the PPP funds, we issued a policy stating that no one would be laid off,” Chisholm said. “We applied for this loan to not only retain our employees now, but to ensure that we have the ability to continue paying employees during an extended recession.”

Bottari, of Mariplast, indicated that her company is anxious to find out the regulations on repayment.

“There are forms you need to fill out, and there’s also regulations behind that, as well, for the forgiveness of the loan,” she said. “We’re waiting for the bank to open up the application for forgiveness.”

The company received a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000, and she said business has picked up since the pandemic began but a lot of her customers still aren’t placing orders.

“It has improved a little bit, but we still are very down compared to last year,” Bottari said.

www.charlestonbusiness.com

July 13 - 26, 2020

PPP data for South Carolina 63,168

Jobs retained in Southeast

Number of companies approved for payroll protection assistance in S.C.

55,553

- 1,000 companies receiving loans

7,582

Companies approved for more than $150,000 - $4.9 million in assistance.

33

Companies approved to receive $5 million-$10 million.

657,957

www.scbizmag.com

26

52,393

Number of nonprofit jobs retained through loans.

3,224,664 1,471,782 1,246,594 973,961 916,996 800,221 672,861 657,957 412,492

Companies who received loans

Total Number of jobs saved statewide

2,567

Jobs retained Florida Georgia North Carolina Virginia Tennessee Louisiana Alabama South Carolina Mississippi

Companies approved for less than $150,000, totaling nearly $1.87 billion.

Nonprofit organizations approved for loans across South Carolina.

The following data shows companies and jobs retained through the loan program for all loans made under the Payroll Protection Program in the following states, ranked by number of jobs.

11,190

Number of companies with a listing in government data of 0 or no answer provided for number of jobs retained from emergency payroll loans.

Florida Georgia North Carolina Virginia Tennessee Louisiana Alabama South Carolina Mississippi

393,016 156,810 121,913 109,227 93,287 73,827 65,803 63,168 45,814 Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

July 13 - 26, 2020 2 www.charlestonbusiness.com

www.charlestonbusiness.com 3 July 13 - 26, 2020

CHARLESTON PPP data forCOUNTY South Carolina 63,168 9,623

100,918

More than 400 Jobs Retained Jobs retained Companyin Southeast

City

FEATURE

PPP data for select South Carolina counties that received the largest number of loans Jobs

The following data shows loan program 500 for all loans J K S&K Inc. companies and jobs retained through Norththe Charleston Number of companies approved for payroll protection assistance in S.C. Payroll Protection in the ranked by number Primary CareProgram Physicians LLC following states, Charleston 500 of jobs.

Number of companies approved for assistance Number of jobs retainedmade under thePalmetto

55,553

- 1,000 companies receiving loans

Jobs retained Rohoho Inc.

Companies approved for more than $150,000 - $4.9 million in assistance.

788

33

672,861 Corp. $150,000-$350,000 Alabama Garibaldi’s Management South Carolina BGI LLC 657,957 Mississippi 412,492

Companies approved to receive $5 million-$10 million.

397

657,957 8,304

$350,000-$1 million

96

Total Number jobs saved statewide Less thanof$150,000

2,567

Nonprofit organizations approved for loans across South Carolina.

52,393

Number of nonprofit jobs retained through loans.

Inc. Tennessee Chipton-Ross Staffing 916,996 Louisiana Carolina Eastern Inc.800,221

11,190

500

Ladson

1,471,782 North Carolina Palmetto Solar LLC 1,246,594 LP Virginia Kiawah Resort Associates 973,961

Loans awarded by amount

81 8 1 + 2 3 5

7,582

Charleston

Florida IFA Rotorian North America LLC Georgia Palmetto Moon LLC

Companies approved for less than $150,000, totaling nearly $1.87 billion.

North Charleston

488 3,224,664 486

North Charleston

483

Kiawah Island

478

North Charleston

476

Charleston

466

Charleston

416

Mount Pleasant

411

Approved for the Most Money

Companies who received loans

The following companies approved for $2 million to $5 million loans.

Florida $1 million-$2 million Georgia Company 156,810 North Carolina Palmetto Primary Care Physicians 121,913 LLC

32

United Community Bank

Virginia Chipton-Ross Staffing Inc. 109,227 $2 million-$5 millionTennessee BGI LLC 93,287 Number of companies with a listing Louisiana Johnson & Johnson 73,827Inc.

6

in government data of 0 or no answer Alabama Motley Rice LLC 65,803 $5 million-$10South millionCarolina Boomtown ROI provided for number of jobs retained LLC 63,168 from emergency payroll loans.

Mississippi 45,814 Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

393,016

Lender Bank of America South State Bank Synovus

Bank of South Carolina Beacon Community Bank Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

DORCHESTER COUNTY BERKELEY COUNTY 600 4,372 2,621 25,926 Number of companies approved for assistance Number of companies approved for assistance

Number of jobs retained Number of jobs retained

179 37 $150,000-$350,000

$150,000-$350,000

556 2,332

Less Less than than $150,000 $150,000

75 5$350,000-$1 million

$350,000-$1 million

24

$1 million-$2 million

211 $1 million-$2 million

$2 million-$5 million

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

Company

City

More thanGroup 300 Jobs Retained Jem Restaurant of Florida Daniel Island Jett Florida Bells LLC Company VDV Company LLC MillsManagement Investments LLC

Jobs 500

Daniel City Island Charleston Summerville

500 Jobs 466 115

J.Dorchester E. M. Restaurant Group Academy Inc.Inc.

SaintCharleston George

349 82 77322

Summerville Auto LLC

Summerville

Century Restaurants Ye Ole Fashioned Ice Inc. Cream Scout Boats Inc. Inc. Briteline Extrusions MVP International Inc. M&MGroup Staffing LLC

Charleston Summerville Summerville Summerville Charleston Summerville

439 90 387 83

76

Approved Holy Ship LLC for the Most Money Summerville

69

The following companies approved forSummerville $2 million to $5 million61 loans, Lowcountry Women’s Specialists the most for companies and organizations in Berkeley County.

Company VDY Management Co. LLC

Lender United Community Bank

Approved for the Most Money Synovus Bank Arborgen Inc.

The following companies approved for $1 million toBanking $2 million Sportsman Boats Manufacturing Inc. Live Oak Co. in loans, the highest amounts approved for businessesSouth in Dorchester Scout Boats Inc. State Bank County.

Company MVP Group International Inc. Briteline Companies Extrusions Inc. Knight’s Inc. Summerville Auto LLC of Florida Jem Restaurant Group

Lender Truist Bank South State Bank Synovus Toyota Financial SavingsBank Bank Valley National

ITS Sprinturf Holdings

Regions Bank

Energy One America LLC

Aquesta Bank

CSS International Inc.

Truist Bank

Key West Boats Inc.

Farmers and Merchants Bank of S.C.

www.scbizmag.com

87 93 5 7 1 2 3

Loans Loans awarded awarded by by amount amount

Companies retaining more than 300 Jobs

27

FEATURE

RICHLAND COUNTY 6,451 RICHLAND COUNTY Number of companies approved for assistance

More than 400 Jobs Retained

70,475

Number of jobs retained

6,451 70,475 Loans awarded by amount

Number of jobs retained

Loans awarded by amount 437 $150,000-$350,000

226 437 $350,000-$1 million $150,000-$350,000

5,686

72 226 $1 million-$2 million

Less than $150,000

$350,000-$1 million

25 72 $2 million-$5 million $1 million-$2 million 5 25 $5 million-$10 million

5,686

Less than $150,000

$2 million-$5 million

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

5

LEXINGTON COUNTY

$5 million-$10 million

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

2,683 LEXINGTON COUNTY Number of companies approved for assistance

29,282

Number of jobs retained

2,683 29,282 Loans awarded by amount

Number of companies approved for assistance

Number of jobs retained

Loans awarded by amount

2,359

Less than $150,000

2,359

www.scbizmag.com

Less than $150,000

28

186

$150,000-$350,000

104 186 $350,000-$1 million $150,000-$350,000

24 104 $1 million-$2 million

500

Columbia

500

Roper Personnel Services Inc. Company

Columbia City

498 Jobs

Bonitz, Thicket Inc. Inc. Lizard’s

Columbia Columbia

496 500

Security Management Sensor Enterprises Inc. of S.C.

Columbia Columbia

476 500

ValdesPersonnel Enterprises LLC Inc. Roper Services

Columbia Columbia

455 498

TLC Enterprises LLC Bonitz, Inc.

Columbia Columbia

420 496

MB KahnManagement ConstructionofCo. Security S.C.Inc.

Columbia Columbia

416 476

JH Paymaster Inc. LLC Valdes Enterprises

Columbia Columbia

403 455

TLC Enterprises LLC

Columbia

420

MB Kahn Construction Co. Inc.

Columbia

416

More than 400 Sensor Enterprises Inc. Jobs Retained

The following companies approved for $5 millionColumbia to $10 million 403 loans JH Paymaster Inc. in Richland County.

Approved for the Most Money Company

Lender

The following Consulting companies approved for $5 millionSouth to $10State million Infrastructure & Engineering Bank loans in MB Richland County. Co. Inc. Kahn Construction Bank of America Nexsen Pruet LLC Company

Bank of America Lender

Seibels Services Group Inc. Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering

Hancock Whitney South State BankBank

Bonitz MB KahnInc. Construction Co. Inc.

Synovus Bank Bank of America

Nexsen Pruet LLC

Bank of America

Seibels Services Group Inc.

Hancock Whitney Bank

Bonitz Inc.

Synovus Bank

More than 400 Jobs Retained Company

City

Jobs

SD-2 LLC

West Columbia

500

More than 400 Jobs Retained DMAC81 LLC

West Columbia

500

S.C. Episcopal Home at Still Hopes Company

WestCity Columbia

498 Jobs

SC House SD-2 LLC Calls Inc.

WestColumbia Columbia West

421 500

The SefaLLC Group Inc. DMAC81

Lexington West Columbia

411 500

Rush’s Food Systems S.C. Episcopal Home atInc. Still Hopes

WestColumbia Columbia West

409 498

Approved for the Most Money SC House Calls Inc.

West Columbia

Company Approved for the Most Money

Lender

Nine theGroup following $2 million TheofSefa Inc. companies were approved for Firstbetween Community Bank and $5 million loans. The first company, Sefa Group, was the only company in Lexington DMAC81 LLC First Savings Bank County approved for a loan between $5 million and $10 million.

SD-2 LLC Company

First Lender Savings Bank

9 24 $2 million-$5 million

SynovusBank First Savings

Naturchem SD-2 LLC Inc.

SynovusBank First Savings

$2 million-$5 million

$5 million-$10 million

421

Nine of the following for between $2 million The Sefa Group Inc. companies were approvedLexington 411 and $5 million loans. The first company, Sefa Group, was the only company in Lexington Rush’s Food Systems 409 County approved for Inc. a loan between $5 millionWest andColumbia $10 million.

SC House DMAC81 LLCCalls Inc.

1 Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

Approved for the Most Money

S.C.Sefa Episcopal The GroupHome Inc. at Still Hopes

$1 million-$2 million

Jobs

Columbia

$350,000-$1 million

1 9$5 million-$10 million

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

City

Lizard’s Thicket Inc.

8181 84 84 1 + 2 3 4 6 1 + 2 3 4 6 1 + 2 3 8 5 1 + 2 3 5 8

Number of companies approved for assistance

Company

Tidewater Boats LLCat Still Hopes S.C. Episcopal Home Total Comfort Inc. SC House CallsSolutions Inc.

Synovus Bank First Community

Synovus Synovus Newtek SmallSynovus Business Finance Inc.

Mid-Carolina Naturchem Inc.Electric Cooperative Inc.

South State Bank Synovus

Palmetto Automatic Tidewater Boats LLC Sprinkler Co. Inc.

PNC Bank Synovus

Total Comfort Solutions Inc.

Newtek Small Business Finance Inc.

Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative Inc.

South State Bank

Palmetto Automatic Sprinkler Co. Inc.

PNC Bank

2,567

52,393

Nonprofit organizations approved for loans across South Carolina.

Number of nonprofit jobs retained through loans.

11,190

Tennessee

Number of companies with a listing in government data of 0 or no answer provided for number of jobs retained from emergency payroll loans.

93,287

Louisiana Alabama

73,827 65,803

South Carolina Mississippi

63,168 45,814 Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

Number of companies approved for assistance

Number of companies approved for assistance

Number of jobs retained

Number of jobs retained

86 83 1 2 4 7 8 1 + 2 3

Loans awarded by amount

Loans awarded by amount 724

$150,000-$350,000

370 135 $350,000-$1 million $150,000-$350,000

7,432

Less than $150,000

90 59 $1 million-$2 million

1,697

43 22 $2 million-$5 million

$350,000-$1 million

$1 million-$2 million

Less than $150,000

9 $5 4million-$10 million $2 million-$5 million

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

www.charlestonbusiness.com Companies retaining 500 Jobs

Company

City

Just Dandy Inc.

Greenville

Greenwood Inc.

Greenville

Cliffs Clubthan Services 200 LLC Jobs Retained More First Sun Management Corp.

Company ACM Fatz VII LLC Southern Wesleyan University Kudzu Staffing Cornell Dubilier Marketing Inc. Whitefords Inc. Young Men’s Christian Human Technologies Inc. Association of Anderson Inc. InvestSouth IHC LLC Orian Rugs Inc. S. B. Phillips Co. Inc. Newspring Church Inc. The Sunshine House Inc. Upstate Staffing Inc.

3

FEATURE

GREENVILLE COUNTY ANDERSON COUNTY 101,159 8,668 1,917 19,437

July 13 - 26, 2020

Travelers Rest Piedmont

City

Greenville

Central

Piedmont

Liberty

Greenville

Anderson

Jobs 494 415

Greenville 397 Greenville

Anderson

Greenville

Anderson

Greenville

Anderson

Anderson Industries LLC Anderson Approved for the Most Money

330 282 244 217

The following companies approved for $5 million to $10 million loans.

Company

Lender

Beverage South Inc. Approved for the Most Money

Truist Bank

Commercial Food Service Repair Inc. Third Bank loans, the The following companies approved for $2 millionFifth to $5 million Eldecoapproved Inc. Bank County. most for companies and organizationsFifth in Third Anderson Human Technologies Inc. Company InvestSouth IHC LLC Southern Wesleyan University S. B. Phillips Co. Inc. Cornell Dubilier Marketing Inc. The Sunshine House Inc. Orian Rugs Inc. Essential Cabinetry Holdings Inc. Newspring Church Inc. ACM Fatz VII LLC

Truist Lender South State Bank Truist Bank First Horizon Bank TD Bank Trian Business Bank South State Bank The Huntington National Bank TD Bank Synovus

Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

SPARTANBURG COUNTY 2,902

Number of companies approved for assistance

37,727

Number of jobs retained

82 7 1 + 2 3 5

Loans awarded by amount

223

$150,000-$350,000

142

More than 300 Jobs Retained Company

City

Jobs

Duncan

500

Kiki’s Kare LLC

Spartanburg

498

Southeastern Paper Group Inc.

Spartanburg

485

Converse College

Spartanburg

482

East Coast Underwriters LLC

Spartanburg

438

R. L. Jordan Oil Co. of N.C. Inc.

Spartanburg

350

Inman

334

Spartanburg

333

Duncan

325

Spartanburg Methodist College

Spartanburg

322

YMCA of Greater Spartanburg

Spartanburg

310

HKA Enterprises LLC

Inman Mills Spartanburg Steel Products Inc. AMC Management Corp.

$350,000-$1 million

2,485

Less than $150,000

37

$1 million-$2 million

$2 million-$5 million

4

$5 million-$10 million Source: Small Business Administration data, analysis by SC Biz News

The following companies approved for $5 million to $10 million loans.

Company

Lender

Inman Mills

South State Bank

Southeastern Paper Group Inc.

Truist Bank

Spartanburg Steel Products Inc.

Comerica Bank

HKA Enterprises LLC

Fifth Third Bank

www.scbizmag.com

11

Approved for the Most Money

29

BEST PLACES TO WORK

Best Places to Work in S.C. Where the state’s happiest employees spend their work week

B

est Places to Work in South Carolina is a multiyear initiative to encourage the state’s companies to focus, measure and move their workplaces toward excellence in the hope that they will attract and keep talented employees.

Recognizing the Best Places to Work in South Carolina is an initiative between SC Biz News – publisher of the Charleston Regional Business Journal, the Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA Business Report and SCBIZ magazine – and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

The companies who choose to participate are surveyed by Best Companies Group, an independent research company. The research is a two-part process. In part one, the employer completes a questionnaire about employee policies and procedures, among other information. In part two, employees

answer a survey.

The collected information from both sets of questions is used to determine the strengths and opportunities of each participating company. The workplaces are then ranked based on this data.

All participating companies receive an individual Assessment Findings Report that not only summarizes and sorts employee

feedback, but includes South Carolina benchmarking data for comparison.

Each participating company pays a fee that covers the cost of research, the survey and report. The cost an individual company would have to pay if the analysis were done independently would be considerably more.

Economies of scale apply when Best Places Group conducts a survey with a large number of companies from the same state.

We are convinced that the real value of participating in the program is not whether a company wins an award but in the employee survey feedback it receives. The report will enable a company to develop and implement the strategic steps necessary to create a great workplace and continue to improve the performance of its business.

On the following pages, we present the Best Places to Work in South Carolina for 2020.

www.scbizmag.com

Sponsored by

30

BEST PLACES TO WORK: LARGE COMPANIES

specializing in electric fences sold by the top team

RANKED TOP PLACE TO WORK IN SOUTH CAROLINA 4 YEARS RUNNING

anywhere. With an award-winning culture that helps you stay on a career path you love—at a place you love, too. But don’t just take it from us.

SPARK SOMETHING? APPLY AT AMAROK.COM/CAREERS

www.scbizmag.com

97% RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND

AMAROK is a full perimeter security company

31

BEST PLACES TO WORK: LARGE COMPANIES

LARGE COMPANIES

The companies are listed by ranking. Large companies have 250 or more employees. The numbers given here are for their employees in South Carolina.

1. Samet Corp.

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 29 Industry: Construction www.sametcorp.com As a premier builder, Samet Corp. provides the experience, resources and structured processes of a large firm combined with the responsiveness, management accessibility and personalized service of a small business. Samet is a family-owned business whose family extends to the people who work for the company. Samet provides flexible scheduling, continuing education opportunities and a robust health care program. Employee camaraderie extends far beyond the office in the form of community service, outreach events, company outings and holiday parties. Career discussions are held with each associate at least annually to ensure that everyone in the family continues to grow.

www.scbizmag.com

right for them. Pure’s employees enjoy work-life balance and the company of their colleagues every day. Pure offers employees a wide variety of holistic care assistance, including emotional intelligence training, life transition skills, a meditation and mindfulness course and wellness and yoga on the roof. Flexible PTO promotes family life and flash popup events like beer carts, ice cream afternoons and smoothie days keep the atmosphere light.

32

2. The Pure Group of Insurance Companies

City: Charleston Employees in S.C.: 114 Industry: Insurance www.pureinsurance.com Pure is a member-owned property and casualty insurer designed exclusively for financially successful families and driven by a purpose of doing what is

3. Burns & McDonnell

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 24 Industry: Architecture www.burnsmcd.com Burns & McDonnell is a 100% employee-owned company made up of more than 7,600 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs who strive to create amazing success for clients and amazing careers for

employee-owners. The 5% turnover rate is one of the lowest in the nation because of the stake employees have in the company. The culture of ownership empowers staff to make important decisions, develop new ideas and strategies and chart their own path.

Bruns & McDonnell’s training team offers 2,500 internal classes annually and the company provides tuition assistance and covers professional society fees.

4. American Specialty Health

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 22 Industry: Health care www.ashcompanies.com American Specialty Health has been an innovator in the health and wellness arena, catapulting the business to the ranks of one of the nation’s largest health services companies. Employees love working at a company dedicated to improving lives, and ASH embodies that by providing members with affordable

5. Hire Dynamics

Employees in S.C.: 56 Industry: Staffing www.hiredynamics.com Hire Dynamics is an award-winning, industry-leading staffing firm whose culture is built around a “What We Do Matters” message that sets the company apart from competitors. Staff are always encouraged to focus on helping others with a servant leadership approach and to stay highly involved with various community and nonprofit organizations. The company is always flexible with PTO and workday scheduling and encourages staff to aim to be the No. 1 staffing firm that you would refer to your friend. At Hire Dynamics, there is a belief that service is a pleasure that brings everyone joy.

6. Life Cycle Engineering Inc.

City: Charleston Employees in S.C.: 106 Industry: Consulting www.lce.com For 40 years, Life Cycle Engineering has provided engineering solutions that deliver lasting results for private industry, public entities, government organizations and the military. LCE’s vision is to

create a work environment where employees develop personally and professionally, and where employees have fun, develop advocate clients, and create profit.

LCE is focused on turning individual talents into strengths that support clients’ success. LCE offers flexible work schedules to accommodate life outside of work and a host of team activities. Employee favorites include the Thanksgiving Tailgate and the annual Halloween luncheon complete with a costume contest, parade and chili cook-off.

7. South Carolina Federal Credit Union

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 489 Industry: Financial Services www.scfederal.org Employees at SC Federal describe the credit union as a community, not a company. The focus on providing a remarkable employee experience is the reason behind long employee tenure, almost twice that of others in the financial services industry. This experience includes exceptional benefits, a dynamic culture, and an emphasis on diversity, internal promotion, and a dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of income. The organization also employs an innovative performance management model, in which managers deliver consistent, timely feedback to employees, and equips them with the tools that are necessary for high levels of productivity to help them grow and advance in their careers.

8. Advanced Technology International

City: Summerville Employees in S.C.: 233 Industry: Project management www.ati.org ATI is a rapidly growing, employee-friendly nonprofit where purpose-driven work makes a difference in our world. From its headquarters in Summerville, S.C., the organization manages the business operations of federally funded research and development programs with a total contract value of more than $16 billion. The company has been named one of South Carolina’s best places to work for four consecutive years and earned a platinum award for hiring veterans. ATI offers an exceptional culture with such staff-friendly perks as onsite yoga, motivational speakers, town halls with the CEO and a flexible workplace that encourages work at home.

BEST PLACES TO WORK: LARGE COMPANIES

access to fitness and wellness benefits. The company offers its own employees the same wellness benefits and a social activities committee that provides quality extra-curricular activities. The average tenure of senior leadership is 17 years due to a tightly bonded ecosystem of innovation.

9. T-Mobile USA

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 1,385 Industry: Telecommunications www.t-mobile.com T-Mobile and Sprint combined this year to bring 5G for Good to the nation. The company believes that employees with diverse backgrounds bring innovations that serve customers, communities and teams. The company is committed to diversity and inclusion and to developing and promoting from within. There are numerous development programs offered to provide readiness for career advancement,

SOUTH CAROLINA PORTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS With distribution provided by the Port of Charleston to their global audience of partners, prospects and clients - there is an opportunity for you to reach your target audience.

Grady Johnson: 843-849-3103 or gjohnson@scbiznews.com

www.scbizmag.com

Contact us today to learn more about advertising opportunities in our collection of port publications.

33

BEST PLACES TO WORK: LARGE COMPANIES

including a generous tuition assistance program and Trident Tech classes on-site for free. The facility includes a fully equipped gym, a movie theater, massage chairs, Karaoke lounge, multiple coffee bars and much more for an exquisite employee experience.

10. Boingo Wireless

City: Charleston Employees in S.C.: 88 Industry: Technology www.boingo.com Boingo pioneered many firsts to keep the world connected to the people and things they love through WiFi hotspots, from 5G to CBRS to Wi-Fi 6 to whatever comes next. Boingo prides itself on fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can be their authentic self. The company offers incredible benefits packages that includes unlimited vacation, 12 weeks paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement, gym reimbursement and much more. Working at Boingo comes with more perks than paychecks, whether it’s participating in the company ping pong tournament, make-your-own-bath-bomb days, or a kitchen stocked with healthy snacks and iced coffee on tap.

11. Marsh & McLennan Agency - Mid Atlantic

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 86 Industry: Insurance www.marshmma.com Marsh & McLennan Agency provides best-in-class risk prevention and insurance services for mid-sized companies in the U.S. The firm strives to create a workplace where integrity, collaboration, passion, innovation and accountability come to life. Colleague appreciation and engagement is embedded within the culture and the entire staff lives the mission to make a difference in the moments that matter for colleagues, clients and communities. The company’s active wellness program offers prizes, massages and free flu shots to complement fun activities like office mini-golf tournaments.

www.scbizmag.com

12. Duck Creek Technologies

34

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 157 Industry: Technology www.duckcreek.com As the leading Software as a Service provider to the insurance industry, Duck Creek Technologies helps insurers bring more and better products to market faster and provides the intuitive digital experiences their customers expect. The team is fueled by sharing ideas openly, challenging conventions, trying new things, and valuing “Why Not?” over “Why?” The company tells prospective employees, “Come fly with us. We’re forward thinking, collaborative and innovative ducks. Join the flock and be a part of something great.” Dedicated theme days, seasonal parties and cooking competitions highlight the fun at Duck Creek.

13. CarolinaPower

City: Greer Employees in S.C.: 157 Industry: Construction www.carolinapower.com CarolinaPower serves industrial, commercial, health care and federal market sectors in South Carolina and North Carolina. An employee-owned company that embraces the principles of Servant Leadership, CarolinaPower’s employees are empowered to grow and are encouraged to continually strive to enhance their careers and personal lives. CarolinaPower offers first and foremost a safe working environment that has earned numerous awards. In addition, the company supports younger employees with apprenticeships, a formal mentoring program and extensive opportunities for continuing education and professional growth. Employees love how the company matches their philanthropic contributions and sets aside 10% of earnings to support local charities.

14. ScanSource Inc.

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 882 Industry: Distribution www.scansource.com ScanSource Inc. is a leading global provider of technology products and solutions, focusing on pointof-sale payments and related services. ScanSource is a great place to work because of the amazing, familylike company culture. Named a World’s Most Admired Company the last four years by Fortune magazine, ScanSource’s culture is rooted within their core values, such as honesty and integrity, listening to every employee’s opinion and respecting one another.

The company provides a host of benefits such as weekly yoga and Zumba classes, an emergency fund for employees and incentives to volunteer in the community.

15. Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 293 Industry: Banking www.palmettocitizens.com Palmetto Citizens is a member-owned financial institution working to be the best place for members, as well as a great place to work. They celebrate staff achievements through daily congratulations messages, an award bestowed to staff members by staff members and the Quality Loop service recognition program. Palmetto Citizens helps each staff member develop through a variety of projects, leadership groups, community efforts and a young professionals program. Palmetto Citizens provides no-cost medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and 401(k) up to 9% of salary. Palmetto Citizens supports the communities it serves through efforts with Harvest Hope, Children’s Hospital, community educational workshops and more.

16. South State Bank

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 1,844 Industry: Banking www.southstatebank.com South State Bank is a growing financial institution headquartered in South Carolina that offers a competitive health and financial benefit package to all part-time and full-time employees. The company also knows that team members have a life and family outside work. Recognized as a Best Place to Work SC for the fourth year, the bank strives to ensure great facilities and excellent leadership to make day after day on the job enjoyable. The company’s many celebrations, like sponsored Halloween costume contests, Easter egg hunts, and a birthday luau for mascot “Stash,” are among the reasons South State Bank is a place to have fun while working hard.

17. Select Health of South Carolina

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 560 Industry: Health care www.schealthofsc.com First Choice by Select Health of South Carolina is your hometown health plan. A Best Place to Work for 12 consecutive years, Select Health’s special brand of caring begins with a workforce of more than 550 associates living the mission to help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities. Employees love the award-winning wellness program, which offers activities aimed at improving physical, financial and emotional wellbeing, from container garden workshops to coloring and painting classes to financial planning seminars. With a new focus on supporting employee-led activities, the company has launched fun new activities, including online trivia contests, ice cream socials, seasonal scavenger hunts and birthday drawings.

18. Terminix Service Inc.

City: Columbia Employees: 719 Industry: Pest Control www.trustterminix.com Locally family-owned and operated, Terminix Service Inc. is the industry leader in providing quality pest control you can trust. Employees appreciate a company culture that rewards hard work. A best Place to Work SC since 2014, all six region managers and 56 branch managers were internal promotions, as was much of the corporate staff. Terminix holds regular training sessions where employees with proven skills are groomed for career development. Team building and company gatherings with games and prizes help promote a family-at-work atmosphere.

19. Total Quality Logistics

Employees in S.C.: 133 Industry: Transportation www.tql.com Total Quality Logistics arranges the pick-up and delivery for business-to-business freight movements across North America, arranging the movement of

20. RealPage Contact Center – Greenville

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 220 Industry: Contact Center www.realpage.com The RealPage Contact Center is the nation’s largest centralized real estate contact center service provider. RealPage rewards performance with bonuses, incentive prizes such as iPads, TVs and personal time off. It has monthly paid philanthropy events to ensure team members are able to give back to the community. Onsite recreational options include massage chairs and arcade games, a ping pong table, inside basketball goal, onsite gym and walking areas. The results show in retention rates, employee engagement results, and positive input from the community and properties the company supports.

Halloween and other seasonal activities around milestone dates. During the annual Employee Appreciation Day, executives serve lunch to associates.

engage with employees every morning and everyone celebrates career milestones.

23. Cameron Ashley Building Products

24. CPI Security

City: Columbia, Greer Employees in S.C.: 99 Industry: Distribution www.cameronashleybp.com Cameron Ashley Building Products is a leading distributor of roofing, insulation, gypsum, accessories and other specialty building products. Espousing a Play to Win attitude means “doing our best, expecting to win, and having fun doing it.” Employees are empowered to make their own decisions and are given the right tools needed to succeed. They enjoy a casual work environment in casual attire and Fun Fridays during the summer with themed parties like beach day, a company barbecue and even tailgating.

It’s a culture where the president walks the halls to

Employees in S.C.: 122 Industry: Security services www.cpisecurity.com For over 25 years, CPI Security has provided industryleading alarm response throughout the Southeast via innovative technology and products. A fivetime Best Place to Work SC, CPI values employee engagement, organizing events throughout the year including Ice Cream Fridays, teambuilding outings at local venues, and tickets to local sporting events.

Employees appreciate the corporate match to charitable contributions and a variety of paid volunteer opportunities. The company rewards top performers with an all-inclusive trip to a tropical destination and recognizes employees’ personal milestones.

BEST PLACES TO WORK: LARGE COMPANIES

more than 1.6 million shipments last year. Fierce dedication to the company’s winning principles — integrity, honesty and teamwork — motivates the company to continually exceed the expectations of employees, customers and carriers. TQL has been recognized as a Best Places to Work SC for the ninth consecutive year. During the coronavirus pandemic, the CEO has initiated a Virtual Beer Drop while staff worked from home to connect staff and celebrate their hard work.

21. SC Ports Authority

City: Mount Pleasant Employees in S.C.: 742 Industry: Transportation www.scspa.com South Carolina Ports Authority owns and operates public seaport and intermodal facilities across the state. SCPA demonstrates that it values employees by providing above-market pay, excellent benefits at low costs and multiple retirement savings options. The SCPA facilitates programs such as walking challenges and group fitness activities, visits from a rolling farmers market, free physicals and flu shots, access to on-site massages, retirement lunch and learns, an annual Waterfront Olympics event, and family nights at baseball games. The SCPA headquarters building includes an on-site cafe serving healthy, low-cost breakfast and lunch; a fitness center; a walking trail; stand-up desks; and an on-site Wellness Center.

CPI Security is proud to be named one of South Carolina’s best places to work!

22. SYNNEX Corp.

800.274.8857 | cpisecurity.com |

www.scbizmag.com

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 934 Industry: Technology www.synnexcorp.com SYNNEX Corp. provides business-to-business services that help customers and business partners grow and enhance their customer-engagement strategies.

SYNNEX is an industry leader in IT distribution with more than 30,000 technology products from more than 300 of the world’s leading and emerging manufacturers. The workplace is marked by casual dress and a culture in which fun is a priority and includes employees’ children trick-or-treating for

35

BEST PLACES TO WORK: SMALL COMPANIES

SMALL-MEDIUM COMPANIES

The companies are listed by ranking. Small to medium companies have fewer than 250 employees. The numbers given here are for their employees in South Carolina.

1. Sentar

City: North Charleston Employees: 44 Industry: Defense www.sentar.com Sentar is a woman-owned small business providing advanced cybersecurity and information assurance services and related products to customers, primarily within the Department of Defense and Armed Forces. Run by management with a committed open-door policy, Sentar has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina for five years straight. Staff work hard and play hard, with activities like scavenger hunts, pizza Fridays and oyster roasts. Sentar provides extensive continuing education opportunities, including a private online class for employees to increase their technical knowledge and gain a new certification.

3. Scott and Co. LLC

www.scbizmag.com

2. The Worthwhile Company

36

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 15 Industry: Technology www.worthwhile.com The Worthwhile Company creates software solutions that help you achieve measurable outcomes by unleashing the power of continuous innovation. With a values-centered culture, Worthwhile strives to be a destination for people seeking the most fulfilling work. More than just fun or perks, the company is serious about fostering deep organizational health in a unique values-saturated environment. Anchored by four cornerstone values, the team adheres to 19 specific behaviors that guide the work and impact the way people talk to and about each other.

Because of the strong bond among employees and between staff and clients, Worthwhile enjoys a net promoter score twice the industry average.

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 18 Industry: Accounting www.scottandco.com Scott and Co. provides extraordinary tax, audit, accounting and consulting services. The company believes its people come first and places no limitations on where they can do their work. A Best Places to Work SC honoree eight years running, the firm promotes a healthy work/life balance, including flexible scheduling around core business hours and half-day Fridays in the summer. There are many bonus opportunities for going above and beyond and for bringing in new clients. Throughout the year, the firm provides meals, snacks and beverages; cultivates talent; supports professional development; and guides staff through the firm’s mentoring and training programs. Scott and Company believes happy employees translate to happy clients.

4. Parrish & Partners, LLC

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 37 Industry: Engineering www.parrishandpartners.com Parrish & Partners is a civil engineering firm providing consulting services on transportation infrastructure projects. The firm provides a professional work environment that has a friendly, family culture. It ensures employees have what they need to do their best work and grow professionally, while recognizing they have families and a life away

from work. “We genuinely care about our employees and treat them as we want them to treat our clients ... with respect and care.” the company says. P&P organizes employees to have family feuds, wear ugly sweaters and get crowned the biggest losers.

5. Kopis

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 43 Industry: Technology www.kopisusa.com Kopis is made up of dedicated experts in Software Development, Business Intelligence, Project Management, Quality Assurance, and many other areas of IT. “We love what we do, and who we get to do it with. And who wouldn’t? We get to work with brilliant peers in a collaborative culture of innovation and evolve ideas from tiny seeds into full-blown solutions that transform organizations,” they say.

From their downtown location, employees can jump on the Swamp Rabbit trail for a quick walk after lunch. The company encourages work/life balance in a business-casual, rewarding and family-friendly work environment with excellent pay and benefits.

6. SpinSys

City: Charleston Employees in S.C.: 27 Industry: Technology www.spinsys.com SpinSys develops systems integration solutions for cloud-based services, specializing in enterprise sustainment and modernization. The company says it is a best place to work “because we have endless

7. KeyMark

City: Liberty Employees in S.C.: 82 Industry: Technology www.keymarkinc.com KeyMark, a five-time Best Places to Work SC company, provides intelligent automation to clients and offers a unique culture that makes each day in the workplace meaningful and fun. Much of this culture is created and driven by CEO Jim Wanner, whose energy, positivity and passion for helping others succeed permeates the entire office. Each person at KeyMark, including Jim, is approachable and willing to help; there is a constant feeling that everyone is on the same team. The company boasts an in-office gym, foosball, cornhole, a kegerator, office parties and costume contests, baby showers, retirement celebrations and holiday traditions.

8. PhishLabs

City: Charleston Employees in S.C.: 91 Industry: Cybersecurity www.phishlabs.com PhishLabs is the leading provider of 24/7 managed threat intelligence and mitigation services that protect brands, customers and enterprises from digital risks. It is a Best Place to Work SC for the fifth straight year by combining meaningful work with a collaborative, team atmosphere. At the headquarters in Charleston, employees enjoy a modern office environment, on-campus restaurants, and plenty of employee engagement/team building activities. The company organizes fantasy sports leagues, stages cooking contests and celebrates quirky food holidays like National Grilled Cheese Day, Pie Day and Mac ‘n Cheese Day.

9. THS Constructors Inc.

10. Palmetto Technology Group

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 29 Industry: Technology www.goptg.com PTG helps companies of every size in nearly every industry increase security, boost productivity, streamline business processes, and protect against downtime and lost data. Everyone has a voice in “all hands” meetings and the company offers total transparency when it comes to finances and reasons for business decisions. A six-time Best Places to Work SC honoree, PTG puts clients first, but also believes that work should be fun. One of its core values is, “without people, no profits; without profits, no people.” At PTG, regular fun activities, staff outings and group dinners are the capstone to a great work environment.

11. HudsonMann Inc.

City: Mount Pleasant Employees in S.C.: 22 Industry: Consulting www.hudsonmann.com For more than 25 years, HudsonMann has partnered with federal contractors and subcontractors to provide reliable affirmative action plans and extensive Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs audit support. Finding talented people who demonstrate company values and vision is what makes HudsonMann a best place to work. The nature of its work in affirmative action compliance, diversity and equal opportunity creates a strong sense of purpose for the whole team and provides principles that management strive to uphold for employees.

This extends to community outreach activities, which are often employee-led and management-supported.

12. Sherman Construction

City: Piedmont Employees in S.C.: 26 Industry: Construction www.shermoanconstruction.com Since 1949, Sherman Construction has been delivering high quality preconstruction and construction services through an efficient management structure that continues to provide clients with direct access to company leadership.

With a culture of collaboration and determination, no one ever has to ask permission to do the right thing.

The company offers a flexible work/life balance with unlimited PTO that naturally creates a hard-working team. Sherman employees eat well, enjoying daily lunch on the company and regular cook-offs, like Low Country Boil and Wing competitions.

13. TPM Inc.

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 61

Industry: Technology www.tpm.com TPM is the Southeast’s local one-stop shop for engineering and design solutions, graphics and document management. Family-owned and operated, TPM enjoys a low staff turnover rate and average tenure of 10 years because it provides a family atmosphere in every office. Customers recognize that the best employees in the industry work at TPM, and they come back because of them. The company encourages employees to ask themselves everyday if they are doing the right thing to embrace change, become experts in their field and provide customers with exceptional leadership.

14. Frampton Constructions

City: Ladson Employees in S.C.: 34 Industry: Construction www.frampton.construction Frampton Construction is a full-service construction firm that specializes in commercial and industrial construction. At Frampton, team members are not only encouraged but expected to challenge the status quo. Team members have a direct line to company leadership and with that, a real ability to effect change within the organization. Among the benefits provided by the company: health insurance 100% employer paid, including dental and vision; reimbursement for gym memberships; and break rooms stocked with healthy snack and beverage options. The golf putter and ping pong table are popular, but beware, match losers must eat a nastyflavored jellybean.

15. Mount Pleasant Waterworks

City: Mount Pleasant Employees in S.C.: 139 Industry: Water and Wastewater www.mountpleasantwaterworks.com Mount Pleasant Waterworks is a public utility that provides water and wastewater service to the rapidly growing Town of Mount Pleasant. To ensure that customers never lose water or wastewater service, employees work holidays, storms and power outages. MPW, a five-time Best Places to Work SC awardee, has created a strong culture of camaraderie, teamwork and community service, and hosts various employee appreciation events with cash prizes such as Food Truck Fridays and surprise ice cream socials. MPW spares no expense in employee benefits, paying 98% of all health insurance costs, while also offering competitive salaries. The average employee tenure is 13 years and turnover is less than 1%.

16. Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative Inc.

City: Walterboro Employees in S.C.: 78 Industry: Telecommunications www.prtc.us PRTC is a member-owned cooperative providing complete telecommunications services to homes

www.scbizmag.com

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 26 Industry: Construction www.thsconstructors.com THS Constructors provides design-build, designbid-build, and construction management services to clients in the industrial, distribution, health care, office, research and development, and retail markets.

The company provides a welcoming environment for employees that continually encourages open communication, collaboration and transparency.

THS demonstrates its commitment to community by raising more than $10,000 for Susan G. Komen for breast cancer research and organizing Mo-vember celebrations to raise money for prostate cancer

research. “From our chairman to our design and constructor partners, we practice (value, integrity and commitment) every day to help THS grow along with our employees.”

BEST PLACES TO WORK: SMALL COMPANIES

snacks, multiple flavors of La Croix, and awesome employees.” With professional development a priority, each new employee is assigned a mentor.

A dedicated culture squad plans regular group outings outside of work, with a goal of making it impossible for employees not to have fun. A great work environment includes sit-to-stand desks, coffee machine, and the fully stocked kitchen, not to mention bake-offs and game nights.

37

BEST PLACES TO WORK: SMALL COMPANIES

and businesses of the Lowcountry. At PRTC, success is measured by the progress of the communities it serves. Employees are contributing to the worthy mission of powering rural communities and can say with pride that their organization supports many nonprofit fundraisers, community festivals and events. PRTC provides grant funding, scholarships and works with area youth programs. The company creates a work environment that allows employees to have balance between family and work life and provide their family with excellent health insurance and other benefits.

17. Atlas Technologies Inc.

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 132 Industry: Technology www.atlas-tech.com Founded in 1997, Atlas Technologies Inc. is an innovative provider of leading-edge information technology solutions to government and industry partners. With a well-rounded culture that attracts the best talent from within the IT industry, this veteran-owned business has made the Best Places to Work SC list three straight years. Atlas has an Ambassador program that provides new team members with a mentor from day one and an employee-led charitable committee that identifies opportunities for corporate charitable contributions and community volunteering. During the coronavirus pandemic, the company has been providing lunch from local restaurants, with the CEO serving as delivery man.

Koops Inc.

Employees in S.C.: 32 Industry: Manufacturing www.koops.com Koops works with manufacturers to improve their machine automation and material handling systems and processes. Koops is committed to individual growth and career opportunities, and to development of people pursuing their strengths. The result is an awesome team and culture to work in, and a work environment that’s just easy to enjoy. When family needs arise, there is no pressure or question about what the priority is; the team rallies and fills the void. The KanJam tournaments and homemade salsa contests add zest to a happy workplace.

www.scbizmag.com

18. Swampfox Technologies

38

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 44 Industry: Technology www.swampfoxinc.com Swampfox Technologies specializes in call center automation and provides the software that automates many of the transactions for the largest cable, energy and heath care companies in the U.S. Swampfox exists to create “a great place to work that works great for our customers.” This mindset is what led the company to refurbish a 1900s building downtown to provide a chef’s range and farm table in its kitchen and rooftop bar above; to buy lunch for

staff every Friday; and to fly the entire staff, including spouses, to Charleston for a celebration.

19. The Brandon Agency

City: Charleston, Myrtle Beach Employees in S.C.: 45 Industry: Marketing www.thebrandonagency.com The Brandon Agency ignites growth and build brands with business smarts and compelling results. A company of business minds and creative hearts, it operates as a partner to clients and understands their growth drives the success of the agency.

Brandon is committed to providing a fun, challenging and rewarding work environment that attracts, develops and retains the best people. Last year, company president Tyler Easterling was named Fairygodboss of the week by Fairygodboss.com, where she shared her personal insights on a healthy work-life balance for working mothers.

20. CF Evans Construction

City: Orangeburg Employees in S.C.: 91 Industry: Construction www.cfevans.com CF Evans is a third-generation, family-owned construction management company that has been recognized as a Best Place to Work for 11 years in a row and was the winner of the 2017 Multifamily Builder of the Year by the National Association of Homebuilders and runner-up in 2020. The company motto, “We build it like it’s ours!” helps explain extremely low turnover compared to others in the industry, as does the constant employee recognition and an abundance of free gear, including enough branded clothing to create an entire CF Evans ensemble.

21. Koops Inc.

Employees in S.C.: 34 Industry: Manufacturing www.koops.com Koops works with manufacturers to improve their machine automation and material handling systems and processes. Koops is committed to individual growth and career opportunities, and to development of people pursuing their strengths. The result is an awesome team and culture to work in, and a work environment that’s just easy to enjoy. When family needs arise, there is no pressure or question about what the priority is; the team rallies and fills the void. The KanJam tournaments and homemade salsa contests add zest to a happy workplace.

22. Recruiting Solutions

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 45 Industry: Staffing www.recruitingsolutionsonline.com Recruiting Solutions is a local, independent, womanowned staffing and recruiting company. It boasts a collaborative company culture, ample opportunities for professional development and growth, and

unique employee perks, like weekly “brain breaks, bowling parties and painting classes. The culture at Recruiting Solutions is highly collaborative with an open-door policy among employees and leadership.

Management continually provides incentives and friendly competitions among employees to meet company and individual goals. Combining work and fun is normal at Recruiting Solutions with regular “Lunch and Learns,” “Social Fridays,” discount gym memberships and more.

23. Lee Distributors

City: Summerville Employees in S.C.: 148 Industry: Distribution www.jobs.reyesbeerdivision.com Lee Distributors sells and distributes nearly 6 million cases of some of the world’s best-known and loved brews along with a number of great craft beers to nearly 3,000 accounts along the Southeast coast of South Carolina and the seven surrounding counties.

Lee offers a fun atmosphere connecting customers, consumers and brands every day. The company takes care of employees with a variety of wellness services and healthy foods, an ethics hotline and cases of beer on holidays. Employees also enjoy vendor discounts for things like phone service, car rental and flower delivery.

24. Bauknight Pietras and Stormer, P.A.

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 74 Industry: Accounting www.bpscpas.com Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, PA, is one of the Southeast’s largest and most trusted accounting and consulting firms, using extensive experience with the IRS and public accounting to serve a wide range of clients. Because accounting can be a stressful profession, BPS works overtime to develop camaraderie in the workplace and achieve a worklife balance for employees, offering onsite gym facilities, delivering catered meals during tax season, sponsoring recreational sports teams and organizing participation in charitable events. Employees can choose to convert overtime hours into paid time off or a cash bonus.

25. York Electric Cooperative

City: York Employees in S.C.: 108 Industry: Electric Distribution www.yorkelectric.net Since 1941, the York Electric Cooperative has provided dependable and affordable electric service that has helped families and businesses in the area continue to grow and prosper. YEC is considered a best place to work because it promotes education, growth, family and serving others. The Cooperative exists for its members and each employee fosters the dedication, work ethic, commitment and character to get the job done as a team. With a focus on the whole employee, the company plans several family fun activities each year.

26. Rhythmlink International, LLC

27. VC3

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 89 Industry: Technology www.vc3.com VC3 provides customer-oriented information technology solutions and services to commercial and public-sector customers throughout the Southeast. Voted one of the Best Places to Work in SC every year since 2009, VC3 values people who are passionate about IT, love to learn and want to have fun. The company strives to live up to six core values everyday: great customer service, passion for the

work, taking ownership, working together, solving problems and continuous improvement. Employees appreciate VC3 as a place to grow professionally while having fun — and knowing there is always beer and wine in the fridge!

28. Cognito Forms

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 25 Industry: Technology www.cognitoforms.com At Cognito Forms, both the company and product share a goal: To empower people to work smarter, grow faster and create their own success. The company creates an environment where team members feel ownership of and accountability for their work, solving problems and meeting challenges by working collaboratively. The office space facilitates this culture, with team members working at versatile sit/stand desks in open spaces with natural light and living plants. A dashboard in the kitchen displays customer feedback and reviews.

Team building takes the form of themed breakfasts and cookouts, scavenger hunts and more.

29. Rhodes Graduation Services Inc.

City: Summerton Employees in S.C.: 27 Industry: Graduation Supplies www.rhodesgraduation.com Rhodes is the largest Jostens representative in the U.S., providing rings and graduation supplies to more than 35,000 students annually. Rhodes treats

Upgrade your TRADE TRAFFIC JAMS for TIDES AND STOPLIGHTS for SALTY BREEZES

customers and employees like family. The industry is all about celebration and love, and without those characteristics, the company would not hold its preeminent position in the industry. As a family-owned, customer-centered organization it is focused on developing its people and making sure that they realize their fullest potential.

30. Connectivity Point Design & Installation

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 19 Industry: Telecommunications www.connectivitypoint.com Connectivity Point Design & Installation provides commercial technology solutions for audio-visual equipment, security systems or networking installation services. The family-owned company prides itself on its family-first rule, offering flexibility to employees in special situations. With flexible schedules and competitive pay and benefits – and free massages! – Connectivity Point believes employees are experts in their field and each one is an integral part of the fiber of the company.

BEST PLACES TO WORK: SMALL COMPANIES

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 52 Industry: Manufacturing www.rhythmlink.com Rhythmlink designs, manufactures and distributes medical devices and provides custom packaging and products, private labeling and contract manufacturing. This is Rhythmlink’s ninth consecutive visit to the Best Places to Work SC list, thanks to a culture that makes customers and employees feel valued and heard. Every other Wednesday, the company caters lunch for employees, sometimes with a food truck, and every day the on-site gym and wellness programs promote healthy living. The company creates a workplace that provides a fun, family atmosphere that puts customers’ needs first.

31. Find Great People

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 63 Industry: Recruiting www.fgp.com With offices in Greenville, Columbia and Nashville, Find Great People builds great companies by connecting them with their greatest asset — great

Commute

The 35-minute private Ferry Ride is the ultimate relaxing start or end to your day www.scbizmag.com

800.686.3441 | info@haigpoint.com | www.haigpoint.com

39

BEST PLACES TO WORK: SMALL COMPANIES

people. People make Find Great People a Best Place To Work awardee of one kind or another since 2006 because the company recognizes that it takes great people to find great people. FGP treats its employees to themed meals and the FGP Olympics, and during the coronavirus pandemic, the company runs an FGP Wellness Community on social media that includes live virtual workouts with a personal trainer, Zoom Bingo and care packages for every employee.

32. Crawford Strategy

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 31 Industry: Advertising www.crawfordstrategy.com Crawford Strategy is a full-service strategic marketing agency in Greenville that loves to create custom marketing solutions that help brands grow.

Once the right people reflecting the team’s five core principles are in place, they are fostered as people and professionals with extensive support for professional development, team happy hours every Friday and monthly catered breakfasts with menus chosen by those celebrating birthdays. Work-life balance is promoted with remote work, flexible hours, flexible dress and a full kitchen, making Crawford a Best Place to Work SC for the third straight year.

33. SCRA - SC Research Authority

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 36 Industry: Research www.scra.org A public, nonprofit corporation, SCRA fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth in research, academia, entrepreneurship and industry. Each employee is affecting the state of South Carolina to the tune of $719 million while supporting 4,250 jobs. Named a Best Place to Work for the eighth year in a row, SCRA believes that employee satisfaction leads to client satisfaction – the ultimate driver of long-term success.

www.scbizmag.com

34. AMAROK

40

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 83 Industry: Security services www.amarok.com AMAROK is the Ultimate Perimeter Security, providing electric fencing and other perimeter security solutions that keep criminals off customers’ property.

AMAROK strives to maintain a culture that values teamwork, customer service, integrity, and individual excellence; all while having fun. The company provides to each employee opportunities to grow and learn new skills, which has resulted in a roster of managers who reached their positions via internal promotion. AMAROK sponsors numerous parties and celebrations and offered employees a work-fromhome option even before the coronavirus pandemic.

35. Haig Point Club & Community

38. First Reliance Bank

36. Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc.

39. Total Beverage Solution

City: Hilton Head Island Employees in S.C.: 151 Industry: Hospitality www.haigpoint.com Haig Point is a charming sea island community just off the coast of South Carolina, between Hilton Head Island and Savannah. There is no bridge to the island. Residents and guests drive electric golf carts to the eclectic points of interest in and around the island. The private ferry system and water taxis ensure connectivity to the abundance of dining, shopping and cultural arts options nearby. Haig Point prides itself on the amazing team members whose daily goal is to exceed the expectations of members and residents, and ensure they enjoy an incredible experience every day.

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 51 Industry: Electric www.cepci.com Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc. is a generation and transmission electric cooperative owned by the South Carolina’s 20 distribution electric cooperatives. Central and its members are committed to providing affordable and reliable electricity to over 1.5 million consumer members located in all 46 counties in the state. The cooperative offers employees a remarkable benefits package that includes tuition, AAA membership and health club reimbursements, and offers in-house classes on financial wellness, healthy living, and professional skills development. Employees love working in a collegial, team-oriented environment with flexible schedules, and their commitment to member service, rather than profit motive, is a point of pride.

37. LimRic Plumbing Heating & Air

City: Charleston Employees in S.C.: 69 Industry: HVAC/Plumbing www.limric.com LimRic takes great pride in cultivating a fun, familyoriented environment where employees love their jobs and are provided with every opportunity to learn and further their career.

They offer an apprenticeship program for people that want to start their career in plumbing and HVAC and receive top certification but cannot afford the education. Many LimRic employees join the company having never left SC; it sends them to all-expensespaid conferences to further their career education. A family company that recognizes above-and-beyond dedication, it sent a landscaping crew to transform one employee’s yard after he had spent many extra hours finishing a project.

City: Florence Employees in S.C.: 149 Industry: Banking www.firstreliance.com First Reliance is a community bank that lives and believes in core values of trustworthiness, customer first, commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, teamwork, positive attitude and results. The bank is committed to supporting its staff and even held a COVID graduation ceremony in its lobby for 11 associates’ children who graduated in 2020. Each graduate marched in their cap and gown and received a $100 gift card. A strong culture and brand make that possible and is critical to maintaining a great company and providing customers with an exceptional customer experience.

City: Mount Pleasant Employees in S.C.: 43 Industry: Wholesale www.realpage.com Total Beverage Solution represents some of the most iconic breweries, wineries and distilleries from around the globe, traveling great distances to find innovative and exciting brands to introduce to the U.S. market. Total Beverage Solution’s culture is driven by a commitment to personal and professional growth, doing things the right way and delivering a consistently high standard of performance. The company provides fully paid, company-sponsored cultural immersion trips for all employees to countries such as New Zealand, Germany and Italy.

Staff “work hard and celebrate big” with pop-up parties, employee pricing and holiday dinners with significant others.

40. Equiscript

City: North Charleston Employees in S.C.: 113 Industry: Health care www.equiscript.com Equiscript is a mission-focused company whose employees are dedicated to the cause of improving access to health care. A four-time Best Place to Work SC, Equiscript has built a culture of people who work hard, expect a lot from each other, and deliver beyond expectations. Staff start each day with basspumping playlists, after which they work hard and have fun. Employees are encouraged to lead healthy, balanced lives. A Fun committee hosts monthly events like a scavenger hunt and Octoberfest. A Wellness committee conducts stress-control classes, meditation, yoga and massages for enhanced employee health.

41. Infinity Marketing

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 74 Industry: Marketing www.infinitymkt.com Infinity Marketing is a full-service, fully integrated advertising agency that is passionately focused

42. Softdocs

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 97 Industry: Technology www.softdocs.com Softdocs is the only education-focused provider of enterprise content management, e-forms and workflow solutions. With a 99+% customer retention rate, Softdocs’ commitment to its customers’ satisfaction is clear. By exploiting the company’s telecommuting options and flexible scheduling, employees can readily find the time necessary to fulfill their commitments and obligations outside the office. Softdocs regularly recognizes employees for their accomplishments and encourages open doors so that everyone shares a clear vision for the future.

Softdocs regularly contributes to charitable causes that are championed by employees and sponsors Food Truck Fridays and a number of employee appreciation lunches, dinners and activities.

43. New South Construction Supply

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 51 Industry: Distribution www.newsouthconstruction.com New South Construction Supply provides concrete and masonry accessories, rebar, wire mesh, and waterproofing materials in the Carolinas and Georgia.

The company offers a wide array of unusual benefits including an Associate Hardship Plan, working from home, education reimbursement, and an annual company kickoff meeting at a resort for all associates and their spouses/partners. The Leadership Summit Trip to a resort rewards 40 top leaders and their spouses/partners, and the college internship and Manager-in-Training programs help recent college graduates succeed in the company. New South offers a family environment with above-market pay and a wide variety of awards to those who go above and beyond for customers and fellow associates.

44. CUI

45. Carolina Trust Federal Credit Union

City: Myrtle Beach Employees in S.C.: 84 Industry: Banking www.carolinatrust.org Carolina Trust began 60 years ago as Myrtle Beach Air Force Credit Union, and many employees have remained since the changeover. A three-time Best Place to Work SC, Carolina Trust prides itself on its mission of owners serving owners and putting people over profits. Carolina Trust promotes from within whenever possible and supports employees in their career aspirations. Any day at the credit union might be a special day for employees with funthemed events, regular lunches with the CEO, free Coastal Carolina fair tickets and periodic gift bags.

46. Quality Business Solutions

City: Travelers Rest Employees in S.C.: 30 Industry: Human Resources/Accounting www.qualitybsolutions.net Quality Business Solutions Inc. offers a wide and comprehensive range of integrated, fully customizable PEO/ASO services, including payroll administration, unemployment management, insurance, benefit administration, human resources, workers’ compensation, tax reporting and more.

Located on a 200-acre horse farm in Travelers Rest, QBS offers a casual office environment. An employeedriven initiative focuses on the five essential functions of the team: trust, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability and maintaining focus on collective results. For a break, staff can hang out with the horses and the company cat and dog, enjoy the coffee bar with free snacks or take advantage of free tickets to local sports teams.

47. Trehel Corp.

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 59 Industry: Construction www.trehel.com A five-time Best Places to Work SC honoree, Trehel Corp. has been committed to the design and construction of high-performance buildings that enrich the human experience. Fostering relationships is the guiding force in both business and community endeavors. Over the years, Trehel has continued to develop its culture through employee engagement initiatives, team building exercises, enhanced benefit packages and community outreach. Employees enjoy tickets to sporting and cultural events, Christmas gifts, leadership training opportunities and more. The company has donated more than $1 million to local

charities and encourages employees to volunteer in support of local charitable and civic organizations.

48. SIOS Technology Corp.

City: Columbia Employees in S.C.: 26 Industry: Technology www.us.sios.com SIOS Technology Corp. makes software solutions that provide IT resilience for critical applications that businesses depend on. SIOS uses high availability clustering to help applications automatically recover from infrastructure and application failures in a matter of minutes with no loss of data — keeping business data protected, applications online, and users satisfied. Flexible work rules and an open kitchen with fully stocked snacks and drinks contribute to a culture where employees will be successful and engaged in pursuing the company’s core values: creativity, passion, commitment, integrity and teamwork.

49. JEAR Logistics

City: Mount Pleasant Employees in S.C.: 120 Industry: Transportation www.jearlogistics.com JEAR provides full and less-than truckload services (refrigerated, dry and flatbed) throughout the United States and Canada. The company encourages staff to #findyourimpact in any manner that matters to them. Whether that is impacting their team, their community, directly on the company or simply their own income, future or career, each is encouraged.

Walk through JEAR offices and find employees playing ping pong and cornhole, throwing a football around or engaging in some other evidence of a joyful workplace. A Best Place to Work SC for the sixth straight year, it’s no wonder JEAR has been one of the fastest growing companies in the state.

50. Fortis Riders

City: Greenville Employees in S.C.: 32 Industry: Transportation www.fortisriders.com Fortis Riders is the world’s leading secure ground transportation company offering a full spectrum of services for the world’s most discerning traveler.

What makes it a best place to work is the 5-star customer service offered to clients and employees alike. The company encourages and promotes a respectful, loving, tolerant, growing culture where people are free to be who they are, while also being intentionally led to become the very best version of themselves. Everyone can explore their own unique gifts at Fortis, so that everyone has the right seat on the bus.

www.scbizmag.com

City: Simpsonville Employees in S.C.: 91 Industry: Distribution www.cuiheat.com CUI offers wholesale heating products that are in stock for quick ordering and easy for dealers and distributors to find in an online resource center. The heating industry leader in inventory and turnaround times provides dealers and distributors top-quality

products and comprehensive technical and warranty assistance. The company maintains the largest inventory of ready-to-ship products in the industry — with $22 million in inventory to start the peak heating season, ready to ship whenever the need arises. A flexible family-owned company that eschews the sterile corporate environment, CUI employees enjoy the team atmosphere and the annual Dollywood trip.

BEST PLACES TO WORK: SMALL COMPANIES

on providing clients with innovative ideas and marketing solutions. Infinity believes in the power of relationships and treating each other fairly and with respect. The work environment is professional but flexible and the culture is open and transparent.

Employees love the constant professional development through training and mentoring, along with a ping pong table and weekly yoga sessions.

The availability of fresh fruit and observances of Doughnut Friday provide a culinary yin and yang for employees to savor as they like.

41

S.C. DELIVERS

Ports, Logistics & Distribution

A red tractor with a sleeper cab is parked beside two day cabs. The trucks are part of Swafford Transport and Warehousing’s 20-tractor and 250-trailer fleet. (Photo/Molly Hulsey)

ROLLOUT OF TRUCKING ELD REGULATIONS COULD REGIONALIZE SUPPLY CHAINS

By Molly Hulsey, mhulsey@scbiznews.com

www.scbizmag.com

B 42

eyond the chain-link fence cordoning off one of Greer’s only U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones stretches hundreds of square feet of wheels stacked almost to the ceiling, boxes of lubricants in all colors and crates of components used to ready milk for shipping — to name a few items awaiting delivery.

Most have wound their way up to the Inland Port from Charleston.

Others have been flown in from a

customs station about three miles down the road. But no matter how these products reached Swafford Transport and Warehousing, Dusty Locke, vice president of the operation, is grateful — now more than ever — to have storage capabilities alongside a trucking fleet.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have brought with it a host of complications for the logistics and

transportation sector, as well as an urge to regionalize operations, but according to Locke, national regulations — and state-specific regulation disparities — in the trucking industry over the past few years had already begun to reconfigure and reconnect supply chain nodes due to losses fielded by the industry.

“The intent is always pure. It’s always good, and you think it’s

NEED A LIFT? ONE CALL RENTALS |

RENT THE LIFT YOU NEED WHEN YOU NEED IT

SAVE 20% LIMITED TIME OFFER

Southeast industrial equipment offers

a full line of material handling equipment for daily, weekly, monthly, & long-term competitive rental rates.

off your first month of your rental contract and an additional 10% off each month after.

(866) 696-9125 | www.sielift.com | contacts@sielift.com NEW & USED EQUIPMENT | RENTALS | SERVICE | PARTS | WAREHOUSE SOLUTIONS | LOADING DOCK EQUIPMENT

S.C. DELIVERS

going to be helpful,” Locke said,

about regulatory laws on the trucking industry. “But if you haven’t lived it and done it, you haven’t come from that business background and you’re just at a 30,000-foot view, this looks like an easy fix. Well, it’s not.”

Predominant snags, he said, are the regulations surrounding electronic devices used to track hours-of-service requirements prescribed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The stipulations, mandated by Congress a little under a decade ago under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, according to an FMCSA statement, require electronic logging devices to keep tabs on trucker’s 10-hour and 11-hour driving limits instead of relying on paper logs or, in its newest iteration, legacy automatic onboard recording devices.

According to existing hour-of-service requirements, drivers must rest in sleeper cabs or go off-duty for at least 30 minutes every nine hours or less, while drivers who have been on-duty for 60 or 70 hours over seven or eight consecutive days must take 35 consecutive hours off before jumping back on the road again, aside from some exemptions, according to the FMCSA site.

Some hours-of-service requirements were temporarily set aside for the delivery of emergency medical supplies this

spring.

ELD or AORD installations monitoring these hour-of-service transitions were required by law in 2017, but all fleets were expected to replace AORDs with ELDs, which displays and records a wealth of compliance data compared to the grandfathered AORDs, by December 2019.

“The rule is intended to help create a safer work environment for drivers, and make it easier and faster to accurately track, manage and share RODS (record of duty status),” according to a statement from the FMCSA. The FMCSA estimates that full implementation of ELDs will result in 1,844 fewer crashes, 562 related injuries and 26 fewer deaths each year, according to a statement on the agency’s site. Data from an April 2020 also shows that the rollout of ELD compliance also brought the percentage of driver inspections with a HOS violation down from 1.19% in December 2017 to .28% in March 2020.

Locke agrees that some of the hourof-service regulations have been helpful in preventing sleep-induced wrecks, but he also argues that some of the criteria and lack of flexibility has put greater strains on truck drivers to speed to make deadlines. The regulations also priced smaller trucking companies out of the market, he said.

“There have been more accidents, more speeding tickets, because the driv-

ers, they’ve only got this window. … My driver needs to earn this much and I need to earn this much per hour to cover my costs for the equipment, the payroll and the fuel and I’d said I could do it in 10 (hours). Well, it just became 18 (hours).

Now, we just lost money; the driver just lost money, and now he feels that pressure continuously to drive a little faster, get there a little sooner,” Locke said.

According to a U.S. Department of Transportation study from 2018, the year after ELDs were enforced, largetruck accident-related deaths reached 885 incidents, a .9% increase from the year before. All other traffic fatalities decreased by 2.4%.

Greater speed also puts additional wear and tear on trucking parts. Furthermore, retrofitting a tractor-trailer with new ELD equipment also comes with extensive monetary costs that not all fleets were prepared to shoulder. Locke knows of at least two companies that had to shutter due to the ELD costs.

Driver turnover is also high in the industry, Locke said, as truckers increasingly want to stick closer to home. The “Amazon effect” has also prompted consumers to expect ever shortening delivery times. Lastly, thanks to ELDs and other regulations, the cost of driving beyond the scope of a day’s trip is just not as profitable as it used to be — or even feasible for some companies, he said.

Paper industry production at full tilt to meet demand

By Molly Hulsey

www.scbizmag.com

mhulsey@scbiznews.com

44

South Carolinians may now have enough toilet paper for a century stored in basements, attics and bathroom closets, but at Spartanburg’s Sun Paper Company, sales haven’t faltered since March.

Even as the economy reopens and fears about shortages have subsided, like many “essential needs” manufacturers, the plant is seeking new workers to keep up with the pace.

“Sales are still as strong as they were,” said Joe Salgado, executive vice president

of the company. Sun Paper manufactures consumer paper products, including toilet tissue and paper towels for a number of major grocery and discount variety stores across the nation.

Over the past few months, production of toilet tissue has been up by 25%, he said, with an all-hands-on-deck mentality. The factory never sleeps.

Still, few people would notice any changes on the floor under pandemic production protocols and normal production because of the plant’s streamlined, high-tech operations.

“It was business as usual, you know,”

he said. “It’s a lean operation, and you wouldn’t know the difference, except for the fact that everyone’s wearing masks and there’s different procedures in place for checking drivers in and out. We revamped the way that we clock in and out of the building. We’re using a geofencing system, so we can clock-in from our phones instead of a common clock.”

A multi-automated production line parcels out 450-pound bales of bath tissue — the size of a petite conference room — into 500 embossed rolls within a minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Salgado argues that the toilet paper

8100 Palmetto Commerce Pkwy North Charleston, SC 29405 terminal: 843-767-8693 | fax: 843-767-8893 www.cowboyusallc.com

S.C. DELIVERS

Manufacturing shortage consumers had braced themselves for never really happened from the producer’s perspective, but grocery shelves were picked clean because of consumer expectation. Retailers and distributors struggled to keep up, Salgado said.

Some desperate — or innovative — retailers replaced stocks with commercial tissue brands used by hotels and offices, as opposed to Sun Paper’s at-home brands like WonderSoft, Gleam and Foresta.

As drastic as the demand shift has been for at-home toilet tissue and paper towels in the last few months, Salgado expects the demand will still continue to stay at least 15% to 20% above pre-pandemic levels as numbers of employees continue to work from home, unemployment stays high and stringent handwashing habits remain ingrained in the public psyche.

Sun Paper is responding by expanding their capacity and recruiting new operators, technicians and logistics professionals for the floor. He hasn’t lost any employ-

ees due to the economic or health effects of the pandemic, but applications have become much more scarce since March.

“When the news of the pandemic first began to sink in, what was happening, on one weekend we received 300 applications for work, just in one weekend.

Now, the moment the stimulus funding began to hit the bank accounts, those applications went down to almost nothing,” Salgado said.

Other paper manufacturers in the region may not be experiencing as much of a push for new hires, but certain goods that were in high demand at the beginning of the pandemic remain in high demand, according to Laura Moody, regional director for Hire Dynamics.

One of her clients, a Spartanburgbased paper and corrugated cardboard manufacturer, had been shuttered for several weeks, while a Rutherford County toilet paper manufacturer turned some of their attention to making masks,

thanks to additional machinery the company had purchased before the pandemic to help automate their production line.

Travelers Rest’s Paper Cutters Inc. operates at the nexus of the paper and shipping industry. The 30-employee factory makes products ranging from the paper sheets that separate wooden pallets to the paper cartridge that holds a roll of 3M tape. Customers include BMW Manufacturing, Michelin and GE. Business has been steady during the pandemic, according Randy Mathena, president and owner of the factory. He did not lay off or furlough any of his employees, and the team has taken only a few Fridays off.

“Quite honestly, it doesn’t even feel like we’ve been affected by the pandemic,” Mathena said. “It’s been remarkably good for us.”

Reach Molly Hulsey at 864-720-1223 or @mollyhulsey_gsa on Twitter.

SCBIZ Daily provides the inside scoop on South Carolina’s business community!

SCBIZ DAILY

www.scbizmag.com

Sign up today for the SCBIZ Daily email newsletter at www.scbiznews.com

46

Get your message in front of South Carolina’s top CEOs, executives, business owners and decision-makers every afternoon.

For advertising information, contact Grady Johnson at (843) 849-3103 or gjohnson@scbiznews.com

Staff Report

Distribution

choose our market for their distribution center is the ultimate vote of confidence in S.C. Ports and in South Carolina,” Newsome said in a statement.

“Walmart’s investment will create jobs for South Carolinians and boost cargo volumes at the Port of Charleston.”

“... We are excited about the impact this new facility will have on the regional economy and how it will help us better serve customers across the Southeast.”

—Greg Smith, Walmart EVP of supply chain

www.scbizmag.com

Walmart plans to build a 3 millionsquare-foot direct import distribution center in Dorchester County near Ridgeville. The $220 million investment is anticipated to create more than 1,000 new jobs, according to a July news release from the S.C. Department of Commerce.

The new storage and cross-dock facility, which is expected to take about 14 months to build, will supply several regional distribution centers supporting approximately 850 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs in South Carolina and beyond, the news release said.

“At a time when job creation is so vital, and — more than ever — our customers are relying on Walmart for the essentials they need during this unprecedented time, we are excited about the impact this new facility will have on the regional economy and how it will help us better serve customers across the Southeast,” Greg Smith, Walmart’s executive vice president of supply chain, said in the release.

John Hagerty, chair of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance board, said the One Region Global Competitiveness Strategy had identified distribution centers as a focus area for growth of the region’s logistics sector, and the Walmart announcement aligns with that strategy.

The S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits for the project. The council also awarded Dorchester County a $5 million set-aside grant to assist with related project costs.

Dorchester County Council Chairman George Bailey lauded the county’s “long-term commitment to infrastructure improvements and our strong relationship with the S.C. Ports Authority.”

Once it is fully operational, the new distribution center is expected to increase volumes at the Port of Charleston by approximately 5%. S.C. Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome said Walmart is a recognized supply chain innovator.

“Having this world-class company

S.C. DELIVERS

Walmart to build distribution center in Lowcountry

47

www.scbizmag.com

1,000 WORDS

48

This small abandoned house sits within the Audubon Wannamaker Preserve along S.C. 6 in Calhoun County. The Columbia Audubon Society owns the approximately 530-acre property, which was granted to George Sterling in 1705 and was one of the first settlements in the area. The land was last owned by John Wannamaker, who farmed the property and had cattle. The house was likely in use from the early 1900s through the 1940s. (Photo/Kim McManus)