Cherokee County Special Section from the 2017 Spring issue of SCBIZ

Spring 2017

Small and mighty S.C.’s small manufacturers creating careers RS OF YEA SC

AGAZIN E ZM BI

LEBRATIN CE G

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2007 - 2017

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County Spotlight: Cherokee | Cities Mean Business | S.C. Business Hall of Fame

county spotlight

CHEROKEE

Peach trees bloom in Cherokee County.

(Photo/Tony Lavender, City of Gaffney)

JUST PEACHY

Modern manufacturing with a personal touch

By Jenny Peterson, Associate Editor | Photos provided by Cherokee County Development Board

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here’s a lot more to Cherokee County than just peaches.

While known for its peaches — and home of the “Peachoid,” the most famous peach-shaped landmark in South Carolina — Cherokee County is also a prime location for history buffs and nature enthusiasts.

Situated between Charlotte and Greenville in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Cherokee County was established in 1897.

Named after Cherokee Indians, it’s rich in history with sites that predate the Revolutionary War.

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Cherokee Coun by the numbers ty

Population 56,832

Median home value $78,300 Median household income $33,680 Source: ESRI Busin ess Analyst, Sperling’s Best Pl aces.

Economic development phone numbers COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: CHEROKEE

Cherokee County Development Board................864-206-2804 Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce............864-489-5721 Gaffney City Hall.....................864-487-8507

Today, manufacturing dominates the industrial base employing more than 6,425 residents. Over a dozen manufacturers call Cherokee County home — making woven fabrics, automobile bearings, prepared frozen foods and much more.

“We are centrally located near Charlotte, Greenville and Spartanburg, with two airports; we’re near the inland port in Greer and the Norfolk Southern Railroad intermodal facility,” said Jim Cook, executive director at Cherokee County Development Board. The county is also just three hours away from the Port of Charleston, and served by Interstate 85, a major north-south trade route in the eastern U.S. “I-85 is the lifeblood of our community,” Cook said.

This summer, the widening of I-85 to six lanes will begin, encompassing the entire length of Cherokee County. Many of the county’s available industrial buildings and sites are located on or near I-85.

Although rurally located, a population of over 1 million resides within a 60-mile radius of the county.

“We have a large draw on workforce,” Cook said.

Business gets personal

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Like many South Carolina textile areas, Cherokee County has modernized its manufacturing industry. The county takes pride in its business retention efforts.

“We realize the value these businesses bring and the loyalty they’ve had over the decades, and we want to help them out as much as we can,” Cook said.

One shining example is Hamrick Mills, a textile facility that has been operating in the county for 116 years.

Timken, a bearing supplier for the automotive industry, has operated in the county Special Advertising Section

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COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: CHEROKEE Above: Dollar Tree distribution center at the Upstate Corporate Park in Cherokee County.

Right: The Boysen USA LLC plant opened in Gaffney in 2004, the first American plant for the German company. It specializes in exhaust systems technology for the automotive sector.

since 1970. Nestle frozen and prepared foods division has been operating since 1974 and employs 1,300 workers. Newcomers include the Dollar Tree distribution center and Freightliner Custom Chassis.

Holland Belue, county administrator for Cherokee County, said the county reaches out to every business directly to ascertain their needs and to see how the county can better provide services.

“We talk about what they need and what can we provide, what their future goals and challenges are,” Belue said.

“We have a strong business climate, low taxes and our cost of living is low; those are the three biggest things that have allowed companies to do so well,” Cook said.

Incentives for development include no county business fees, low permitting fees, five-year abatement and fee-in-lieu-of-

property taxes.

“Our quick construction permitting process can get you to market usually faster than any of our neighbors,” Belue said. “To businesses, we say, ‘We want you here.’ We are able to show it, and we sincerely want these job opportunities for our people.

Generally, a low cost to industry leads to higher wages.”

To capture even more modern industry, the KNOW(2) foundation in Cherokee County has partnered to open a nonprofit business incubator in downtown Gaffney.

Workforce initiatives

Cherokee County has several workforce initiatives to make sure employees are trained with up-to-date skills.

The county’s high school students can work toward a certificate, diploma or degree

Top industrial sites

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UPSTATE CORPORATE PARK Former peach orchard features a 60,000-square-foot county speculative building.

Opportunities for up to a 300,000-square-foot site with all existing utilities.

SUNNY SLOPE INDUSTRIAL PARK Former peach orchard location can accommodate a 2 million-square-foot site fronting I-85 with all existing utilities. Interstate frontage.

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CRESCENT SUPER SITE Palmetto certified site can accommodate over 1-million-square-foot facility. Interstate frontage.

at the Cherokee Technology Center and finish their courses at Spartanburg Community College’s campus in Gaffney.

“From the employer’s standpoint, our mechatronics (program) is the hottest,” said Daryl Smith, executive director of the Spartanburg Community College Cherokee County campus. “It’s a combination of industrial electricity, electronics and repair.

We can’t graduate students fast enough to fill the demand of waiting employers.”

He adds, “Eventually, we hope that students will be able to finish high school with both a high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time.”

In 2015, the county and college jointly opened a $9 million Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies (CAMIT) at the Gaffney campus.

“The technology center will produce a feeder system to ensure that our workforce continues to be strong,” Cook said.

It also offers custom-tailored training opportunities for county businesses, Belue said.

“If you are a manufacturer and have a certain robot you use, we will set up a lab with that robot and train employees on that technology. The entire building is set up as a laboratory.”

Limestone College, founded in 1845, is also located in Cherokee County and continues to turn out knowledgeable graduates with traditional four-year degrees.

Quality of life Cherokee County offers a rich quality of life, which includes three national parks and historical sites as well as countless recreational opportunities.

The Peachoid

The Cherokee County Family YMCA includes a water park with water slides and indoor and outdoor pools.

Cowpens National Park A major location for battles during the American Revolution, the park features a live-action theater film, museum and a bookstore with materials on the battle and the Revolutionary War. More than 840 acres of land welcome visitors for daytime hiking with a picnic area.

The park has three special events: an anniversary celebration in January, Celebration of Freedom in July and Revolutionary War Weekend in October.

Kings Mountain State Park and National Battlefield Kings Mountain State Park features a Living History Farm, representative of a typical early 19th-century Piedmont farm. It includes a barn, cotton gin, blacksmith and carpenter shop. The park also surrounds 65-acre Lake York and smaller Lake Crawford. The park is adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, with a 1.5-mile battlefield walking trail that includes the second-oldest battlefield monument in the U.S.

Michael Gaffney’s Cabin The Gaffney Cabin is the reconstructed and relocated home of Michael Gaffney, who came to the U.S. from Ireland and who is credited with establishing commerce in the area. The city is named for him, and the cabin is a gathering place for community celebrations. It is open on weekdays, with free admission. The cabin is furnished with household items typical of the early 1800s. Nearby Gaffney Visitors Center and Art Gallery is housed within a 100-year-old building that has a busy schedule of activities and live music.

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Blacksburg and Gaffney have quaint downtowns with restaurants and shops and the Gaffney Little Theatre.

The Gaffney Cabin is the reconstructed and relocated home of Michael Gaffney, who established commerce in the area. The cabin is a gathering place for community celebrations and is furnished with household items typical of the early 1800s.

Average home prices are $78,300, according to Sperling’s Best Places and annual household income in Cherokee County is $33,680, lower than nearby counties.

Cherokee County has a 125-bed hospital, Mary Black Healthcare SystemGaffney, offering a host of medical services.

The Gibbs Cancer Center, a multidisciplinary cancer center located in Spartanburg, has a location in Gaffney.

A major shopping center, Gaffney Premium Outlets, attracts almost three million visitors per year and contains over 80 retail outlets.

Organizations include Civic Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce in Cherokee, where people can meet other industry leaders and neighbors.

“We have a good geographic region with high-end opportunities all within a 45 minute drive,” Belue said. “Gaffney has a small-town feel; you go into restaurants and stores and see familiar faces, and it’s a hometown feel without the hustle and bustle of a big city.”

The Peachoid is the iconic water tower constructed in the shape of a peach that can be viewed from I-85 and from S.C. Highway 11 (the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Byway) in Gaffney. The tower is 135 feet high and holds one million gallons of water. An annual Peach Festival, which has been held every July since 1977 in Gaffney, highlights the county’s major agricultural product. Thousands of visitors attend the three-day festival each year.

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: CHEROKEE

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