ON THE MOVE New Meals on Wheels role for Dean
PAGE 22 VOLUME 28 NUMBER 20 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
Part of the
NOVEMBER 7-NOVEMBER 20, 2022 ■ $2.25
network
Work begins on $550 million SC Ports project
Room to grow
Charleston-based group acquires three hotels. Page 4
By Jason Thomas
S
Developing story Superfund status change opens Magnolia site. Page 8
On the defensive Manufacturing division supporting warfighters. Page 10
Storage solution
Company investing $70M in Dorchester operations. Page 12
INSIDE
Upfront ................................ 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 In Focus: Electric Vehicles ................ 13 List: Defense Contractors ... 19 At Work .............................. 21 Hot Properties ..................... 21 Viewpoint ...........................23
POWER MOVE
Dorchester County Council Chairman Bill Hearn congratulates Bosch for securing the electric motor business for the company to replace the diesel production line that was phased out starting in 2020. (Photo/Ross Norton)
Bosch investing $260M in North Charleston expansion By Ross Norton
rnorton@scbiznews.com
B
osch Charleston started producing electric motors this month. But the company needs more space and more people. So Bosch announced Oct. 25 that it will invest more than $260 million to further expand production of electrification products at the North Charleston facility, which the company calls Bosch Charleston, an investment that will add 75,000 square feet and 350 new jobs to the site by 2025. “We have grown our electri-
fication business globally and here in the North American region,” said Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America. “We’ve invested more than $6 billion in electromobility development and in 2021 our global orders for electromobility surpassed $10 billion for the first time. Local production helps to advance our customers’ regional electrification strategies, and further supports the market demand for electrification.” The company already dedicated about 200,000 square feet of an existing building on the Bosch Charleston campus
to electromobility. The new assembly area includes the production of rotors and stators, and the final assembly of the electric motor. The company also said it has secured additional electromobility business that makes the expansion necessary. The expansion is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. The Bosch site in North Charleston supports multiple products from the Bosch Mobility Solutions portfolio, according to the news release. The site produces high-pres-
Full speed ahead
BMW celebrating milestones, planning for the future. Page 13
See BOSCH, Page 18
jthomas@scbiznews.com
outh Carolina Ports will soon have near-dock rail and an inner-harbor barge operation to ensure fluidity and capacity for the Southeast supply chain. SC Ports officials and elected officials gathered last month in North Charleston to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Navy Base Intermodal Facility, according to an SC Ports news release. SC Ports is developing the rail-served intermodal yard to provide near-dock rail to the Port of Charleston. “This resolves the last remaining competitive disadvantage we have as a major East Coast container port,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said in the release. “This critical infrastructure project will greatly enhance SC Ports’ capacity, allowing imports and exports to swiftly move between the hinterland and the Port of Charleston.” The Navy Base Intermodal Facility sits about one mile from Leatherman Terminal, according to the release. Containers will be moved to and from the Leatherman Terminal on a dedicated road. Inside the intermodal yard, rail-mounted gantry cranes will lead containers on and off trains. In partnership with Palmetto Railways, Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern will utilize SC Ports’ state-ofthe-art rail yard to further enhance rail competitiveness, the release stated. Nearly 80,000 feet of rail track will create a capacity of 1 million rail lifts in Phase 1. The Navy Base Intermodal Facility will also further enhance SC Ports’ railserved Inland Ports in Greer and Dillon, the release stated. SC Ports’ inner-harbor barge operation will support the Navy Base Intermodal Facility by moving containers between Wando Welch Terminal and Leatherman See PORTS, Page 9