VOLUME 13 NUMBER 16 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM
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NOVEMBER 9-22, 2020 ■ $2.25
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Center of attention Columbia facility named to Readers’ Choice list. Page 4
Nimbleness and diversification help S.C. manufacturers navigate pandemic
Going Silver
Regional carrier to serve three Florida cities from CAE. Page 8
Honoring excellence S.C. manufacturing leaders receive recognition. Page 13
Columbia 3D design company ZVerse mushroomed from an 8,000-square-foot facility into a 30,000-square-foot one as it retooled its production process to manufacture face shields. (Photo/Provided)
Good as gold
Columbia Craft savors national brewing award. Page 21
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 In Focus: Manufacturing..... 10 List: Manufacturers............. 15 Bonus List: Largest Employers .......................... 16 At Work............................... 21 Viewpoint............................23
By Melinda Waldrop
S
mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
even months ago, John Carrington took a deep breath and pushed all his chips to the center of the table. His Columbia company, ZVerse, was at a crossroads. Founded in 2013 as a 3D design and software solutions provider, the Shop Road outfit faced overwhelming demand for the protective face shield that had grown from an idea hatched to help local hospitals into orders multiplying into the millions. “The first request we had was for 3,000 units, which we could solve, no problem,” Carrington said. “The next day it was 10,000, and the next day it was 50,000, and at that
point we knew that 3D printing would not be able to keep up with that demand. … We had to place a bet.” The wager involved shutting down for a few weeks to completely retool ZVerse’s production process to injection molding while scaling up from an 8,000-square-foot facility to a 30,000-square-foot one that could fill three tractor-trailers a day. “It was really painful to do it at the time, because there was a lot of uncertainty,” said Carrington, who also found himself navigating uncharted waters of overseas shipping and distribution. “We’re going to invest all this money, and then be potentially saddled with all this investment, this product. It turned out to be the right decision to make. It allowed us to go from 1,000 units a day to
Retail ahoy
S.C. Ports shifting focus in light of pandemic, Walmart announcement. Page 19
120,000 units a day in production.” ZVerse learned on the fly one of the lessons that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught many S.C. manufacturers. In the face of faltering supply chains and other distribution snags, companies are having to diversify, increase flexibility and look for new ways to make things and get them to customers. “A lot of companies are really starting to rethink and try to relocate or reshore. Regional consolidation, stuff like that,” said Chuck Spangler, president of the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a nonprofit organization that promotes innovation and industrial competitiveness. “How can they bring back regional supply chain See ZVERSE, Page 17