THE 2017 OF
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& SUPPLY CHAIN REPORT
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MANUFACTURING
ANUFACT M SC
By the numbers Here’s a quick look at how South Carolina companies and workers depend on world markets:
153,816 Jobs supported by goods exported from South Carolina in 2014
$29.6 Billion Total value of goods exported from South Carolina in 2014
5,832 Companies exported goods from South Carolina in 2013
see CLASSES, page 18
SME share of South Carolina’s goods exports in 2013
Metro area exports in 2014 $15.2B
$5.9B $700M Florence
$2.2B $2.0B Columbia
G
reenville Technical College mechatronics student Ashley Edmond is excited about the opportunity to work with all of the new equipment at the Center for Manufacturing Innovation. “When we walked in we were like kids in a candy store when we saw all of the new equipment,” she said during the first week of classes. “I originally wanted to do something in 3-D printing, but now that I’ve gotten into the classes and into everything, there’s so much I want to do. So many doors have been opened.”
are set and all of the equipment is here.” “We want to make sure we are still producing the quality of students that we have back at the Brasier campus,” he said. The center’s director David Clayton, a Clemson engineering graduate who previously worked as a S.C. Department of Commerce research executive, said the center plans to accommodate about 200 students by the spring semester. “I feel like the luckiest person in Greenville right now because we have this great facility and equipment. This is real world working equipment. It’s most exciting to see our students here,” he said. “The center offers more than just train-
14%
Spartanburg
by Teresa Cutlip tcutlip@scbiznews.com
Classes are underway at the $25 million, 100,000-square-foot facility, located on Millennium Boulevard near the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research campus. The center includes a manufacturing incubator, 22 offices and a variety of meeting areas. Brandon Gillespie, also a mechatronics student, said he chose to study mechatronics “because there are a lot of manufacturing plants around here.” The excitement of the new facility and equipment, along with the start of classes, had Rodney Jones a little bit nervous. The academic program director of mechatronics at Greenville Tech said he was “kind of nervous about getting everything together to make sure all of the programs
SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineer) goods-exporting companies from South Carolina in 2013
Charleston, N. Charleston
Classes underway at Center for Manufacturing Innovation
85%
Greenville, Anderson, Mauldin
Rodney Jones, academic program director of mechatronics at Greenville Tech, left, and students Brandon Gillespie and Ashley Edmond maneuver the arm on an ABB robot at the Center for Manufacturing Innovation. (Photo/Teresa Cutlip)
SOURCE: International Trade Administration