Newberry County from SCBIZ Magazine

Spring 2021

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Students learn skills at Piedmont Technical College to help them join a skilled workforce.

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Newberry County boasts central location, quality of life

By Jim Tatum, Associate Editor | Photos provided by Newberry County

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ewberry County continues to build a reputation as an up-andcoming destination to live, work and play.

Located in the center of the state, in the heart of the I-26

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corridor, its proximity to larger urban areas such as Columbia, Greenville

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Newberry Coun by the numbers ty Population: 39,224

and Spartanburg and ease of access to airports, regional and national

Per capita income:

markets and the port of Charleston has helped the county become a

Avg. Hourly Wage:

significant contributor in South Carolina’s economic development efforts.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” County Chairman Henry H. Livingston III

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Source: U.S. Cens

$39,024

$18.05

us Bureau

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said. “I’ve always said Newberry County was the best-kept secret in the state — and now that secret’s getting out.”

Throughout its history, Newberry County has worked to leverage its assets into economic prosperity. Founded in 1785, the area was largely agrarian, and started as a trading community due to its location between two rivers. Later, in the 19th century, the railroad would spur greater economic growth. Cotton mills came into the area in the late 1880s and were the economic bedrock for a century — for example, Newberry Cotton Mills opened in 1882 and closed 100 years later.

As the mills were closing, county leaders saw the need to find new industries. They were able to land Louis Rich, now Kraft-Heinz, the largest turkey processor in South Carolina. Since then, the county has welcomed such companies as Georgia-Pacific, Valmont Composite Structures (formerly Shakespeare Composites), Pioneer Frozen Foods, Kiswire, Komatsu America Corp., KRA Operations, and MM Technics, to name a few. More recently, Metal Masters, KRA Operations, MacLean Fiberglass, and Special Advertising Section

Newberry County has welcomed a number of major manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics Home Appliance America (top) and Schweitzer Maduit International.

Hecate Energy all made investments and brought in new jobs to the county.

In 2017, Newberry County announced the largest economic development project in county history, a home appliance manufacturing facility from one of the largest companies in the world. Since announcing in 2017,

Samsung Electronics Home Appliance America has grown to more than 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing space, investing about $500 million, and now is one of the largest employers in the community with well more than 1,000 jobs.

“One of the primary reasons for open-

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7 PROJECTS

4 MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES 1 INDUSTRIAL PARK 1 CONTRACTOR

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MM Technics is one of a number of manufacturers that have benefited from Newberry County’s business-friendly climate and skilled and ready workforce.

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ing the Newberry home appliance manufacturing facility was to account for the growing demand for home appliances in the United States,” Thomas Komaromi, General Counsel for Samsung, said. “In Newberry County, our local businesses, government, and community all work together to help create, attract and grow competitive companies and expand the tax base, thereby providing more dollars to local and state government to deliver high quality services and infrastructure … Overall, we are committed to our local community for the long term and we will continue to uplift others as we write our history together.”

Newberry County has a labor force of around 18,500, and nearly 22.5% of this workforce is employed in manufacturing, more than double the national average. In addition, because of its location, Newberry County can draw from a pool of nearly a half million workers, a pool that stretches from Greenville to Orangeburg counties, an advantage not lost on companies considering a move to the area.

“We are a small company, but we need a highly qualified staff,” MM Technics President Meinolf Muhr said. “I was concerned about hiring staff, and all my doubts are gone. The unique businessfriendly environment of Central South Carolina and Newberry County gave MM Technics the chance to create a great team of experienced, high-skilled specialists and local college graduates, supported by the German-based headquarters.”

Similar collaborations have enabled the county to build and upgrade vital infrastructure over the years. From water and sewer projects done in the early 1990s and the development of the county’s industrial parks to the city of Newberry’s collaboration with WC Fiber, part of West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative, to bring affordable fiber optic technology to the city have been investments that have yielded great dividends.

“We just completed that project,” Newberry Mayor Foster Senn said. “The city of Newberry is a provider of elec-

882 Wilson Road Newberry, SC 29108 (803) 276-1121 nec.coop

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Providing our members with quality service at competitive rates since 1940

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Improving economic growth in our community by meeting the demands of today with the innovative ideas of tomorrow.

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Newberry County is home to many popular festivals and events, including the annual Oktoberfest.

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tricity, and we partnered with WC Fiber to bring fiber optic to every household and business in Newberry. This has been very well received.”

Newberry County offers an excellent, affordable, quality of life. The crime rate is low. The city of Newberry, known as the “City of Friendly Folks” and voted a top 100 town in America, is the county seat and largest municipality. The towns Special Advertising Section

of Peak, Pomaria, Prosperity, Little Mountain, Silverstreet and Whitmire are all small, charming, eminently livable places.

Newberry County residents, on average, earn around $39,000 a year and enjoy a reasonable cost of living; the cost of housing, for example, is around 25-30 percent of the national average.

The public school system, rated

“excellent” by the state of South Carolina, offers a quality education, but for those who seek an alternative to public schools, Newberry Academy, a private K-12 institution, is a good local option.

Piedmont Technical College offers a diverse curriculum in technical education, while Newberry College, a prestigious, four-year liberal arts college, continues to attract students from around the world.

Ultimately, all agree the most important asset to Newberry County is the people.

“We have an entrepreneurial spirit in the city and throughout the county,” Senn said. “People are willing to work together to make things happen. I think it’s tough to be a smaller, more rural place. You have to get creative, and our people do that.”

“I think the first thing that comes to mind is the word “friendly” when you’re talking about the people who live here,” Livingston noted. “I know it from my own experience, but I hear it all the time from visitors and newcomers. We have truly wonderful folks call Newberry County home.”