County Council Chairman offers insight to economic development
The Clarendon County Development Board is the extension of the Clarendon County Council, which has been designated to devote its full time efforts to economic development. John Truluck, our Economic Development Director and his staff have a volunteer advisory board that is appointed by the Clarendon County Council, both to assist him and to make recommendations to the County Council. Each council district is represented on the advisory board.
Economic development in South Carolina is both challenging and competitive, especially for rural counties. Practically each of the 46 counties in our state has at least one industrial park. Those of us in rural counties must take advantage of our strengths and Clarendon County has done that, as I will illustrate below.
Prior to my term in office in 2001, the County Council and the Development Board had established the Clarendon County Industrial Park at the intersection of I-95 and Hwy. 301. This location continues to provide quick access to the Interstate and to the Port of Charleston. In addition to an excellent location, the property tax revenue generated from the businesses and industries located in this park are equally distributed to each of the school districts, thus making it truly a county industrial park.
To help position Clarendon County in the area of industrial recruitment, the council committed to join the Central S. C. Alliance. This alliance represents 12 counties and the city of Columbia. The Central S. C. Alliance was founded in 1994 and is a not-for-profit public and private partnership. The Alliance engages in the recruitment of capital investment and job creation for its members and each member shares equal representation. Both Barry Ham and I serve on the Central S. C. Alliance Board of Directors and I also serve on the Executive Committee.
In 2004, members of the Alliance traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with our legislators. There, we were told that money for such projects as infrastructure (water and sewer) was dwindling. We were advised to ask for money for projects that were regional in nature and that would serve several government entities.
One such project has been the location of the mega-industrial site located at the intersection Hwy. 527 and I-95 in the northeastern area of the county. The Clarendon County Development Board had earlier recommended the purchase of property in this area that has become the cornerstone of the potential mega-site. The site is only one of three certified mega sites in S.C. and contains approximately 1,440 acres and is ideally located for industries that need a large amount of land. Partners in the mega-site include the counties of Sumter, Lee, and Williamsburg. The Town of Turbeville has assisted to provide water and sewer to the site. This alliance allows companies to draw from a highly motivated work force that exceeds 100,000 workers.
Like many areas of the nation, S.C. and Clarendon County have been drastically affected by a global recession. One of the county’s largest employers and one of the most stable for 36 years, Federal-Mogul, announced that it plans to close this year and move its operation to Alabama. In addition, Yanagawa, American Wood Molding, and LBT also announced closings. The Development Board has implemented plans to help mitigate these losses and to assist in the replacement of jobs by recruiting other potential industries. Information on available buildings has been submitted to the Central S.C. Alliance, the Department of Commerce and various utility companies to have the buildings included in their databases and websites.
Recently, the Development Board hired a marketing firm that specializes in economic development to develop and implement a plan to attract industry. A result of this plan includes the recently released web site. To date, the site has generated over 31,000 hits from 2,555 unique visitors and 25 countries. A new micro-website, www.I95buildings.com specifically profiles available buildings. A billboard advertising campaign has been developed that directs visitors to the buildings website.
A promotional DVD of Clarendon County has been developed and also may be seen on the new website. Phase 1 of an “E-blast” email campaign that consisted of separate emails sent out in February, March, and April to almost 3,000 companies and site consultants was recently completed. The recipients were a compilation of lists of the Clarendon County Development Board, the Central S.C. Alliance, and the S.C. Power Team. Two of these E-blasts focused on a different available building/industry center in Clarendon County. The third focused on available labor. These included all of the Boeing suppliers. The E-blasts directed visitors to the micro-website.
A direct mail campaign that included two mailings of 3,500 postcards profiling two different industries/buildings has recently been completed. Each was mailed to a unique list created by the Clarendon County Development Board and the Central S.C. Alliance, trying to capture unique opportunities in die-casting and heavy fabrication. These also include all of the Boeing suppliers.
Two press releases were sent out in April to almost 70 contacts to get exposure in trade journals. Clarendon County has benefited by an article published in Southern Business and Development magazine, profiling Clarendon County in a “Top Ten” list in Area Development Magazine.
The Development Board stays extremely busy with appointments and meetings in the southeast as well as other locations in the U.S. and Canada. In conjunction with the Alliance, requests for information and area specifications are sent out on a regular basis to industrial decision-makers both at home and abroad.
Some of the feedback that John has received on the Boeing suppliers is that it is too soon to begin site/building searches. The reasons are that they all say they have not received any input from Boeing as to what will be required of them. They are unsure if facilities will be required. The construction of the Boeing facility will take over 2 years and it will take them even longer to get in production. Most suppliers will not require specialized facilities and could acquire and move into an existing building within 6 months.
The Clarendon County Council and the Clarendon County Development Board will continue to move forward and plan strategically to present our county in the most, positive manner possible and to take advantage of any opportunity that is available and that will benefit the citizens of Clarendon County.
