Nonstop Efforts Lead to New Investment in Florence
Published Nov 17, 2009
To weather a downturn, Joe W. King has a simple philosophy.
“When times are tough, that is when you fly your flag higher,” says King, executive director of the Florence Economic Development Partnership. “If you wait until companies are ready to do something, you are too late.”
Cooperative economic development, strategic location, ample land, low taxes and a skilled workforce make Florence a serious contender for relocating and expanding businesses. In 2008, Site Selection magazine ranked Florence fifth in its size category among top areas for new and expanding facilities. The ranking covers metro areas with populations of 50,000 to 200,000 residents. The Milken Institute 2008 Best Performing Cities Index showed the Florence MSA as the fifth-highest gainer in its evaluation of the top 124 small U.S. metropolitan areas.
The region has received other accolades, but results are a more-telling bottom line: Announced projects are bringing at least 1,500 jobs and $161 million in direct capital investment to the region.
In 2009, Johnson Controls Inc. announced plans to build a battery recycling facility in Florence, a $100 million, state-of-the-art project that will create 250 jobs. A new frozen-food operation for H.J. Heinz Co. is in the works, with a $105 million facility for production of the Weight Watchers Smart Ones and Boston Market lines. Although the timeline has been stretched because of the national economy, the project will mean an additional 350 jobs.
Monster.com is scheduled to open a 75,000-square-foot call center by the end of 2009. About 300 workers have been taking calls in temporary quarters; the end goal is about 750 total new hires over five years, says spokesman Steve Sylven.
Heinz and Monster picked Pee Dee Touchstone Energy Commerce City, a premier Class A business/industrial park. The park is shovel-ready and state certified. Monster, an international leader in online job recruitment, is consolidating its North American customer service functions in Florence. The company considered literally thousands of locations, but settled on the Pee Dee region, citing a rapidly developing labor market with the talent needed to bring “best-in-class” service to its customers.
Atlanta-based Assurant Specialty Property selected the region several years ago to better serve a big mortgage client; the company is expanding in Florence in part because it is closing down two California offices and consolidating.
Recent new projects and expansions also have included Dunline Rubber Products, Wellman Plastics Recycling, McCall Farms, GE Healthcare and International Knife and Saw.
Commerce City is home to a new distribution center for Pepsi Cola of Florence, Johnson Controls, Crenlo, FedEx and Institution Food House.
“We don’t have the additional cost of organized labor, we have a favorable tax structure, and the location is within a day’s drive of 68 percent of the country’s population,” says Tom Kinard, manager of business development for Pee Dee Energy. “I-20 actually starts, or ends, nine miles from Commerce City and we have two ports within two hours.”
Story by Pamela Coyle
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