“Demand for our products is constantly growing, and this new facility will give our company a broader reach as we seek to increase our market share. We are pleased to locate our new production facility in Greenwood. South Carolina offers us an excellent business environment and we look forward to starting up our operations there. We appreciate all the support we have received from state and local officials,” said Paul Appelblom, CEO and chairman of Jatco Incorporated.

Jatco Incorporated will establish its East Coast production facility in Greenwood, S.C. The company is moving into an existing facility at 210 Bond Avenue, and will be renovating and upfitting the facility in the coming weeks. The company expects to begin production at the facility in the fourth quarter of this year.

“South Carolina continues to be an attractive location for companies looking to expand their market reach to customers along the East Coast and the growing Southeast region. Jatco’s decision to locate its new manufacturing facility in Greenwood is another indication that our state’s exceptional market access, coupled with a business-friendly climate and skilled workforce, is working to attract new investment and job opportunities for South Carolinians. We welcome Jatco to South Carolina’s business community and wish the company much success in its endeavors here,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Jatco to the Greenwood business community. This decision is the result of teamwork at the local and state level between the Greenwood Partnership Alliance, Greenwood County, and the South Carolina Department of Commerce. This project has been in the works for quite some time, with many people in each organization involved. This is also a good example of how a lead from an existing company can develop into a new business locating in the county,” said Mark Warner, CEO of Greenwood Partnership Alliance.   

John W. Pillman, president of VELUX Greenwood, said, “Jatco has been a valued supplier to our company for the past eight years. We have been very happy with their product quality and their willingness and ability to support us as we have developed new designs.  With their expansion to this new facility in town, our delivery of products and ease of communication will be greatly enhanced, allowing us to build on our already strong relationship.”

The company plans to begin hiring for the new positions in mid-December. Employment information will be posted through the South Carolina One-Stop Workforce Center at a later date.

Jatco Incorporated, based in Union City, Calif., is a full service plastic molding, product manufacturing and distribution company with more than three decades of experience. The company’s customers come from a wide range of industries, from printing to the medical sector. For more information about the company, please visit www.jatco.com.

Haley and Sheheen both individually addressed the audience of Upstate SC Alliance executive board members and investors, sharing their respective plans for spurring economic growth in South Carolina and answering questions from the participants.

“Economic development is the most important issue facing our next governor,” said Haley, a Republican state representative from Lexington.  “South Carolina’s rich natural resources, hardworking families and innovative small businesses have long been the envy of other states.  We need to maximize the opportunities in South Carolina to strengthen our state’s businesses, create jobs and cut our unemployment rate.”

“Through partnership, cooperation and a global perspective, the Upstate SC Alliance has blazed an innovative brand of economic development to pitch the attractive qualities of our Upstate region and created a model for others to follow,” said Sheheen, a Democratic state senator from Camden.  “As governor, I will focus extensively on the critical pursuit of economic development.  I will work in partnership with local and regional leaders, recognizing the unique needs of each, to advertise our state and ensure that companies throughout the world know that the future of progress is unquestionably South Carolina.”

Upstate SC Alliance President and CEO Hal Johnson provided updates to the $1.3 billion in economic investment and over 3,600 new jobs already announced for 10 counties of South Carolina’s Upstate region through the first six months of 2010.  Johnson mentioned the plans of SAATI Americas in Greenville County, First Quality Paper in Anderson County and ZF Group in Laurens County among the $366 million in additional investment announced since July 1.

Johnson also detailed the Upstate SC Alliance’s economic development activity through the first half of the year, which included 57 prospect presentations, 21 company visits and 14 formal information requests issued to local economic development teams.  And he documented the organization’s proactive efforts – including conducting 14 business development trips and prospecting visits in New York, California, Texas, New Jersey and Boston – to market the region as a highly desirable location for business investment.

 “The first half of 2010 demonstrated how the Upstate of South Carolina continues to draw upon its strengths to significantly outperform the rest of the country in new economic investment,” said George Acker, vice president of South Carolina government and community relations for Duke Energy and chairman of the Upstate SC Alliance’s executive committee.  “Our highly skilled workforce, pro-business climate and outstanding quality of life are just a few of the many reasons more and more companies are choosing to invest in the Upstate of South Carolina.”

Johnson also outlined several future initiatives to market the region, including hosting several site selection consultants the last weekend in September, upcoming trips to Germany, Spain and Canada, and a 15-day mission trip to China and Japan.   He also urged attendees to take an active role in several critical issues that could impact the future of economic development in the region.

“Improved rail access from the Upstate to the Port of Charleston is of vital importance if we are to continue attracting investments from manufacturing and distribution companies, especially those serving global markets,” said Johnson.  “Other issues, like improving worker retraining and regional cooperation on matters like transportation, also play a pivotal role in our ability to continue bucking the current economic trend and keep outperforming other growth-minded regions across the country.”

Read the full article in GSA Business by clicking here.

The company has purchased and plans to immediately begin renovations to a formerly vacant 260,000-square-foot facility, located at 201 Fairview Street Ext. in Fountain Inn, which was formerly owned by KEMET Electronics.  Renovations will include extensive facility modifications and installation of new production and R&D equipment.

“This expansion is a critical component of SAATI’s global corporate strategy and symbolizes our commitment to bring SAATI’s world-class engineered materials and technical support to structural composite and protective armor product manufacturers in the Americas,” said Alberto Novarese, president of SAATI Group S.p.A.  “Greenville County offers us a robust business environment and talented workforce to draw on, and Fountain Inn is a receptive community with a readily available building that is well suited to our needs. We look forward to beginning operations in the Upstate, and thank Greenville County, the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC), the city of Fountain Inn, and the South Carolina Department of Commerce.  Their support helped make this important SAATI expansion in North America possible.” 

“SAATI Americas is a global leader in the advanced materials sector specializing in producing materials used in a wide range of applications from medical to ballistic protection.  This announcement strengthens our state’s reputation as a leader in attracting advanced manufacturing and serves as a testament that our skilled workforce and business-friendly climate are working to attract new investment and jobs for South Carolinians. We congratulate SAATI on its investment in South Carolina and wish the company much success in its endeavors here,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.

“Greenville County is pleased to welcome SAATI Americas to our impressive family of technologically advanced companies,” noted H.G. “Butch” Kirven Jr., director for the Greenville Area Development Corporation and chairman of Greenville County Council. “As a leader in producing high quality textile and chemical products for the automotive, aviation, and advanced materials industries, they will provide good career opportunities for Greenville area citizens.  SAATI’s decision to locate here is the result of a well coordinated effort locally and at the state level.”

“We’re pleased that SAATI recognized the many advantages that Fountain Inn and Greenville County offer their company,” said Eddie Case, city manager for Fountain Inn. “As an innovative organization with global opportunities in numerous industries, we’re pleased to welcome SAATI as the newest member of the Fountain Inn business community.”

“SAATI is a global advanced textiles and engineered materials company that develops and manufactures materials for printing, micro-filtration, light-weight protective armor and structural advanced composite applications, and exactly the type of organization we want to attract to Greenville County,” said Jo Hackl, chairperson of the Greenville Area Development Corporation.  “This announcement strengthens our position as a destination of choice for advanced materials manufacturers, and we are pleased to welcome them to Greenville County.”

This leadership forum is being hosted by the Appalachian Council of Governments, Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Ten at the Top, Upper Savannah Regional Council of Governments, Upstate Chamber Coalition, Upstate Forever and the Upstate SC Alliance.

The event is being billed as a great opportunity for County/City leadership to interact with other elected leaders from the region and to learn more about how regional organizations from across the Upstate are all working toward enhancing collaboration, economic vitality and other elements of the quality of life for Upstate residents.

“All elected leaders in the region have a role in shaping the future of the Upstate,” said Dean Hybl, Executive Director of Ten at the Top. “We hope that having regional updates where these key leaders can get to know each other and learn more about what regional organizations are doing to advance the Upstate will be helpful as they look at the future for their local community.” 

During the one-hour meeting, each regional group will update the elected leaders on their organizational mission, current activities and overall role within the Upstate. 

“A big reason for doing this event is to show the elected leaders there is no duplication of services amongst the regional organizations.  Because we have never all stood together to outline our missions and roles, often you hear that there is a perception amongst some leaders within the region that our organizations are duplicating efforts. We want to clear the air on that issue by being real honest in illustrating that each regional group is extremely focused on a set program of work that differs from the others, but ultimately is complimentary.  At the end of the day, each of us wants the Upstate to achieve a higher quality of life but it takes what each regional organization is doing to help gets us down that path” stated Hal Johnson, Upstate SC Alliance President and CEO.

The Upstate SC Alliance would like to recognize  AFL Telecommunications and thank them for their ongoing support towards regional economic development.  Without contributors like AFL  the Upstate SC Alliance would not be able to market and brand the Upstate SC community to the world to attract new jobs and new business investment.

Here is AFL’s testimonial on “why” they support the Upstate’s marketing arm:

“AFL believes in strengthening the Upstate by being involved with other businesses and organizations surrounding us. Collaboration with business leaders and organizations strengthens our ability to excel, learn more and reach out to others. Our connections have provided insight into what our community needs and how we can help. Being a part of the Upstate Alliance has deepened those roots, embraced more partners and intensified our commitment to cultivating a knowledge-based economy here in the Upstate.”

To learn more about AFL, please click here.

The Upstate SC Alliance again thanks AFL Telecommunications and the other 180+ contributors that support the Alliance’s efforts in positioning the Upstate to succeed in attracting new jobs and bringing about an enhanced quality of life for the citizens of the ten county region known as Upstate South Carolina

“Given the challenging economic headwinds felt by many across this state and beyond, these national rankings alongside recent jobs and investment numbers from the South Carolina Department of Commerce are an encouraging sign. So while our state’s jobs picture is still not where we’d like it to be, this national recognition underscores the importance of sustainable spending, low taxes and regulatory reform that will help small businesses – the same small businesses that are key to long-term job creation here in South Carolina.

“Specifically, I’d give real credit to Secretary Joe Taylor and his hard-working team at Commerce for their recruitment efforts. Indeed, over the last several months we’ve made six 1,000-plus job announcements – from Boeing in the Lowcountry to Red Ventures in Lancaster and Samsung in the Upstate. We’ve outpaced the competition as well, ranking first in the entire Southeast in 2009 in job recruitment. South Carolina also received the 2009 Silver Shovel Award winner for economic development projects, and won the 2009 Business Facilities Magazine ‘Deal of the Year’ award for Boeing’s arrival. In fact, Boeing’s decision to land in North Charleston last fall marked the largest economic development announcement in state history. And only weeks ago, the German-based BMW-supplier ZF announced plans to invest $350 million and create 900 new jobs in Laurens County – a record for that county as well.

“It’s worth noting that our efforts have not only focused on landing the big fish like Boeing, but that we’re also intent on improving workforce training and keeping rural development a priority. Joe and his team deserve recognition here as well, with their efforts proving integral in this year’s ongoing reforms at the Employment Security Commission (now the Department of Employment and Workforce), and his dedication to rural economic development paying dividends – with six recent project announcements in Hampton, Allendale, Bamberg and Barnwell Counties totaling 1,139 new jobs. On the workforce front, we’ve expanded our state’s QuickJobs training program, led the nation by certifying over 100,000 South Carolinians for Career Readiness, and graduated 94 percent of our Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG-SC) students, easily besting the national standard.

“Back in October of 2009, when Boeing had just announced it would put a second assembly line in North Charleston, I cautioned that this was no time for South Carolina to rest on its laurels. Instead, we needed to redouble our efforts. That’s exactly what we’ve been doing, and I’m pleased to say we’re continuing to meet with success.”

The Upstate SC Alliance would like to recognize  Integral Solutions Group and thank them for their ongoing support towards regional economic development.  Without contributors like Integral Solutions Group the Upstate SC Alliance would not be able to market and brand the Upstate SC community to the world to attract new jobs and new business investment.

Here is Integral Solutions Group’s testimonial on “why” they support the Upstate’s marketing arm:

“Integral Solutions Group’s partnership with Upstate SC Alliance is a testament to Integral’s standing commitment in providing world class, customized technology solutions from concept to 24 by 365 customer care. Integral has distinguished itself as a mission critical resource for turnkey IT solutions in network design and integration, data center and infrastructure builds, and the convergence of the IP network. Integral has also made a deliberate effort in providing solid and rapidly deployable technology solutions for complex business situations.

Integral’s most recent addition, South Carolina’s only Tier IV Data and Business Continuity Center, was engineered to rival and exceed facilities across the nation. Integral’s hosting, monitoring and support of operationally vital applications and email for organizations locally and internationally exhibits the strength of the area’s highly competitive technical talent. Alongside Upstate Alliance, Integral is proud to contribute to the sustained growth and development of our region in the ever evolving world of technology and communications.”

To learn more about Integral Solutions Group, please click here.

The Upstate SC Alliance again thanks Integral Solutions Group and the other 180+ contributors that support the Alliance’s efforts in positioning the Upstate to succeed in attracting new jobs and bringing about an enhanced quality of life for the citizens of the ten county region known as Upstate South Carolina.

The Self Family Foundation envisions the Greenwood area as a genetic economic cluster, offering businesses genetics expertise, skilled research personnel and research park resources. The goal is to develop Greenwood Genetics Center as a magnet campus that will attract health-related industries with an education and research component similar to CU-ICAR in Greenville.

 “Clemson’s relationship with the internationally recognized Greenwood Genetic Center presents an excellent opportunity to attract a prominent geneticist-scientist in human genetics to fill an endowed position,” said Virginia Preston Self, foundation chair. “Over the years we have seen Clemson transform into one of the nation’s leading research universities and are excited about the economic impact our ties with the university and this investment could have on Greenwood and South Carolina.

“It was my late father, Jim Self, who understood the enormous potential of genetics research that led him to help Dr. Roger Stevenson establish the Greenwood Genetics Center over 35 years ago. We hope our pledge will help realize his dream of diversifying Greenwood’s economy and forging an ever stronger relationship between two institutions he deeply cared for.”

Clemson University and the Greenwood Genetic Center are long-time partners in research, education and economic development. Grateful for the gift pledge and vote of confidence, Clemson President Jim Barker said, “The Center of Economic Excellence in Human Genetics has tremendous potential to further that collaboration, to create life-changing new tools and therapies, and to improve the economy of Greenwood.

“Clemson University’s ties to the Greenwood community go back many years, and they are very deep.  Some of our university’s strongest leaders have come from Greenwood and from the Self family.  This is a proud legacy and an important responsibility for us both.”

“The partnership between the Greenwood Genetic Center, Clemson University and the Greenwood Partnership Alliance presents a unique opportunity. This collaboration combines resources and capabilities in human genetics education, research, health service and community outreach. It is poised to become a major economic development engine in our region by providing knowledge-based, high-wage jobs at the Greenwood Genetic Center campus and the Greenwood Research Park,” said Mark Warner, CEO of the Greenwood Partnership Alliance.

Transforming the challenge into reality will require Clemson and Greenwood leaders to work with state officials to meet funding goals for the endowed chair and for a major construction project.

South Carolina’s Research Centers of Economic Excellence Program helps fund endowed chairs at the state’s research universities. The program in the past has provided a $30 million annual public contribution from state lottery funds to help state universities recruit top scientists and develop Centers of Economic Excellence that focus on cutting-edge research and economic development.

The state dollar-for-dollar match for funding endowed chairs has been suspended because of revenue shortfalls. As the South Carolina economy rebounds in the next year or so, Clemson will work to make a case to state leaders to renew investment in the Centers of Economic Excellence.

University leaders also will seek state support through the South Carolina Research University Infrastructure Act to build a graduate education center on the Greenwood Genetic Center campus.

Clemson University, the Greenwood Genetic Center and the Partnership Alliance are investing in the joint effort through an ambitious fundraising campaign to meet matching-fund requirements.

 “The prospects for improved health, as well as for economic development in South Carolina, are extraordinary,” said John Kelly, university vice president for economic development and public service. “This initiative will strengthen the appeal of Upstate South Carolina for genetics-related companies.”

The Greenwood Genetic Center is a nonprofit institute, organized to provide clinical genetic services and laboratory testing, to develop educational programs and materials, and to conduct research in the field of medical genetics. Each year more than 20,000 families from throughout South Carolina and the Southeast receive clinical, laboratory diagnostic and counseling services through the center’s clinical and laboratory operations.

The Center works closely with the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs to provide diagnostic services, treatment and prevention programs to reduce the risk and severity of disabling conditions.

 “We are determined to break new ground in clinical service, laboratory and diagnostic testing, educational programs and research and we intend to lead the way into the 21st century with hope for every family at risk of genetic disease,” said Dr. Roger Stevenson, center director.

The Greenwood Genetic Center maintains its own research division:  the JC Self Research Institute of Human Genetics. Opening in 1996, the institute is a state and national resource where scientists seek a greater understanding of the causes, treatment and prevention of birth defects and intellectual disability. In addition to the center’s own research initiatives, these scientists serve as adjunct faculty for Clemson’s Ph.D. program in human genetics. The continued collaboration between the center’s inherent research division and the center of economic excellence will increase the impact of both programs.

In 1999, the Partnership Alliance and Greenwood-area legislative delegation helped secure a $3.5 million grant from the General Assembly to establish the South Carolina Biotechnology Incubation Facility, a 22,000-square-foot west wing addition to the Self Research Institute.

About 8,000 square-feet of the facility is used for laboratory modules and related office space, available for start-up companies developing commercial applications for life sciences products and processes. The building also includes a library, conference facility and space for central services and other support activities. Economically viable projects are encouraged to grow into separate operations in the surrounding Biotechnology Park. This experience provides a model for the potential of the center of economic excellence made possible by the Self Family Foundation’s commitment.

Related links

Greenwood Genetic Center http://www.ggc.org/index.htm

The Self Family Foundation http://www.selffoundation.org/

Greenwood Partnership Alliance http://www.partnershipalliance.com

The Upstate SC Alliance would like to recognize  Santee Cooper and thank them for their ongoing support towards regional economic development.  Without contributors like Santee Cooper the Upstate SC Alliance would not be able to market and brand the Upstate SC community to the world to attract new jobs and new business investment.

Here is Santee Cooper’s testimonial on “why” they support the Upstate’s marketing arm:

“Upstate SC Alliance has done a tremendous job attracting global business leaders to its 10-county area and helping established businesses grow and prosper.  Santee Cooper supports Upstate SC Alliance and its collaborative approach to marketing for the long-term, based on building and protecting a dynamic brand for the region it serves.

Like Upstate SC Alliance, Santee Cooper understands that a diverse and vibrant economy benefits everyone. Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s largest producer of electricity and takes seriously its responsibility to provide reliable, low-cost and environmentally protective power to all 46 counties of the state. Our natural gas-fueled Rainey Generating Station, in Anderson County, is a prime example of our commitment to a diverse generating mix that will best serve all our customers. Santee Cooper knows that affordable and reliable electricity is key to attracting and keeping business and industry in our state and serves as a cornerstone to our mission, to be the leading resource for improving the quality of life for all of South Carolina.”

To learn more about the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, please click here.

The Upstate SC Alliance again thanks Santee Cooper and the other 180+ contributors that support the Alliance’s efforts in positioning the Upstate to succeed in attracting new jobs and bringing about an enhanced quality of life for the citizens of the ten county region known as Upstate South Carolina.