There’s more to Upstate research and development (R&D) than RPMs. The truth is that a great deal of R&D activity goes on unaccounted for in a variety of industries from medical devices to sporting goods.
This week, the Upstate SC Alliance will be part of a South Carolina delegation to the world’s largest rubber and plastics trade show, K 2016, in Düsseldorf, Germany. Occurring just once every three years, the last event drew 218,000 visitors and 3,200 exhibiters from 59 countries.
More than 55 Japanese companies have carved a presence in the Upstate, representing more than 11 percent of our foreign-affiliated firms. These companies employ 16,300 people, creating products and services from electronic components to logistics.
Business in the Upstate has been globally influenced as far back as the 1700s, but now it’s more important than ever that global connection and competitiveness are top of mind.
As aerospace manufacturing moves south and our state works to recruit those companies, the Upstate’s existing bounty of manufacturing facilities and machine shops could become part of a hungry supply chain.
The recent announcement that Senator International in November will launch roundtrip cargo flights twice a week between GSP and Munich, Germany, heralds more opportunities than we can count at first glance.
General Electric, a 124-year-old company that employs 3,300 at its Greenville manufacturing facility, last year launched an ad campaign to position itself not as an industrial giant, but as a tech company.
This summer the Upstate SC Alliance joined a delegation visiting Belgium to explore how cultural connections can be leveraged into business relationships that enhance the Upstate’s global presence.
Megaregions are a major focus of the America 2050 National Infrastructure Program, which acknowledges projected surges in population and explores passenger rail as an alternative to traditional highway infrastructure, according to Georgia Department of Transportation Rail Program Manager Stenley Mack.
In the wake of Brexit and attacks in cities such as Paris and Nice, JP Morgan Chase Managing Director and Head Economist Jim Glassman says there’s a common perception that globalization is nearing its end.
