Retail giant WalmartThe decision to build a $ 220 million import distribution center near Interstate 26 in Dorchester County was by far the biggest economic development announcement in the Charleston region in 2020, according to a new report from SC commercial department.
The 3 million square foot facility, announced in July, will take goods imported through the Charleston Harbor and distribute them to 850 stores across the Southeast. Will the tenant be the anchor in State Port Authorityfocused on retail Ridgeville Commerce Park and is expected to start operations in April 2022 with around 1,000 employees.
Walmart’s capital investment ranks third on the list of major Commerce projects announced across the state last year. It follows a $ 400 million Mark Anthony Brewing ease that will do White Claw hard seltzer in Richland County and a $ 314 million agricultural technology campus to be built in rural Hampton County.
Walmart held an opening ceremony in December 2021 for its import distribution center near Ridgeville. Stephen Blackmon / Provided
The agriculture center was the largest job generator in the state in 2020, with an estimated workforce of 1,500 when it opens in 2025. Billed as the largest in the country Opportunity zone investment, the project is a joint venture between a trio of food and packaging companies that will grow pesticide-free products in greenhouses, pack food and distribute it in supermarkets. The 1,000-acre campus was announced in September.
Walmart’s distribution center was the state’s second largest job ad last year.
Technology company Vigilent Labs it was the only other Charleston area ad to make the top 10 lists of the top 10 investments and job creation. The company recently started producing an instant view COVID-19 antigen testing on his campus at the former Navy base in North Charleston. The $ 104.6 million investment will create 400 jobs, the company said.
Industrial investment in the state totaled $ 4 billion in 2020 – up from $ 2.4 billion in 2019. Since taking office in 2011, head of the Department of Commerce and former BMW executive Bobby Hitt helped attract $ 43 billion in projects, including Lowcountry vehicle manufacturers Mercedes-Benz Vans and Volvo Cars. It is the eight years that Hitt’s office has recruited at least $ 4 billion in investments.
Zeb Portanova, CEO of the GEM Opportunity Fund, has a bowl of tomatoes similar to those to be grown on the $ 314 million agricultural technology campus, announced in 2020 in Hampton County. Provided
“To increase our recruitment to $ 4 billion in capital investment – especially over an unprecedented year – it takes a remarkable amount of collaboration and unwavering commitment from many partners across the state,” said Hitt in a statement.
New businesses represented 54% of the number of new jobs announced in 2020, while expansions represented the remaining 46%.
Companies based in the United States were responsible for 64% of investments in 2020, followed by Canada with 10%, China with 6% and Germany with 4%. Companies from several other countries accounted for the remaining 16% of investments.
In all, the 126 economic development projects announced in 2020 are expected to create 11,147 new jobs. During Hitt’s 10-year term, more than 150,000 jobs were created.
The Frontier Logistics plastic pellet transport facility was built in 2020. Braskem Americas will use part of the facility to ship the pellets, also known as nurdles, to the foreign market through the Port of Charleston. State / Provided Port Authority
Nurdle Exports
Petrochemical firm Braskem Americas started exporting plastic pellets to foreign markets from its North Charleston warehouse as part of an agreement with State Port Authority.
The company’s global export center at the former Navy base accepts plastic pellets shipped by rail from production facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Then it packs these pea-sized pellets, also known as polymer resins or nurdles, to be shipped abroad via Charleston Harbor. The export facility, located in part of a warehouse built by the plastics exporter Frontier Logistics, can handle up to 450 million pounds of pellets annually.
The North Charleston facility will employ 60 workers.
Plastic pellets are the raw material for products such as plastic bottles, automotive parts and medical supplies.
Braskem, headquartered in Brazil, joins a handful of plastic pellet export operations that have been installed in the Charleston region in recent years. Over time, they are expected to ship a total of 50,000 cargo containers filled with pellets to the foreign market.
Natural gas business
Based in Charleston GreenGas USA signed an agreement with Carolina Gas Transmission to supply renewable natural gas to direct industrial customers and wholesalers through a hub in Georgetown.
GreenGas takes waste from pig and dairy farms and converts the methane produced by that waste into renewable natural gas. The gas is then injected into an interstate pipeline operated by Carolina Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathawaynatural gas transmission and storage business.
The hub will be in operation in 2022 and is expected to create nine jobs.
“The GreenGas USA team is incredibly pleased to help our client Carolina Gas Transmission achieve operational carbon neutrality, play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building a better and more sustainable future for our children”, founder of GreenGas Marc Fetten said in a statement.
The methane that is captured during the natural gas conversion process reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The Georgetown project will offset carbon dioxide equivalent to more than 77,300 metric tons of annual emissions, equivalent to eliminating emissions from more than 16,700 motor vehicles per year.
Reach David Wren at 843-937-5550 or on Twitter at @David_Wren_