This addition would increase the capacity for Clemson students to conduct genetic research on a cellular level. The project would be funded through state infrastructure bonds and is among several construction projects trustees approved last week.

The trustees also approved the concept plan for a $7 million addition to the Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The project will be financed by private donations.

The 48-year-old Barnett Hall received final approval for a new HVAC system, costing $4 million from Housing Improvement Funds.

The trustees also gave the OK for an additional $700,000 to complete pedestrian-safety infrastructure on Highway 93.

The board also approved improvements and updates to the farm animal research centers at the Simpson Station and LaMaster Dairy, for which the Legislature appropriated $2.6 million.

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Among the 135 are two companies located here in Greenwood: Eaton Corporation – Hydraulics Business and Ascend Performance Materials.

Facilities with a low rate of incidents resulting in lost workdays, job transfers, or restrictions were nominated for recognition. Plants submitting an incidence rate below the statewide average for their NAICS code received an award.

“To ensure a successful business environment for South Carolina manufacturers, it is essential that we also ensure a safe working environment for our associates,” said Steve Eberhardt, SCMA Plant Safety Conference Chairman and Corporate Safety Manager of AstenJohnson North America. “We are proud to recognize the achievements of our members for meeting and exceeding the standards of this ambitious award. By making the safety and health of our employees a top priority, it is evident that our members are committed to providing a safer, more prosperous South Carolina.”

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To the casual observer, it would appear the areas in and around Greenville, Columbia and the coastal region get the most attention when it comes to economic development in South Carolina.

However, many at the local and state levels are working to help bring development to the Palmetto State’s rural areas, as well.

Many of those leaders gathered Monday at Greenwood’s Sundance Gallery for the S.C. Department of Commerce Rural Summit. Gov. Nikki Haley was the summit’s keynote speaker.

Haley said there has been progress in rural economic development, but there is much work to be done.

“Just in this past year, we have had 37 (economic development) announcements in rural South Carolina,” Haley said. “We need more. Because I know these are treasure pockets that we have throughout the state. What we have tried to do is say ‘What do we need to do to get industry to come?’”

The governor said two of the basic rules in regard to commerce and economic development in rural South Carolina are keeping the cost of doing business low and making sure the workforce is trained for the jobs that are made available.

Haley also encouraged all of the rural leaders in attendance to return to their towns and take a ride from one end of the town to the other. She said the leaders should take a good look at the town as they ride through, taking stock of abandoned buildings, dilapidated houses, signs that need to be replaced and so on.

“That’s what I need you to pay attention to,” Haley said. “We always are talking about bringing industry. But, what happens when we actually drive industry through your town? Do they like what they see? Do they notice something you’ve never seen before? You have to almost go in and look with new eyes.”

The governor talked about her impression of Greenwood as she drove into town for the Rural Summit.

“Greenwood is a beautiful town,” Haley said. “What we want everyone to understand is, you are so used to seeing it every day. You see the same buildings. You see the same cars. You see the same people. But, drive it from one end to the other as if you are a CEO seeing it for the first time. You will notice things you’ve never seen before.”

Greenwood city manager Charlie Barrineau spoke at the Rural Summit. The city manager gave a presentation called “Creating a sense of place is continuous: The Greenwood Transformation.”

Barrineau talked about the ongoing revitalization of Uptown Greenwood and the effect that revitalization has had on the city.

The city manager said he was pleased to have this year’s S.C. Rural Summit in Greenwood.

“I guess I went to my first Rural Summit about seven years ago,” Barrineau said. “I thought sitting there that day in North Charleston, ‘There’s no reason we can’t have this in Greenwood.’ It’s interesting, all the venues we used (for this year’s summit), the restaurants, the (Sundance Gallery), the (revamped) Federal Building, none of that was here seven years ago. We are going to talk about the story, how we created this sense of place where we feel like we have a reason for people to come to Greenwood.

“We’ve always had that reason, we’re now telling that story.”

Also Monday, state Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers and state Department of Commerce project manager Allison Barry gave a presentation on agribusiness and its importance in South Carolina’s economy.

Barry said agribusiness is described as business that deals with food, forestry and processing.
According to figures provided by Weathers, farming and forestry constitute a $34 billion industry in South Carolina, employing nearly 200,000 people and generating $7.5 billion in labor income. The state has 12.9 million acres of forestland and 4.9 million acres of farmland.

Weathers also pointed out there are more farmers in South Carolina today than there were five years ago. The number of farmers in North Carolina and Georgia have decreased in that time period.

“Our number of registered farmers in South Carolina is on an upward trend, unlike our neighboring states,” Weathers said. “We are very positive about some of our recent growth trends.”

Haley said she supports the state’s emphasis on growth in agribusiness. She said she thinks the industry could grow even more.

“We need to understand agriculture is our number one industry in South Carolina,” the governor said. “We want it to continue to be. What we’ve done is we’ve combined a person with agriculture in with the commerce department so that we do nothing but focus on agribusiness. It is a highly technical industry now. It is not the old school that the farmers used to do. It’s very high tech.”
Barrineau said agribusiness is vital to the City of Greenwood.

“It’s huge,” the city manager said. “Obviously one of the largest employers in the City of Greenwood is Carolina Pride. If they are not a staple of agribusiness, I can’t think of one. With what we are doing with our market stands, with the success that we have had with growing our farm-to-fork type products, we see huge growth.”

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NGGS technology allows for the development of diagnostic testing panels to simultaneously analyze all known genes responsible for a genetic condition. This advanced approach is more cost-effective and thorough than testing gene-by-gene. Currently, GGC is one of only a few laboratories in the US to offer an NGGS diagnostic panel on a clinical basis. GGC’s current panel tests for mutations within 92 genes known to play a role in intellectual disability (formerly known as mental retardation). The support from the Endowment will allow for the addition of four more panels for conditions that have a significant genetic component and for which physicians often have difficulty in identifying a specific cause. The panels planned over the next two years include autism, seizures, birth defects and skeletal disorders. Collectively these complex disorders affect 1 in 14 South Carolinians.

“The addition of the new panels will provide an overall improvement in the evaluation of individuals with complex genetic conditions - allowing for a specific diagnosis in many patients,” said Steve Skinner, MD, GGC Director. “Having a clear diagnosis is the necessary first step to improved healthcare management and recurrence risk assessment for these patients and their families.”

The autism and seizure panels are expected to be clinically available in 2012, followed by the birth defects and skeletal disorders panels.

“Very few medical institutions have the ability to use this NGGS technology effectively,” explained Jim Pfeiffer, President and CEO of Self Regional Healthcare. “Our Department of Medical Genetics at GGC has assembled the necessary molecular geneticists, technical expertise, and data analysis capability to become the NGGS resource for all of South Carolina.”

For additional information contact the Greenwood Genetic Center at www.ggc.org or 1-888-442-4363.

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“We are excited about our decision to create jobs and invest in Greenwood County, South Carolina,” said George Bowyer, vice president at Crown Casting Industries. “Other states and countries were considered, however, based on all factors Greenwood County provided the best location for Crown Castings to grow in a highly competitive world market. Keeping jobs in the U.S. made company officials especially proud.”

The company will be located in the Corporate Park Industrial Building in Hodges, S.C., and is slated to begin operations during the second quarter of 2012.

“South Carolina continues to show that it’s a globally-competitive location for companies to set up shop. We celebrate Crown Casting’s decision to locate in the Palmetto State and create 50 new jobs here. We will continue to build on our state’s economic development successes,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.

In the past year, South Carolina has recruited more than $3.9 billion in investment and more than 12,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector.

“Our state’s manufacturing sector continues to grow and create new jobs. Crown Casting’s choice to make South Carolina its new home is another sign that our state’s business-friendly climate and skilled workforce remain the key in attracting new investments like this one,” said Bobby Hitt, Secretary of Commerce.

Crown Casting Industries will serve broad commercial markets as well as specialty niche markets, like glass mold equipment. The foundry uses a modern process which is cost effective and designed to reduce waste and comply with all environmental regulations. This new plant will allow Crown Castings to vie with foreign competitors in its aggressive effort to gain market share.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to have a modern, progressive company such as Crown Castings locate here in Greenwood County and especially in the heart of my council district,” said Bob Jennings, vice chairman of Greenwood County Council. “Their commitment will provide much needed jobs to the Hodges area and an economic boost to the economy. We look forward to working with Crown Castings for many years.”

Mark Warner, CEO of Greenwood Partnership Alliance added, “Crown Castings locating their operation here is further evidence that Greenwood County can compete on a national and global scale. We are especially thankful to all of our partners who helped in this effort, including the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Duke Energy and AdvanceSC, Greenwood County, Piedmont Technical College, Upper Savannah Workforce Investment Board, and the investors of the Greenwood Partnership Alliance. We welcome Crown Castings to the community and look forward to providing support as they ramp up production.”

Hal Johnson, Upstate SC Alliance president and CEO, stated that “the efforts of Greenwood County are to be applauded as the announcement of Crown Casting is great for the entire Upstate region, as all 10 counties will benefit from these jobs coming to our community.”

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved the company for a $100,000 grant for a building up-fit and also job development credits, which will be available when hiring targets are met.

Interested applicants should check the Index Journal and GwdToday for listings of Crown Casting job openings starting in February. Hiring for the bulk of the employees is expected to start in the second quarter of 2012. Applications will not be taken at the plant.

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By Chris Trainor - Index-Journal

Public/private economic development firm Partnership Alliance and consultants Arnett Muldrow are proceeding with the development of a master plan for the revitalization of a portion of the south end of Greenwood, specifically the corridor that connects Uptown Greenwood to the area of Self Regional Medical Center.

Arnett Muldrow consultants will be back in Greenwood this week, gathering information and developing ideas for the master plan that could guide the redevelopment of what has been dubbed the South Main/Edgefield Street/Spring Street corridor. There will be a public meeting at noon Friday at the Federal Building. During that meeting, the design team will share some preliminary ideas about the project and seek feedback from residents and business owners.

Partnership Alliance CEO Mark Warner said he has been in contact with members of the design team and has heard from them about some of their initial ideas for the redevelopment of the South Main/Edgefield Street/Spring Street corridor.

Warner said he couldn’t yet reveal those plans, but said he felt confident the design team would discuss them during Friday’s public meeting. The Partnership CEO said he was more than impressed by Arnett Muldrow’s prospective idea.

“The team has shared an idea with me that just blew my socks off,” Warner said. “We’ve all been looking at this section of the city, and I think it takes these guys with an outside set of eyes to come in and say, ‘What if we did this first and then that second? Look at what that gives you.’ That’s all I’m going to say…Like I say, it blew my socks off.”

Officials said they hope to accomplish several goals with the South Main/Edgefield/Spring Street corridor redevelopment master plan, including:

• Developing conceptual designs for key development and redevelopment sites throughout the district.
• Identifying public infrastructure improvements, focusing on streetscape improvements in key areas of the district.
• Exploring funding options for improvements, including tax increment financing and other creative funding techniques.
• Creating a plan with a clear implementation strategy that would provide a clear plan for accomplishing these goals.

Warner encouraged residents, property owners and business owners from the corridor to attend Friday’s meeting to hear ideas and offer their opinions and ideas.

“That’s the key to this,” he said. “If we don’t get feedback from folks, how do we know what they’ll support and what they’ll get engaged in?”

For more information about Friday’s meeting, please contact Julie Miner: 864-388-1250

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“We are pleased to start on this new chapter in our business. This expansion will help position us for future growth. Greenwood County has provided us with an excellent environment in which to do business,” said Todd Hoffman, CEO of Item Southeast.

Item Southeast will relocate its current facility to a larger building in order to meet increased demand. The company works with customers to design, create and distribute Item products. The company will be in the new facility by October.

“It’s a great day in South Carolina when any of our businesses choose to grow. We celebrate Item Southeast’s decision to further invest here and create new jobs. This announcement is another indication we are doing the right things to promote economic development,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.

Small businesses comprise 95.4 percent of all private employers in South Carolina. In all, more than 645,000 people work for small businesses in the state.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our state’s economy. Item Southeast’s decision to expand its presence in Greenwood County is another indication South Carolina provides an environment in which small businesses can grow and prosper,” said Bobby Hitt, Secretary of Commerce.

“Congratulations to Item Southeast on their expansion activities”, said Mark Warner, CEO of the Greenwood Partnership Alliance. “Supporting our existing employers to help them remain competitive and expand is a key part of our plan of work.”

Greenwood County Council Chairman Robbie Templeton added, “The decision for Item Southeast to expand in our county is great news and will create new jobs and investment. We look forward to their continued growth and success.”

The company has begun hiring for the new positions. Anyone interested in job opportunities with the company should send a resume to sales@itemsoutheast.com.

Item® Southeast is the exclusive southeast distributor and service center for Item International. As a supplier of t-slotted aluminum and other Item products, the company can ship bulk, cut to length, kits and full assemblies. The company also provides CNC routing services. For more information about the company, please visit www.itemsoutheast.com.

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The Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC) announces that its Diagnostic Laboratories have been accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Laboratory Accreditation Program following a recent onsite inspection. CAP is widely recognized as the leader in laboratory quality assurance. Their accreditation program goes beyond regulatory compliance ensuring that accredited labs achieve the highest standards of excellence for high-quality patient care.

Accreditation by CAP is based on rigorous standards including an inspection of laboratory facilities, equipment, safety programs and quality control procedures, as well as reviewing the qualifications of faculty and staff. The goal of CAP accreditation is to improve patient safety by advancing the quality of laboratory services through education, standard-setting and ensuring that laboratories meet or exceed regulatory requirements. CAP accreditation places GGC’s Diagnostic Laboratories among an exclusive group of over 7,000 laboratories worldwide that have met these high standards of excellence.

GGC’s labs have maintained certification through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) for many years, but CAP accreditation represents a more stringent level of quality assurance. “Becoming a CAP accredited laboratory is a new benchmark for GGC and was accomplished by a significant number of faculty and staff members working towards this common goal”, said Mike Friez, PhD, Director of Laboratories at GGC. “Our Center has always strived to offer the best clinical services possible and now that we have this certification in place we can continue towards our ultimate goal of continuously improving patient care.”

GGC’s Diagnostic Laboratories include cytogenetic, biochemical and molecular analysis for a variety of inherited conditions with a focus on birth defects and intellectual disabilities. The laboratory serves over 25,000 families each year.

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Collaboration, state branding and industrial recruitment were among the topics of conversation Thursday evening as S.C. Deputy Secretary of Commerce George Patrick addressed the Partnership Alliance board.

Patrick, who had a decorated career in the Air Force and who also has a background in small business, works under Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.

Hitt initially was scheduled to speak at Thursday’s Partnership meeting, but declined in order to handle an economic development recruiting matter.

Upstate Alliance CEO Hal Johnson also spoke at the gathering, attended by members of the Partnership board as well as members of the Greenwood Chamber board and local political leaders such as state Rep. Anne Parks, state Rep. Gene Pinson and state Sen. Billy O’Dell.

Patrick said he and Hitt have been working to let business and political leaders across the state know the Department of Commerce is open to collaborative efforts in furthering economic development.

“We are a small state,” Patrick said. “Bobby (Hitt) has worked very hard - and he’s kept me on the road doing the same thing - to take a message out to the counties, to the alliances and to consultants: Anybody who wants to further economic development in this state we consider an ally and a partner. We have invested a fair amount of time and effort to carry that message forward.”

Patrick said the continued addition and expansion of manufacturing jobs will be critical in furthering the state economically. He noted South Carolina has done a decent job of adding manufacturing positions.

“Manufacturing is key,” Patrick said. “Manufacturing creates true wealth, as does agriculture and some other endeavors. We have seen - and statistics back this up - a turnaround in manufacturing in South Carolina over the last couple of years. I think it was in December that we saw the first year-to-year increase in manufacturing jobs in South Carolina in a long time.

“(Hitt) would tell you he’s declared we have finally dug our way out of the textile recession, for lack of a better word, and we are now seeing year-to-year increases-significant increases- in manufacturing jobs in the state.”

Patrick said the Department of Commerce wants to work with the state’s various economic alliances to establish a unified message and branding for South Carolina.

“(Hitt) has laid it out as probably a three-year campaign,” Patrick said. “We want to work the parks, recreation and tourism folks. …We want to come up with a focused branding of who we are in South Carolina so that, when you see the symbol, you don’t hear people who come here, and they’ve been here two or three days, and they go, ‘Wow, this place is not at all what I thought it was.’ And usually it is in a very positive way.

“We want them to have that anticipation before they get here. We want that to help drive companies to South Carolina as a place they look to first, not second or third or last.”

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Greenwood CPW recently was honored by a national agency for its continued excellence in providing safe, clean water.

The agency was honored with the Partnership for Safe Water Five-year Phase IV Excellence in Water Treatment Award. The honor was in recognition of CPW’s commitment to superior water quality by maintaining the Partnership for Safe Water Excellence in Water Treatment Award for five consecutive years.

The Partnership for Safe Water is part of American Water Works Association. The AWWA is an international nonprofit educational association dedicated to safe water. Founded in 1881 as a forum for water professionals to share information and learn from each other for the common good, AWWA is considered the authoritative resource for information and advocacy for improving the quality and supply of water in North America.

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