INSIDE // MIXED-USE VILLAGE COMING TO MAULDIN • DANICA PATRICK AND ADVANCE AMERICA • CLEMSON’S SELF-DRIVING CAR CONNECTION
AUGUST 25, 2017 | VOL. 6 ISSUE 34
YOUR TRASH HIS TREASURE Caleb Lewis and Carolina Recycling are fighting pollution by selling discarded plastic across the globe page 14
Photo by Will Crooks
THE RUNDOWN |
TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 34 Featured this issue: Urban village planned for Mauldin..............................................................................4 Clemson researchers receive grant to study self-driving cars...........................8 Mixed-use development in Spartanburg gets thumbs up.................................18
Greenville’s Carolina Recycling Company processes a variety of post-industrial plastics, including discarded caps and bottles designed to hold eye drop solution. Read more on Page 14. Photo by Will Crooks.
WORTH REPEATING “I talk to a lot of industry folks. No one is worried about technology. Their primary concern is not having qualified people.” Page 10
“Eventually, and it may happen sooner than folks anticipate, that area of downtown is going to be a concentrated center of positive activity.” Page 18
“Two things are essential when swinging into disaster mode: speed and confidence.” Page 23 2
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VERBATIM
On once-in-a-lifetime events “There’s very few people who are not going to walk outside when there’s a celestial wonder happening above their heads to go out and view it.” Andy Challenger, vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, on his company’s estimate that the eclipse would cost American businesses $700 million in productivity
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Upward Spiral Canadian firm to open factory, employ 30 people in Pickens RUDOLPH BELL | STAFF
rbell@communityjournals.com Pickens County announced more jobs at its booming industrial park in Liberty, where two factories have just opened and two other firms are currently expanding. The latest tenant to claim a spot at the Pickens County Commerce Park along U.S. 123 is Safeplast North America, a small manufacturer that is relocating from Canada. Safeplast makes thick plastic spirals that resemble giant curly fries and are wrapped around hydraulic hoses to protect them. Its decade-old factory in southwestern Ontario can’t make enough product to meet current demand, so the company decided to build a new plant in South Carolina, where some of its suppliers and customers are located, said President Jerry Pawluk. He said Safeplast would spend $4.3 million constructing a 30,000-squarefoot factory and installing equipment. The new plant will employ about 30 people. It will be built on a just-graded parcel donated by Pickens County. Pawluk said Safeplast North America is a joint venture between his family and a Finnish company called SNT-Group. So far, competitors have not been able to replicate its hydraulic hose protectors, he said.
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PICKENS DRIVE
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Two other companies — JR Automation Technologies and era-contact USA — have recently opened new plants in the Pickens County Commerce Park. Two more companies — Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co. and Keymark — are expanding their operations in the park. The Safeplast announcement was made Tuesday, Aug. 15, at the office of Alliance Pickens, the county’s economic development organization, located at the industrial park. Members of Pickens County Council marked the occasion by giving final approval for a property tax break for Safeplast. Among the VIPs on hand for the announcement were state Sen. Rex Rice of Easley, state Rep. Gary Clary of Clemson, and Ronnie L. Booth, president of Tri-County Technical College. Ray Farley, Pickens County’s economic development director, attributed the county’s recent spate of job announcements to the skilled labor being produced by its school system, especially the technical high school, Pickens County Career and Technology Center. Farley also said the county’s industrial recruiting has benefited from ready-to-go sites in the industrial park.
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DEVELOPMENT
‘More Than Just a Group of Buildings’ Developer Phil Hughes has big plans in Mauldin RUDOLPH BELL | STAFF
rbell@communityjournals.com Greenville developer Phil Hughes said he plans an urban village along Interstate 385 in the City of Mauldin with at least 1 million square feet of new apartments, offices, shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment. And with help from Mauldin, he intends to connect the development to the Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail via a pedestrian bridge over the interstate. 4
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The project, which Hughes said would be the first phase of a larger development, would entail a new street grid and multiple new buildings on about 40 acres along I-385 just south of its intersection with Butler Road. The site is bordered by I-385, Holland Road, Bridges Road, and a Greenville Health System distribution center. An office building that Hughes developed on the property for Charter Communications 16 years ago would be incorporated into the village.
A conceptual site plan shows nine mixed-use complexes along both sides of a main street, with ground-floor retail space and apartments or office space on the upper floors. It also shows locations for two hotels and a movie theater. Also shown are landscaping, traffic circles, and a public park with an amphitheater at the proposed connection to the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail. Hughes said he intends to develop the entire village — estimated to cost $100 million — over a period of 18 months. But he said he’s still working on various elements of the plan and won’t break ground until they come together. He did not give an exact timetable. “Our vision at this time is it will probably be 2020 before the first phase begins to open,” Hughes said. Building heights would be in the
range of three to six stories, he said. Hughes described the proposed village as an internet-connected, environmentally friendly place where people could live, work, and play without having to drive anywhere in a car. “We will have music, events, festivals. It will be more than just a group of buildings,” he told UBJ. “It will be the kind of place everyone wants to go.” The village, if it materializes, would be a historic development for Mauldin. The area around the intersection of I-385 and Butler Road is already in growth mode, with various call centers expanding and BB&T building a mortgage-processing center that it has said will employ more than 600 people. A Courtyard by Marriott hotel with 108 rooms is planned next to the BB&T facility.
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Mauldin Mayor Dennis Raines said the proposed village would be the city’s biggest development since he became a resident 45 years ago.
A conceptual rendering by Street-Works Studio shows what an urban village planned along Interstate 385 in Mauldin might look like.
Mauldin Mayor Dennis Raines said the proposed village would be the city’s biggest development since he became a resident 45 years ago. “I think the vision and the timing is absolutely perfect, and it’s great for Mauldin,” Raines said. Hughes, an accomplished developer whose portfolio includes major buildings in downtown Greenville, said he’s been planning a large mixed-use project at the Mauldin site for decades. He has used the brand name CenterPoint in marketing the property but said the village development would go by a different name he has yet to announce. Hughes said he plans to construct some of the proposed buildings on a speculative basis without first having signed leases in hand, while others would be built to suit for particular tenants. His Greenville development company, Hughes Investments, would be master developer of the village, working with other developers on specific projects within it. Ryan Peiffer, leasing and property manager at Hughes Investments, said the proposed village would
be comparable to a development called Birkdale Village in Huntersville, N.C., north of Charlotte. The 52-acre Birkdale development includes shopping, restaurants, office space, and apartments, according to the developer’s website. Mauldin officials said they hope to secure funding from Greenville County and private sponsors to extend the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail from Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research, where current plans call for it to go, to Mauldin High School and on to Hughes’ proposed village. From the village, the trail could go on to Simpsonville and Fountain Inn, they said. Hughes said he’s hired The Shopping Center Group, an Atlanta-based real estate services company, to recruit retailers to the village from across the country and even overseas. Mauldin officials said they’ve agreed to provide public infrastructure — landscaped streets with sidewalks and water and sewer service — paying for it with property tax revenue generated by the development.
That financing method became possible after Greenville County Council on Aug. 15 cast a final vote to designate the development site as a “joint county industrial and business park.” That’s a state-sanctioned designation that enables Mauldin to convert any property tax revenue generated by new development on the site into fee payments that can be used to pay for public infrastructure. Greenville school officials initially objected to the arrangement, because a joint county industrial and business park designation doesn’t ordinarily allow for any of the new tax revenue to go to schools. School officials were placated, however, after Mauldin officials agreed to share some of the expected new tax money, said Trey Eubanks, Mauldin city administrator. In a separate project, Mauldin is planning to solicit development plans for 24.5 acres along East Butler Road adjacent to its cultural center. But city officials said that project is in the early stages, and they expect the village along I-385 to take shape first. 8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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Cowpens resident Earnest Colston shows the gift of cash he received from Patrick and Advance America last week. Photo provided by Advance America
FINANCE
NASCAR’s Danica Patrick surprises Advance America customers in Spartanburg TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com Spartanburg-based Advance America gave a few of its customers a surprise last Monday that many NASCAR fans dream about. When Chesnee resident Janice Walker stepped through the doors of Advance America’s store at 975 Beaumont Ave. in Spartanburg, NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series racer Danica Patrick greeted her with a cash gift. Instead of having to pay the cost of admission to a race for the chance at such an encounter, Walker strode away $600 richer. “My husband [Al Walker] will be so disappointed he wasn’t here,” Walker said. “We watch her every Sunday. He always looks for her car. … I am so happy and shocked.” Patrick, a native of Beloit, Wisc., took time away from her preparations for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, held last Saturday at Bristol Motor 6
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Speedway, to help Spartanburg-based Advance America kick off its 20th anniversary celebration. Walker and three other customers were treated to a few moments of conversation with Patrick and a stack of six $100 bills. They each posed briefly with the NASCAR star for photos. “It was like a wedding this morning, where you get married and you have to give other people free things,” Patrick said while addressing a crowd of employees during a ceremony at Advance America’s corporate headquarters in downtown Spartanburg. “In all honesty, I feel like I’m usually put in this fortunate spot of giving people things when it wasn’t me who gave it to them. It was you. … You’re the ones that worked hard; that has made Advance America be around for 20 years.” Patrick’s appearance in Spartanburg also launched Advance America’s 20th Anniversary Sweepstakes. During the promotion, the company said it will give away $1,000 to customers per day for 20 days and give away a grand prize of $20,000.
The grand prize drawing will be held on Oct. 3. Customers can enter the contest online at fastcashsweeps.com. Advance America announced its two-year marketing partnership with Patrick in February. Under the partnership, Patrick will display Advance America’s logo on her helmet during the 2017 season, and the company can use the NASCAR star’s name and likeness in advertising, promotions, social media, and other content. “All of my interactions with everyone at Advance America has been first class,” Patrick said. “Everything from the campaigns to the shoots to the events. … I think that is the perfect example as to why [the company has] been around for so long.” Earnest Colston, of Cowpens, was one of the customers who got to meet Patrick and received a stack of cash. “This is my rent,” Colston said. Tracey Byrnside, of Spartanburg, said she didn’t immediately recognize Patrick. But tears streamed
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down her face as she accepted her gift, and stated that it would help her efforts to buy a house in Spartanburg’s Beaumont Mills neighborhood. “Advance America is wonderful,” Crocket said. “They save my life at times. When you are waiting on your paycheck and have a place like this that can help you pay bills and buy groceries without having to pay credit card fines, it’s amazing. They always explain everything to me very clearly. I always feel like they’re there to help.” Spartanburg businessmen George Dean Johnson Jr. and Billy Webster founded Advance America in July 1997. The company started out at the Bell Hill office park off East Main Street on the city’s east side. “We could sit the whole company around a conference table and still have a few chairs to spare,” said Jamie Fulmer, senior vice president of public affairs for Advance America, who was hired as employee No. 5. “We’re extremely proud of our history, how we’ve grown and evolved. We’re also excited about what the future holds.” Fulmer said the company hired its first employees in August and September 1997. By the end of the year, the company had opened 40 centers. During the next few years it continued its rapid rollout, opening hundreds of centers across the country. In 2001, the company decided to locate its corporate headquarters in a new 50,000-square-foot building at the corner of North Church and Dunbar streets in downtown. Three years later, Advance America launched its initial public offering. By 2012, the company’s portfolio had grown to 2,600 centers in 29 states, the United Kingdom, and Canada, along with about 5,000 employees. That year, Mexico-based Grupo Elektra purchased Advance America for $780 million. The acquisition privatized the company, but Grupo Elektra decided to keep the company’s corporate office in Spartanburg. Today, the company has 2,100 centers and about 6,000 employees in the U.S. It has 110 centers and 600 employees in South Carolina. Fulmer said about 400 Advance America associates report for work in downtown Spartanburg each day. A sign above the elevators at the company’s headquarters displays the bedrock principles that provided a
foundation for growth: “Respect your customers, respect your associates, respect yourself, respect the law.” During Advance America’s lifespan, the payday loan industry has come under fire for predatory lending practices by certain companies. Regulations have challenged or eliminated Advance America’s ability to do business in certain states. Fulmer said the company has always remained committed to following the law and taking care of its customers. It is a member of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), which works to promote laws and regulations that balance strong consumer protections while preserving access to short-term credit for millions of Americans. According to the CFSA, payday loan stores fill the need for small-dollar, short-term credit in communities throughout the country. The association’s website said industry analysts estimate that 20,600 payday advance locations across the U.S. extend about $38.5 billion in short-term credit to millions of working Americans in 19 million households who experience cash-flow shortfalls. CFSA said the payday loan industry provides jobs for about 50,000 Americans, and generates $2 billion in wages and more than $2.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. “This is a significant milestone,” Fulmer said. “It demonstrates there is and always has been high consumer demand for the short-term credit products we offer. … In an ever-changing regulatory environment, we’ve been successful by adapting to those changes and coming up with innovative products that meet the needs of our customers. … As a company, we have remained wedded to our bedrock principles.” During Tuesday’s celebration ceremony, Trudy Boyles, senior vice president of customer experience at Advance America, introduced eight employees who have been with the company since its inception. In addition to Fulmer, those employees include Candy Blanchard, Loy Jeffords, Wayne Hall, Melissa Dougherty, Page Petit, Jeannie Pistilli, and Ladson Belcher. “The first 20 years made us who we are,” said James Ovenden, president of Advance America. “We are very excited about the future.”
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TRANSPORTATION
Automated for the People Our self-driving vehicle future gets a jumpstart thanks to Clemson researchers ANDREW MOORE | STAFF
amoore@communityjournals.com
Clemson University professor Ardalan Vahidi (left) will lead an effort to boost energy efficiency in autonomous and connected vehicles. Photo provided by Clemson University.
C
lemson University researchers have been awarded a $1.16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study the use of automated and connected vehicle technology — aka self-driving cars and trucks — to boost energy efficiency and create a cleaner transportation system. The DOE recently announced the investment as part of a $19.4 million package for more than a dozen projects nationwide to accelerate the research of advanced battery, lightweight materials, engine technologies, and energy-efficient mobility systems. Clemson’s research will be led by Dr. Ardalan Vahidi, an associate professor of mechanical engineering on the university’s main campus. Collaborating on the two-year project will also be Dr. Beshah Ayalew, an automotive engineering professor at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville, and Dr. Yunyi Jia, director of the collaborative robotics and automation lab at ICAR. “Connected and automated vehicles are marketed for their increased safety, driving comfort, and time-saving potential,” Vahidi said. “With much easier access to information, increased processing power, and precision control, they also offer unprecedented opportunities for energy-efficient driving.” According to Vahidi, some vehicles are already outfitted with automated and connected technologies, including sensors that use video, radar, and Lidar, a laser-based technology that continually and accurately scans and maps the environment around the vehicle. 8
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The technologies, which could one day allow vehicles to communicate with each other and surrounding transportation infrastructure, are routinely touted for their potential to prevent automobile accidents and save human lives. In fact, the tech could eliminate 90 percent of U.S. traffic fatalities per year, according to a 2016 report from McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm. But Vahidi and his colleagues hope to demonstrate the energy-saving benefits of connected and automated vehicle technologies. More specifically, the researchers plan to use cellular communication and dedicated short-range radar to reduce unnecessary braking and idling, which waste fuel. “Every time you engage your brakes, precious energy of the moving car is wasted as heat in the brake pads. To speed up again, energy has to be used. This is more so in conventional vehicles that do not have regenerative brakes,” Vahidi said. He added that many autonomous and connected vehicles are designed to behave like human drivers, meaning they are typically reactive to their immediate surrounding, which results in more braking and similar “short-sighted decisions” that consume more energy. That’s why Vahidi and his colleagues plan to design speed and lane selection algorithms “that are anticipatory in nature rather than reactive.” The researchers plan to collaborate with the DOE’s Argonne National Lab in Illinois and the International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC) in Greenville to test their algorithms. “We plan to do this first via detailed computer
simulations and then in isolated experiments on a test track at ITIC. In computer simulations, we will emulate the motion of thousands of vehicles on realistically modeled roads and evaluate the impact of a limited number of connected and automated vehicles on the energy efficiency of mixed traffic. … In experiments, we will drive one or two autonomous vehicles on the ITIC test track and create realistic interactions between them and with our simulation environment,” Vahidi said. If successful, the group’s algorithms could not only boost gas mileage for autonomous cars but also reduce their environmental impact. In 2015, the last year data is available, transportation accounted for 27 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation sector is the second largest contributor of the country’s emissions after the electricity sector. Autonomous vehicles could reduce energy consumption in transportation by as much as 90 percent, according to research from the Department of Energy. But they could also promote longer commutes and faster driving, increasing consumption by more than 200 percent. Clemson’s findings could reduce energy consumption in autonomous and connected vehicles by as much as 20 percent, according to Vahidi. “Our proposed solutions enable energy savings and reduction of emissions relying mostly on software, information, and connectivity and with minimal hardware investments beyond what is expected and is standard for vehicle connectivity and automation,” he said.
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Q&A: The Future of Driverless Cars with Clemson University researcher Ardalan Vahidi While driverless cars won’t become commonplace overnight, they’re quickly becoming more of a reality as Audi, BMW, Ford Motor Co., and other automakers continue developing their own versions of cars that require little to no human input. We sat down with Clemson University researcher Ardalan Vahidi, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, to discuss the impending future for safe, hands-free transportation and its implications.
Are autonomous vehicles really better drivers than humans? Human drivers are often reactive when following other cars, as their view is often blocked by the preceding car and therefore their event horizon is very limited. In sudden slowdowns, they often fail to consider the cars approaching from behind. This is not only disruptive to traffic flow and is unsafe, but it can result in inefficient slow-down of multiple vehicles. Balancing the position proactively with respect to the cars in the front and back is cognitively demanding for humans. Most autonomous cars do not necessarily do better.
How will autonomous vehicles improve peoples’ lives? They will make transportation safer, more comfortable, and hassle free. If done right, the technology can save energy and reduce the environmental impact of the transportation sector. Autonomous vehicles save people considerable time by not requiring them to be at the steering wheel. People can be more productive during daily commutes
or avoid unnecessary commutes for delivering goods. Less parking and narrower roads can support transportation of the same number of people, and so our future cities may have more friendly and greener landscapes instead of sprawling roads and parking lots.
How long will it be before autonomous vehicles are on the road? There are different projections. Major auto manufacturers, technology firms, and startup companies have started a race toward building fully automated cars. Many automated functions such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping [assistance] are already available on several production vehicles. It is expected that the first fully automated vehicles be available for sale before 2020. A projection is that 20 to 40 percent of vehicle sales be automated by 2030 and full penetration could happen in several stages over the next few decades.
What are some challenges that still need to be overcome? Reliable sensing of the environment is a main challenge. Current autonomous cars use expensive means to sense what is surrounding them and still cannot identify all situations that a trained/experienced human driver would. The reliability needs to increase followed by public acceptance, and the cost has to drop for widespread adoption. Legal and institutional issues are other barriers to overcome, but in my opinion, those will not be major hurdles when reliable operation of a fleet of autonomous cars is demonstrated.
8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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EDUCATION
Back to School
USC Upstate creates bachelor’s program in advanced manufacturing
The new program is intended to teach those who have three to five years of manufacturing work experience skills they typically don’t learn in associate degree programs, or while working on a manufacturing line. Photo provided by USC Upstate
TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com Upstate manufacturing professionals will soon have a new path to career success. The University of South Carolina Upstate said last Thursday it will introduce a new two-year baccalaureate program aimed at helping individuals who have earned their associate of applied science degrees in mechatronics build on their skills. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field that combines electronics and mechanical engineering. USC Upstate, based in Spartanburg, said the bachelor of applied science degree in advanced manufacturing management’s objective is for graduates who have three to five years of manufacturing work experience to move into supervisory roles. The program was set to be introduced on Aug. 24, and is offered through the university’s division of natural science and engineering. “The program objectives will prepare graduates to assume organizational leadership roles, communicate with all levels of an organization, and solve complex problems that combine technical and nontechnical factors such as economics and societal impacts,” said Timothy Ellis, a USC Upstate instructor and the program’s coordinator. Basically, the program will teach employees certain skills they typically don’t learn in associate degree programs, or while working on a manufacturing line. The university said the curriculum includes 21 hours of major courses at USC Upstate, including manufacturing leadership I and II, manufacturing work practices, manufacturing quality, manufacturing project management, operational excellence, and senior seminar, which is similar to a thesis course. Students will be required to take 15 hours of upper levels courses, including 12 hours in business administration or other related courses, and three 10
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hours of an elective. Forty-two hours of mechatronics technical credits transferred from a technical college and 43 hours of general education courses taken at USC Upstate or transferred from another college are also required. The maximum transfer credits allowable are 76 hours, according to the university. USC Upstate said the program has been in the works since 2016. It is the result of the university’s collaboration with Upstate technical colleges and manufacturing companies. “Having highly skilled associates in mechatronics is important to the success of companies like BMW,” said Ryan Childers, department manager of student programs at Spartanburg County-based BMW Manufacturing Co. “However, solid leadership skills are also important. This degree will give technical professionals the tools to be more effective and have greater opportunity for advancement throughout their careers.” Laine Mears, Clemson University’s BMW SmartState chair of automotive manufacturing, said he believes USC Upstate’s program will benefit not only Upstate residents and manufacturing associates but also the state’s efforts to attract economic development. “I talk to a lot of industry folks,” Mears said. “No one is worried about technology. Their primary concern is not having qualified people. … Giving people some of those soft skills — mixing technical and nontechnical — is what we built [Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research] on. It’s important to understand where your decisions fit within an organization. The old story is that everyone needs a bachelor’s degree right away. But there are plenty of opportunities out there. … The more pathways there are, the easier it will be for people to find their sweet spot. And the better it will be for industry in the Upstate.”
Mears referenced a 2015 report by Deloitte Consulting and the Manufacturing Institute that forecasts nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will be created in the U.S. by 2025. The study predicts at least 2 million of those jobs will be unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates. “State schools have a duty to foster academic innovation to improve the economic climate,” Mears said. “The USC Upstate program is another splash of color in the painting we’re trying to create that will attract new industry to the region and South Carolina.” Johnnie-Lynn Crosby, regional director of business solutions at SC Works Greenville and Upstate, said the program and others that might follow could attract more people to careers in manufacturing. “I think it helps manufacturing in general, because it continues to chip away at that perception that manufacturing jobs are dirty and low-skill,” Crosby said. “That’s not the case anymore. There are plenty of opportunities out there.” State Rep. Mike Forrester, R-Spartanburg, and director of economic development for Spartanburg Community College, said he believes the program will help Spartanburg County reach its 40/30 Challenge goal. The challenge seeks to have 40 percent of the county’s population age 25 and older earn a baccalaureate degree by the year 2030. “We’ve got enrollment right now of more than 350 students in mechatronics,” Forrester said. “The demand is high… What this does is it gives people a pathway they’ve never had before to get a four-year degree in manufacturing.” He said many companies in the Upstate have education reimbursement plans in place. Students may also be able to take advantage of the state’s LIFE Scholarship program.
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The new Coldwell Banker Caine office in downtown Spartanburg will provide the firm with “flexible space and more visibility,” said Tim Satterfield, VP and broker in charge. Rendering provided by SHLTR architects
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THE DETAILS WHAT: Coldwell Banker Caine’s new Spartanburg HQ WHERE: Gilbert & Son Co. building, 151 S. Daniel Morgan Ave. PREVIOUS OCCUPANT: The Iron Yard AMENITIES: Art gallery, grill, patio, bocce court MOVE-IN DATE: End of 2017
Coldwell Banker Caine announces new office in downtown Spartanburg TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com At least 50 white-collar jobs are headed for downtown Spartanburg’s western end. Greenville-based real estate firm Coldwell Banker Caine said last Wednesday it will establish its new Spartanburg headquarters in the Gilbert & Son Co. building in a 7,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by The Iron Yard at 151 S. Daniel Morgan Ave. The company said it has begun renovating the space adjacent to a vacant restaurant and several apartments, which is near the $20 million AC Hotel under construction at the corner of West Main Street and Daniel Morgan Avenue. It anticipates it will take up residence in the space by the end of the year. “Since the evolution of our business in 2010, we have built a model of creating experiences in our spaces that reflect the unique, full-service approach that makes Caine so unique,” Stephen Edgerton, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Caine, said in a statement. “We could not be more proud to bring that vision to Spartanburg through this building.” Coldwell Banker Caine recently completed its new corporate headquarters at 111 Williams St. in downtown Greenville.
Company spokeswoman Kate Dabbs said the Spartanburg office will be modeled after the corporate location. It will be modern, incorporating stateof-the-art technology, industrial design notes, and other features that promote opportunities for community engagement, she said. Dabbs said the office will include an art gallery similar to the company’s Main Street Gallery in downtown Greenville. The gallery will showcase the work of local artists and serve as a venue for exhibitions, openings, and other events. Coldwell Banker Caine said the exterior of the building will have a grill, patio, and a bocce court. “We know it will be a springboard for an incredible work culture for our agents, and even more importantly, connection to the community we call home,” Edgerton added. “The energy internally when we learned of this on Tuesday was amazing,” said Angela Halstead, vice president of sales and community relations and co-leader of the residential team in Spartanburg along with Susan Clary for Coldwell Banker Caine. “It’s fun to be able to have such a positive impact in people’s lives and make a change that everyone thinks is going to be a good thing. Change can be hard, but it’s just such a great location. Stephen is so detail-oriented. We all
trust him and know this will be something special.” Coldwell Banker Caine is one of the original anchor tenants of the 65,000-square-foot TD Bank building completed by Spartanburg-based Johnson Development Associates in 2007. The company occupies a nearly 10,000-square-foot suite that houses about 50 employees. Although the new office will be smaller, it will provide space for future growth that could result in additional jobs, Dabbs said. “The model for the real estate office has changed during the past few years,” said Tim Satterfield, vice president and broker-in-charge of Coldwell Banker Commercial Caine. “Real estate agents are now on the road, in coffee shops, in people’s homes. … This new office will provide us with flexible space and more visibility. We are very excited about it.” Financial details of the project were not disclosed. Greg Atkins, the building’s owner, said the company has signed a longterm lease for the space. “I think it’s going to be a great use for that building,” Atkins said. “They are a long-term resident of downtown, and I think what they are going to be doing will be excellent.” Edgerton said his company worked
directly with Atkins on the transaction. He credited Atkins as being “instrumental” in helping the company find space for the project, which has been about one year in the making. “Greg’s commitment to downtown Spartanburg is tremendous,” Edgerton said. “It’s a win for us, a win for him, and a win for downtown.” The Iron Yard operated a digital health accelerator, coding school, and co-working operation in the space from 2013 to 2016. “The TD Bank building is an exceptional office building, but what makes this exciting is that you have a downtown office that has outgrown its location, is in need of a new location, and it was important for them to stay downtown,” said Will Rothschild, vice president of strategic communications for the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “The fact that real estate professionals view downtown as a place to have their office is a pretty big statement.” Rothschild said he believes Coldwell Banker Caine’s move will bring longterm stability to the building and energy to the western end of downtown. “There has been so much focus on restaurant, retail, residential, and hotel development recently,” he said. “I think we are starting to see the green shoots of new office demand.”
8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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NEWS IN BRIEF |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
GSP served 189,949 passengers in the month of June, compared with 174,465 in June 2016, good for a 9 percent increase.
TRANSPORTATION
GSP Airport sees more passenger growth in June The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport announced last Wednesday its passenger traffic increased almost 9 percent in June. GSP said it served 189,949 passengers during the month, compared with 174,465 in June 2016. For the year, the airport said passenger traffic has increased more than 3 percent to 994,499 flyers, compared with 961,517 during the first half of the previous year. “These are some of the strongest numbers we’ve seen in a while,” said Dave Edwards, president and CEO of GSP Airport, in a statement. “Having recently completed WINGSPAN, our $125 million terminal renovation program, and looking at these numbers, I feel like stealing a line from the movie ‘Field of Dreams’ and say, ‘If you build it, they will come.’” GSP’s passenger traffic has increased during each of the past three years. In 2016, the airport recorded an alltime high of more than 2 million passengers. That means GSP is currently on course to set a new record in 2017. WINGSPAN was completed in May. GSP officials said the project will increase the airport’s total capacity to 4 million passengers per year. Meanwhile, the airport said its cargo traffic increased more than 47 percent in June to 4,387 tons, compared with about 2,982 tons during the same month of the previous year. —Trevor Anderson
Self-driving cars begin operation at CU-ICAR Two self-driving vehicles will begin operating from Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville as part of a demonstration project, organizers 12
UBJ | 8.25.2017
disclosed. They said the six-seat vehicles, resembling golf carts, will carry passengers between ICAR and the nearby Greenville Tech Center for Manufacturing Innovation. The vehicles were scheduled to arrive at ICAR on Thursday, Aug. 17, and should be available to the public a few weeks after that, said Fred Cartwright, ICAR’s executive director. Cartwright, who is part of a new group working to deploy self-driving vehicles locally, said members of the public will be able to summon the vehicles on demand through a smartphone app. The shuttles will be provided by Robotic Research, a Gaithersburg, Md.-based company that conducts military research and previously used them to transport wounded warriors at the Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina. The vehicles’ relocation from Fort Bragg to ICAR was disclosed Tuesday, Aug. 15, during a meeting of Greenville County Council’s Committee of the Whole by Doug Webster, a commercial real estate broker from Greenville who is leading the effort to deploy self-driving vehicles locally. Webster and others involved, including County Councilman Fred Payne, earlier secured an agreement from a Connecticut nonprofit organization to contribute up to $2 million toward their project. The Connecticut nonprofit, called the Global Autonomous Vehicle Partnership, aims to hasten the adoption of computer-driven, or autonomous, vehicles, believing they will reduce traffic accidents and pollution and make the economy more efficient and productive. It was founded by Scott Case, former chief technology officer for Priceline.com, the internet travel service. Among its activities is supporting cities that are
willing to be early adopters of autonomous vehicle technology. Webster and the others working with him plan additional deployments of self-driving vehicles, including at two other sites in Greenville: the Verdae development and the area around Legacy Charter School in west Greenville. They have formed a nonprofit organization called Carolinas Alliance 4 Innovation and are raising private funds. Also part of the effort are Greenville City Councilman George Fletcher; industrial marketer Lee Stogner, founder of the electric vehicle committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and Frank Mansbach, executive director of Bike Walk Greenville, a nonprofit promoting biking and walking connectivity. On Aug. 15, County Council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Carolinas Alliance 4 Innovation that talks in broad terms about the possibility of the nonprofit using outside grant funding to work on “innovation-related projects” permitted by the county. “On a project basis with county approval, CA4I may be responsible for developing and brokering agreements, contracts, and route permits for possible use with automated transportation and mobility infrastructure project vehicles, facilities, and equipment,” the MOU says. The document also calls for a County Council member to join the Carolinas Alliance 4 Innovation board. —Rudolph Bell
FINANCE
Harton promoted to UCB CEO The headquarters of United Community Bank is in Blairsville, Ga., but its chief executive officer is now in Greenville. Lynn Harton, who has been UCB’s president for the past five years, has been promoted to chief executive officer. His office is in Greenville. Jimmy C. Talent, UCB’s former CEO, remains chairman of the bank as well as chairman and CEO of its holding company. Harton, asked whether he would move the bank’s headquarters to Greenville now that he’s CEO, said that was a decision for the board to make. “And from a practical perspective, in today’s world, the physical headquar-
Lynn Harton
ters location, I would argue, is probably not as important as it used to be,” Harton told the Upstate Business Journal shortly after his promotion was announced on Thursday, Aug. 17. “As far as I can see,” he said, the headquarters “will remain in Blairsville.” Still, Greenville is a key location for the growing bank, which employs just under 2,000 people and operates 142 branches in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee. Seven out of 10 members of its executive team are located in Greenville. And UCB leases about 70,000 square feet of office space at three locations in downtown Greenville: the ONE complex on Main Street, the former headquarters of The Palmetto Bank along Church Street, and the former headquarters of the Erwin Penland advertising agency along East Broad Street. Harton, 55, was formerly chief executive officer of Greenville-based The South Financial Group. He has also worked as an executive for TD Bank, Regions Financial Corp., Union Planters Corp., and BB&T. —Rudolph Bell
SPORTS
Panthers record secondhighest training camp attendance in 2017 The Carolina Panthers attracted 99,196 visitors to its 2017 training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg. It was the second-highest attendance recorded at the camp since the team’s inaugural season in 1994, according to numbers released last Monday by the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB). However, it was a 26.7 percent decrease compared with the all-time record of 135,371 fans set during the team’s 2016 camp. This was also the
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
Spartanburg Medical Center has seven specialities considered “high-performing,” according to U.S. News & World Report.
first year since 2010 that camp attendance decreased. “We set an attendance record seven summers in a row, and while we are disappointed that streak ended this summer, we are still very happy with the results,” Chris Jennings, executive vice president of the SCVB, said in a statement. “We knew that breaking last summer’s record of more than 135,000 camp attendees would be very difficult, given that last summer the Panthers were coming off an exciting Super Bowl season. This season’s total of nearly 100,000 is a great number. We can’t wait to get the full economic impact numbers from this season’s camp.” The 2017 attendance total represents a nearly 300 percent increase compared with 2010, when the camp attracted 26,760 visitors. The Panthers camp had a $13.1 million impact on Spartanburg County in 2016. The SCVB said it would reveal the economic impact numbers from this year’s camp in the coming weeks. The Panthers finished the 2015 regular season with a 15-1 record that the team capped off with a playoff win against the Seattle Seahawks, an NFC championship win against the Arizona Cardinals, and a Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and finished at the bottom of the NFC South in 2016 with a 6-10 record. But the Panthers still attracted more fans to camp than their Super Bowl opponents did this year. The Broncos, which finished the 2016 season with a 9-7 record, said a
record 54,013 fans showed up at its 2017 camp at the UCHealth Training Center in Englewood, Colo. “Repeating our success in 2016 is almost like returning to the Super Bowl — it’s really hard to do,” Jennings said. “We are still very pleased.” —Trevor Anderson
HEALTH CARE
Spartanburg Medical Center ranked No. 2 in South Carolina Spartanburg Medical Center is the second best hospital in South Carolina and the best hospital in the Upstate, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (SRHS) announced last Monday. U.S. News & World Report, a digital news and information company, recently announced its list of the Palmetto State’s best hospitals. Nine out of the state’s 90 hospitals were named on the list, with the Medical University of South Carolina earning the top spot. “Rankings continue to validate our single-minded focus on delivering innovative services and excellent outcomes,” said Bruce Holstien, CEO of SRHS. “We are blessed to have an experienced and dedicated physician, clinical, and administrative team. AnMed Health Center was ranked No. 3 on the list. Greenville Health System’s Greer Memorial Hospital was tied for seventh. Spartanburg Medical Center, according to the publication, had seven specialties that were considered “high performing.” Those specialties included abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, colon cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, and lung cancer surgery. Spartanburg Medical Center, located at 101 E. Wood St. in Spartanburg, is a research and teaching hospital, according to the SRHS website. It is licensed for 540 beds with more than 500 physicians that offer “stateof-the-art diagnosis and treatment for residents of a five-county area in North and South Carolina.” The hospital’s services include emergency services, the Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute, Heart Center, hospice, Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health, women, and children. “The patient comes first at Spartanburg Medical Center,” the hospital’s President Phil Feisal said in a statement. “Not only do we care for patients while they are here at the hospital but we also provide outreach in our community to keep folks healthy so they can live their lives to the fullest.” — Trevor Anderson U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals in South Carolina: 1. The Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 2. Spartanburg Medical Center, Spartanburg 3. AnMed Health Center, Anderson 4. McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence 5. Providence Hospital, Columbia 6. Roper St. Francis, Charleston 7. Bon Secours St. Francis, Charleston 8. GHS Greer Memorial Hospital 9. Grand Strand Regional Medical Center
| NEWS IN BRIEF
RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY
Spartanburg-based OTO Development properties recognized by TripAdvisor Spartanburg-based OTO Development announced Tuesday that 45 of its owned and managed properties have earned the 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. The company said the certificate recognizes hospitality companies that consistently earn positive reviews from travelers via the global travel website. “There is no greater seal of approval than being endorsed by our guests,” said David Ward, chief operating officer for OTO, in a statement. “Because this designation is based on customer reviews, we believe the Certificate of Excellence is a vote of confidence in our hotels’ ability to deliver a quality guest experience.” OTO said the certificate takes into consideration the quality, quantity, and recency of TripAdvisor reviews submitted by travelers during a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an “overall bubble rating of at least 4 out of 5, have a minimum number of reviews, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least one year,” the company said. Founded in 2004 in Spartanburg, OTO has developed more than 70 hotels and manages a portfolio of properties that encompasses 8,600 rooms. “It isn’t easy to earn a Certificate of Excellence,” Ward added. “Each one we receive validates our commitment to build and operate excellent hotels staffed by excellent people.” —Trevor Anderson
Forty-five OTO Development properties earned the 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. 8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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CAROLINA REC YCLING COMPANY
UBJ | 8.25.2017
CAROLINA RECYCLING COMPANY
| COVER
THE FUTURE IS PLASTICS
HOW ONE UPSTATE ENTREPRENEUR IS TAKING DISCARDED PLASTIC AND SELLING IT TO CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA WORDS BY ANDREW MOORE | PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS
Caleb Lewis lives by the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” For nearly a decade, the Upstate entrepreneur’s passion for sustainability has led him to turn trash into cash by helping small businesses and large manufacturers establish recycling programs in order to divert millions of pounds of waste from landfills. It all started in 2008 when Lewis was let go from his sales job at The Mobile Storage Group, which repurposes shipping containers for onsite storage and construction offices. After getting the news, Lewis started brainstorming business concepts, including a valet trash service for apartment complexes. “Working there [The Mobile Storage Group] gave me the initial idea of doing something ‘green,’” said Lewis, a Taylors resident. “I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. While working there, and with 75 percent of my customer base being construction related, I saw a big push for green building or LEED certified projects.”
Using $5,000 from his mom, Lewis launched Trail or Trash Recycling. He spent several years collecting bottles, paper products, and aluminum cans from small businesses for a monthly rate and selling them to domestic recycling companies for further processing and eventual reuse in various industries. “I paid my mom back within a year, and it just grew from there,” Lewis said. By 2012, Lewis had secured more than a dozen clients and relocated his operation from his backyard to a 22,000-square-foot space in Taylors Mill, a former textile mill that he later purchased and revitalized for businesses. He also partnered with his wife, Natalie, and renamed the operation Carolina Recycling Company. The company has since focused on postindustrial plastics recycling. Plastic is widely used by manufacturers,
because it’s cheap to produce and durable. However, as with any manufactured product, there’s discarded material that’s not part of the finished product. “Some companies send discarded plastics to the landfill. But there are companies who prefer to send waste to recycling companies like mine, because it just makes one big circle and ends back up in the manufacturing process somewhere else,” Lewis said.
BUILDING A BUSINESS
Over the years, Lewis’ recycling model has attracted the business of both small and large manufacturers, including New York’s Bausch + Lomb, which is one of the world’s largest suppliers of contact lenses and other eye health products. Carolina Recycling currently processes the discarded plastic caps and bottles designed to hold the company’s eye drops. Lewis said manufacturers like Bausch + Lomb essentially act as his “suppliers.” “I buy the waste and then bale, grind, or shred it and then sell it to either foreign or domestic companies that eventually repurpose it for their own products,” Lewis said. Carolina Recycling’s suppliers span the Southeast and include automobile manufacturers and various other industries. Each month, the company sells over 40,000 pounds of plastic and other forms of postindustrial waste. 8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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CAROLINA RECYCLING COMPANY
“China was once the landfill of the world. They were the biggest buyer because their labor was low and there were entrepreneurs trying to capitalize off the cheap plastics that they could buy for next to nothing and make a great margin on.”
In 2012, Lewis relocated his operation to a 22,000-square-foot space in Taylors Mill. Each month, Carolina Recycling sells over 40,000 pounds of plastic and postindustrial waste.
About 40 percent goes to foreign manufacturers. “There are several benefits to exporting. One benefit is that you either get paid up front or receive payment within at least 48 hours,” Lewis said. “With domestic buyers, you’re probably not getting paid for about 30 to 60 days. That’s a big difference, to say the least.” Lewis usually tries to sell his materials for about five cents a pound, earning $2,000 for every 40,000 pounds sold. “It’s a good margin for the recycling industry,” he said. “Our revenue has almost doubled every year since I started the company.” Postindustrial plastics recycling can also save manufacturers up to $300,000 a year in waste management costs, according to Lewis. And they can also earn more than $50,000 in profits by selling their discarded materials to companies like Carolina Recycling. For instance, Bausch + Lomb’s manufacturing facility in Greenville has reduced disposal costs and earned $75,000 through its recycling program, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The facility recycles about 60 percent of its cardboard, mixed 16
UBJ | 8.25.2017
Lewis usually tries to sell his materials for about five cents a pound, earning $2,000 for every 40,000 pounds sold. “It’s a good margin for the recycling industry,” he said. paper, plastic, scrap metal, and pallets. Carolina Recycling has processed more than 36 million pounds of discarded plastic since 2014, according to Lewis. It has also processed more than 8 million pounds of cardboard and 1 million pounds of wood and metal. “We’ve diverted millions of pounds of industrial plastics from our landfills, which are big sources of air pollution,” Lewis said.
American landfills released an estimated 163 million tons of CO2 equivalent to the atmosphere in 2014, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Since the 1950s, 79 percent of the 6.3 billion tons of plastics have been sent to landfills to decompose. Only about 9 percent of the plastic has been recycled. But more than 13 billion tons of plastic will be sent to landfills worldwide by 2050, influenced by a global plastics market expected to eventually reach $654 billion, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Much of that growth will be driven by packaging, construction, and automotive demands in China and India. Fortunately, for pro-environmental companies like Carolina Recycling, the global plastics recycling industry is expected to reach more than $50 billion by 2024, according to San Francisco-based market research firm Grand View Research.
Surviving China
Despite the promising projections, Lewis and other plastic recyclers still face many challenges as foreign governments are beginning to crack down on plastic waste imports.
CAROLINA RECYCLING COMPANY
China’s General Administration of Customs, for instance, rolled out a policy earlier this year that includes heightened restrictions on what kinds of recovered plastics can be imported into China. The policy, known as National Sword 2017, targets plastic packaging and electronic waste that contains plastics, including computers and appliances. For the past few decades, China was buying as much repurposed plastic as possible, especially from the U.S. In fact, American recyclers like Carolina Recycling exported over 199,000 tons of recovered plastic to China in 2016. “China was once the landfill of the world,” Lewis said. “They were the biggest buyer because their labor was low and there were entrepreneurs trying to capitalize off the cheap plastics that they could buy for next to nothing and make a great margin on.” But the amount of imported plastics was unsustainable, and China quickly became overrun. Now the Chinese government has stalled countless shipments of some recovered plastics from the U.S. and other countries. It’s also started arresting workers from Chinese companies that aren’t using proper pollution controls for their imported plastics. Now some American companies are losing money processing materials they would normally send overseas. “I know of at least three local recyclers that went out of business last year because of China’s policy changes,” Lewis said. Lewis said he hasn’t exported recovered plastics to China in three months because hundreds of buyers have gone out of business or been arrested. But surprisingly, Carolina Recycling has thrived in the chaos due to its growing portfolio of foreign customers, which includes recyclers and brokers in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. In 2013, Lewis decided to expand his company’s buyer network to other countries when China implemented Green Fence, another crackdown on plastic waste imports. Prior to the policy change, many American recyclers, including Lewis, had started selling mixed bales of waste to China. “We’d take plastics that took too long for us to sort and bale them together and just send it somewhere,” Lewis said. “It was extremely cheap for Chinese recyclers to buy and repurpose.” But the bales, which were usually filled with plastic bottles and other materials, became worthless as China enacted Green Fence and stopped allowing imports that consisted mostly of trash. In response, Lewis and other domestic recyclers gradually stopped selling mixed bales. “I don’t bother with mixed rigids anymore,” Lewis said. “You won’t find a single buyer who’s interested in them.” While Green Fence only lasted three years, Lewis started preparing for future policy changes and regulations. “I had a feeling that something else would eventually come down the pipeline, so I started looking for business elsewhere,” he said. But Lewis said a lot of the plastic pricing gets dictated by China. And unfortunately, an end date for National Sword 2017 remains unclear.
| COVER
Greenville’s Carolina Recycling Company shreds and grinds discarded car bumpers and other postindustrial plastics into pellets, which are then boxed and shipped to companies for repurposing.
Lewis said the company spends a lot of time and effort establishing a diverse buyer portfolio and researching where other companies have failed. The company, for instance, attends an annual conference that brings together industry professionals. “It’s a great way to connect with brokers, who can then connect you with potential customers,” Lewis said. As for the future, Lewis is considering toll processing for plastics. “I think it shows promise,” Lewis said. “We’d
charge companies a fee to collect their discarded plastic, convert it into reusable material, and send it back.” He added, “It would help them save money and resources while boosting our profits and helping the environment.” For more information, visit carolinarecyclingcompany.com.
8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com |
Mixed-use building from Southern Hospitality developers clears first hurdle
Last week, Spartanburg’s Design Review Board approved a proposal for a new five-story 70,000-squarefoot building at Liberty Street by Spartanburg businessmen Andrew Cajka and Jimmy Gibbs. Cajka and Gibbs are principals of the Southern Hospitality Group, which owns the Spartanburg Marriott at 299 N. Church St. They plan to construct the building on two lots totaling about 5.3 acres behind the Marriott adjacent to the St. John Street parking garage. The site is near the University of South Carolina Upstate’s George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics, the Chapman Cultural Center, and the Montgomery Building, which is undergoing a $25 million renovation. “It took a lot of teamwork to get to this point,” Cajka said. “But this is still the first quarter. We’ll get there eventually. It’s exciting. We see a lot of potential in that area. We’re trying really hard, because we want this to be something that will bring growth to the city.” A preliminary design plan prepared by Spartanburg-based McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture showed the building will have 7,199 square feet of space for a restaurant on the ground floor. The first floor will have an atrium and 7,293 square feet of space for a potential bank tenant. The building’s second floor is divided into four office suites totaling more than 15,000 square feet. Its third and fourth floors are each divided into two office suites totaling more than 15,000 square feet per floor. A nearly 1,500-square-foot space for a warming kitchen, almost 4,300 square feet of indoor event space, 18
UBJ | 8.25.2017
@andersontrev
The five-story multiuse development is near the University of South Carolina Upstate’s George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics, the Chapman Cultural Center, and the Montgomery Building. Rendering by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture.
and about 3,000 square feet of outdoor event space are planned for the top floor. City Council approved a development agreement with Gibbs and Cajka for the mixed-use building in February 2016. Under the agreement, the city provided the site at no cost to the developers, provided limited-time development rights to a hotel on another property behind the Marriott, and agreed to relocate a portion of Silver Hill Street to bring the intersection with Liberty Street into alignment. Gibbs and Cajka were required to lease at least two-thirds of the building to tenants who are new to the city. While the developers missed a deadline requiring them to submit projects to the Design Review Board within 90 days, council approved new terms that gave them until Dec. 31, 2017, to have their plans approved. The developers entered into the agreement with the city after council voted in 2015 to approve incentives for the $20 million AC Hotel nearing completion near the western end of downtown. Cajka and Gibbs had hoped to bring a new hotel to property behind the Marriott. But the agreement between the city and Spartanburg-based OTO Development, which is spearheading the AC Hotel’s construction with Spartanburg-based Johnson Development, prevents the city from offering incentives until three years after the AC Hotel opens. The AC Hotel is expected to open later this year. “By creating this type of class A space, I think it opens up potential inventory for outside professional office
WHAT: Liberty Street Development WHERE: Downtown Spartanburg HOW HIGH: Five stories HOW BIG: 70,000 square feet WHO’S BEHIND IT: Andrew Cajka and Jimmy Gibbs, principals of the Southern Hospitality Group WHO DREW THE PLANS: McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture POTENTIAL USES: Restaurant, bank, offices, outdoor and indoor event space
workers,” Cajka said. “It’s a little too early to say what that [tenant mix] will look like, but this adds a lot of options for downtown.” Assistant City Manager Chris Story said he believes the project will be a boon for the area surrounding the site, and he hopes the developers will move forward with their plans for a hotel. “It’s a significant step forward,” Story said. “It’s a great-looking project. Much needed. Eventually, and it may happen sooner than folks anticipate, that area of downtown is going to be a concentrated center of positive activity.” The project is expected to go before council later this month.
REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
ARIEL TURNER | STAFF aturner@communityjournals.com |
| SQUARE FEET
@arielhturner
Introducing the Terrace “Twist” on Southern Breakfast
The 414-unit South Beach Marina Apartments is located in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.
Grandbridge Greenville office originates $90 million mortgage Grandbridge Real Estate Capital’s Greenville office co-managers Bill Mattice and Phillip Cox recently originated a $90 million first mortgage loan secured by South Beach Marina Apartments in San Francisco, Calif. The permanent, fixed-rate loan was funded through one of Grandbridge’s insurance correspondents and was structured with a 12-year, interest-only term. The borrower is a state pension fund advised by L&B Realty. Built in 1989, the 414-unit, mid-rise South Beach Marina Apartments is
comprised of five buildings located in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood. The property features 4,708 square feet of retail on the ground floor, currently occupied by two restaurants and a salon. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), arranges permanent commercial and multifamily real estate loans, services loan portfolios, and provides asset and portfolio management through its broad investor base. 8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
TerraceRestaurants.com Now Open in Downtown Greenville’s West End!
DEALMAKERS |
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN THE UPSTATE
JOYNER COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS:
2, in Spartanburg, by RT Blackstock Complex LLC to Crimson Palmetto Holdings LLC.
of industrial space located at 4009 Pelham Court in Greer by PC&J LLC. to A J Bright Construction LLC.
Steve Greer and Matt Carter were the agents in the lease of 1,600 SF at 24 Vardry St., Suite 203, in Greenville to Jordan Construction.
Charlie Whitmire was the agent in the renewed lease of 192,884 SF of space in the Verizon Wireless Center at 701 Brookfield Parkway, Greenville, to Verizon Wireless.
Rakan Draz and John Odom were the agents in the lease of 1,100 SF of retail space at 7530 White Horse Road in Greenville by Phillip, Mark & Clark Cahaly to an undisclosed tenant.
Ted Arnold was the agent in the sale 2,400 SF of warehouse space at 102 S. Moore St., Duncan. Wayne Smith and Hope Tz Schmalzl were the agents in the sale of the business at 2829 Gentry Memorial Highway, Pickens. Hays Reynolds was the agent in the sale of a restaurant at 110 W. Butler Road in Mauldin to White Horn LLC. Matt Carter was the agent in the lease of 1,281 SF of office space at 221 Cooper Lane, Easley, by Karick Development to Technoflex Inc. CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD | THALHIMER ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Brian J. Young and Lyn Norton were the agents in the sale of two industrial buildings totaling 342,838 SF on 39.25 acres at 3001 N. Blackstock Road, Buildings 1 and
Charlie Whitmire and Edward Wilson were the agents in the sublease of 3,715 SF of office space in Parkway Plaza at 125 The Parkway, Suite 525, Greenville, by Consolidated Planning to Diverse Automation Inc. Charlie Whitmire was the agent in the lease of 3,185 SF of office space at 300 University Ridge, Greenville, to Attorney Don Pilzer. AVISON YOUNG COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Tabitha Cooper and Rob Howell were the agents in the lease of 12,000 SF of industrial space at 2 Distribution Court in Greer by Tindlewood Properties LLC to PS of Greenville LLC. Rakan Draz and John Odom were the agents in the lease of 2,500 SF
FOR SALE TAPROOM/RESTAURANT
• The Beer Joint, 1818 Augusta Street (Open now) • The Beer Joint, 2603 North Pleasantburg #J (Ready but not open) Two brand new beer taprooms, occupancies 88 and 73, 2500 sq ft+, with $400,000+ build outs, long term leases, professionally designed and outfitted, are FOR SALE or seek a PARTNER(s). Separate LLCs are fully licensed and registered. Originally a franchise, they must become full service restaurant/taprooms. Expanding and equipping the kitchens may cost $100,000. EVERYTHING in these two locations is new, including state-of-the art HVAC, FULL AV systems, 33 taps, walk-in coolers, furniture and bars. The owner would like to limit his involvement in operations or sell outright at a substantial loss.
SPENCER-HINES PROPERTIES ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Guy Harris was the agent in the sale of 2702, 2400, and 2500 Pelham Road to ARS Ventures LLC. Lowes Foods has announced they will be opening a third store in Greenville County at this location. Guy Harris was the agent in the sale of +/- 3.9 AC at 1311 Pelham Road to Pelham Road Alliance Church. The church plans to build a new facility with construction beginning the third quarter of 2017. Robbie Romeiser was the agent in the sale of +/- 33.17 AC of land located at 0 Shoals Road in Duncan to Shoals Road Land Holdings LLC for the purposes of residential development. Andy Hayes and Ben Hines were the agents in the sale of the 40,000SF Pointe West Office Building, located on Spartan Boulevard near West Gate mall, by Rose & Walter Montgomery Foundation to an LLC consisting of an out-of-state investment group located in North Carolina. Andy Hayes and Ben Hines were the agents in the sale of 2,400 SF at 396 E. Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, to Staffmasters. WINDSOR AUGHTRY COMPANY INC. ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Jay Alexander was the agent in the sale of 97 AC on Fork Shoals Road in Simpsonville by WAC Fork Shoals LLC for development into a residential single-family neighborhood. Jay Alexander and Michael Spiers were the agents in the lease of 5.4 AC at Martin Farm located at the intersection of Fairview Road and Harrison Bridge Road in Simpsonville
Email owner at roger.kersch@gmail.com or call 828 735-9711. Or call Cecil, Sunbelt Business Brokers, at 864 934-2225.
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by Martin Family Limited Partners III LP to Magnolia Development, who developed a 55,000-SF Hobby Lobby that opened in July. Jay Alexander and Michael Spiers were the agents in the lease of 1,800 SF of retail spec at Martin
Farm located at the intersection of Fairview Road and Harrison Bridge Road in Simpsonville by Martin Family Limited Partners III LP to Lee Spa Nails. Ben Goforth and Laurens Nicholson were the agents in the sale of 4.55 AC of industrial land on Preamble Court in Anderson County by Margi Realty LLC to Liberty Center LLC Ben Goforth was the agent in the sale of 2 AC on Old Highway 14, Greer, by Hemly Properties to Oxner Properties LLC. Michael Spiers was agent in the sale of 40 AC on Highway 20 in the Belton area. COLDWELL BANKER COMMERCIAL CAINE’S GREENVILLE AND SPARTANBURG OFFICES ANNOUNCE THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Pete Brett, David Sigmon, and Matt Vanvick were the agents in the sale of +1.127 AC at 110 Sage Creek Way, Greer, by Enigma to NV LLC. Pete Brett, David Sigmon, and Matt Vanvick were the agents in the sale of a +5,330-SF office building on +0.12 AC at 1263 Pendleton St., Greenville, by Mutual Home Store of Greenville Inc. to Brains on Fire Properties LLC. Tim Satterfield and Wiley North were the agents in the sale of a +1,288-SF house on +1.07 AC for redevelopment at 2245 Southport Road by LeRhea R. Armstrong to Jerome G. Bulman and Donald Bishop. Tim Satterfield and Angela Halstead were the agents in the sale of a +1,900-SF retail building on +0.6 AC at 2850 E. Main St., Spartanburg, by Charles N. Davis Jr. and Susan D. Cantrell to Burhan Abbas Raja. Tim Satterfield was the agent in the sale of +10.5 AC on Nancy Creek Road, Gaffney, by Sunny Hill Farms Inc. to Alfred Randall Moss and Arjana Ana Moss. Robert Zimmerman was the agent in the lease a +2,085-SF office space at 1320 Hampton Ave. Ext., Unit 4A, by Oceana Rapid LLC to Lever Studios Inc. Matt Vanvick was the agent in the lease of several small office suites at 217 E. Stone Ave., Greenville, by Hampton Doorway LLC to The Art of Real Estate (Suites 31 & 33), Natural Glow Skincare (Suite
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN THE UPSTATE
36), and Ali Waller Makeup & Skin (Suite 40).
by Barwick & Associates LLC to Alejandro Gutierrez LLC.
Pete Brett, David Sigmon, and Matt Vanvick were the agents in the lease of +6,158 SF of additional office space at INNOVATE, 148 River St., Suite 100, Greenville, by Mountain City Land and Improvement Co. LLC to Oobe Uniforms & Apparel Inc.
John Gray Jr. and Drew Stamm were the agents in the lease of a 33,9370SF industrial space located at 1801 Rutherford Road, Ste 116, to Bob Jones University.
Tim Satterfield was the agent in the lease of a +2,500-SF retail/garage building at 18 Wells St., Spartanburg by Glorian Hayes to Omar Davis.
Keith Jones, was the agent in the lease of 2,400 SF of industrial space located at 2508 Wade Hampton Blvd., Ste A, Greenville, by Real Estate Ventures LLC to The Lighting Source LLC.
Tim Satterfield was the agent in the lease of +16,250 SF of industrial space at 140 Interstate Park Drive, Spartanburg, by Mary Frances Poole to Cooks Power Equipment.
Andrew Babb was the agent in the sale of a 5,775-SF office space located at 128 Magnolia St., Spartanburg, by English Hylton LLC to 128 Magnolia Street LLC.
NAI EARLE FURMAN ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Tony Bonitati, Kay Hill, Bern DuPree, and Gwinna Cahal were the agents in the sale of Lions Gate Apartments, located on Old Mill Road in Mauldin, by an affiliate of Kahuna Investments based in Phoenix, Ariz., to Cedar Grove Capital. W. Scott Jones and John Baldwin were the agents in the lease of 2,500 SF of office property located at 25 S. Laurens St. by 25 Tmack LLC to (PLLC) Functional Vitality. John Gray Jr. and Drew Stamm were the agents in the lease of 5,400 SF of retail space located at 21 E. Washington St., Greenville, by Jerry NG to Abanico Inc. Alex Campbell was the agent in the lease of 3,859 SF of office space located at 155 Halton Village Circle, Suite B, Greenville, by Vimaljit Maur to Greenville Health System. John Gray Jr. and Drew Stamm were the agents in the lease of 2,585 SF of retail space located at 3184 Wade Hampton Blvd, Ste 3, Taylors,
Towers Rice Jr. was the agent in the sale of a 7,500-SF industrial property located at 1425 and 1431 Durham Road, Piedmont, by Lawrence C. Alton and Lolita A. Alton to David Scott Pedersen. John Gray Jr. and Drew Stamm were the agents in the sale of a 9,014-SF Dollar General Building at 7585 Reidville Road, Woodruff, by Mountain Creek Association to NV LLC. Towers Rice Jr. was the agent in the sale of a 9,282-SF industrial property located at 722 South Washington Ave., Greenville, by RS Development LLC to 722 S. Washington Avenue LLC. John Gray Jr., Drew Stamm, and Hunter Garrett were the agents in the sale of an 11,128-SF office property located at 416 E. North St., Greenville, by Robert Yeargin, to Team Legal LLC. Rusty Hamrick IV and Hal Johnson III were the agents in the sale of 586.99 AC of land located on Furman Nixville Highway by BPB Properties LLC to First American Exchange Company LLC.
Drew Stamm and John Gray Jr. were the agents in the sale of 23,665 SF of industrial property located at 90 Allen St., Greenville, by O’donnell’s Folly LLC to Bad Company III LLC. Towers Rice Jr. was the agent in the sale of 14 AC of land located on Mills Avenue, Greenville, by M2 Investments LLC to Park West I Investors LLC. Rusty Hamrick IV was the agent in the sale of 152.6 AC of land located at 459 Woodville Road, Pelzer, by Crestview Farms LLC to Brian Smith. Drew Stamm and John Gray Jr. were the agents in the sale of a 4,000-SF retail property located at 110 W. Butler Road, Mauldin, from Sows Ear LLC to F&P LLC. Earle Furman Jr. and Bill Sims were the agents in the sale of a 47,391SF office investment property located at 14-20 Brozzini Court, Greenville, by Southpaw Enterprises LLC to A.H. Cottingham. Cole Morris was the agent in the sale of 2.77 AC of multifamily property located at 3533 Greer Highway, Marietta, by Stephen P. Ellis to Highway 14 Partners LLC. Alex Campbell was the agent in the sale of a 5,000-SF industrial property located at 1736 Victor Hill Road, Duncan, by R&R Enterprises Inc. to Trail Creek Properties LLC. COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS:
Richard Barrett and Brannan Hudson were the agents in the sale of 9,500 SF at 555 John Ross Court in Pelzer by Dyer Holdings LLC to TBH Investments LLC. Richard Barrett and Brannan Hudson were the agents in the lease of 5,200 SF at 535 Brookshire
| DEALMAKERS
Road, Suites A & B, in Greer by Marion & Mary Burnside to Mungo Homes LLC. Richard Barrett and Brannan Hudson were the agents in the lease of 6,200 SF at 4 McDougall Court, Suite 105, in Mauldin by R&J Investments to Industrial Video and Control Co. Richard Barrett and Brannan Hudson were the agents in the lease of 1,441 SF at 111 Smith Hines Road, Suite F Upper, Greenville, by Thomas Centre LLC to Advanced Business Claims LLC. Givens Stewart and Brockton Hall were the agents in the lease of 104,500 SF at 1508 Antioch Church Road, Building C, Greenville, by Lockheed Martin Corp to Eastern Distribution. Frank Hammond was the agent in the ground lease of .52 AC at 1800 Augusta St., Greenville, by W. R. Martin Corp. to Lewis Plaza Partners LLC. Scott Burgess and Lance Byars were the agents in the lease of 1,750 SF at 219 Pelham Road, Suite C, Greenville, by JPM Investments LLC to Sourdough and Co. Scott Burgess and Lance Byars were the agents in the lease of 1,740 SF at 1143 Woodruff Road by Garlington Station to Deka Lash. Scott Burgess and Lance Byars were the agents in the lease renewal of 1,983 SF at 15 S. Main St., Suite 6, in Greenville by Caprocq Greenville LLC to Sully’s Steamers. Scott Burgess and Lance Byars were the agents in the sale of 3,450 SF at 119 W. Front St., Liberty, by Hunt Hendrix & Carter Investments LLC to Clearwater Holdings LLC.
N E W S PA C E AVA I L A B L E
Join our creative community! We have a prime commercial/office/retail space available with Mill Street frontage. Approximately 3,800 square feet, heated and cooled, water, power, close proximity to 13 Stripes Brewery. Inquire to talk more.
Visit www.taylorsmill.community for more details on available space. 8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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DIGITAL MAVEN |
THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINESS
Stuff Happens
Here’s disaster recovery lite for businesses that don’t have a plan By LAURA HAIGHT President, portfoliosc.com
A hurricane knocks out power and brings destructive flooding. A toxic spill forces the shutdown of businesses and critical travel routes. A ransomware attack locks up your systems and disables your business. These disasters and others happen somewhere almost every day. Their velocity and veracity may vary, but regardless of where they occur or how severe they are, businesses are affected. Most businesses don’t take the time to develop a complete disaster recovery plan. For those without a plan, here are a few key things you can do to recover if disaster hits.
The Who: Make sure you have identified critical staff and vendors and have a complete contact list with their home and cell phone numbers. Have a contact name and number for your internet service provider, telephone company, and utilities. Don’t forget to include your account numbers and any service code you have established. These are things you probably have in the office. But depending on the situation, you may be trying to make these contacts from an outside location. Once that list is developed, make time to update it at least once a year. Share it with all your key staff and provide it in a format they can access even if their power is out. Have a calling tree that ensures all key staff are notified that there is an “event” going on and that an emergency situation exists. The What: Decide first if your business is capable of doing business without internet access. If your businesses depends on the internet, you may want a backup generator to power key computer locations, or you may decide that you can afford to shut down for a day. You must have a backup for anything you absolutely have to have. Determine what will not be affected by the loss of power — likely the most common occurrence. Even if you determine that you can or must close for a day or two, you will still need to be able to communicate that to customers. An emergency that shuts your business down for two days could be localized — something not all your clients would be aware of. Your communication could be as simple as having an emergency message on your phone system or an automatic email response. If you use direct email marketing, a quick email to your customer list could be in order. 22
UBJ | 8.25.2017
Decide first if your business is capable of doing business without internet access. If your businesses depends on the internet, you may want a backup generator to power key computer locations, or you may decide that you can afford to shut down for a day. The When: The most important thing is that everyone knows their job. Once you know what critical functions need to be performed, identify the key staff and then ensure that they know their assigned jobs in the case of an emergency and that they have instructions, guides, phone numbers, passwords, and any other information they may need. Sometimes a key staffer could be one who is farther away from the office. That may seem counterintuitive, but a weather event or power loss could be localized, so a staffer who lives nearby might also be affected. The Where: The cloud has made disaster planning a lot easier. If your company has cloud services for document storage, hosted email, customer relationship management, client communications, etc., then you are in a much better recovery position. But if you are lagging behind these advancements, you may need to go old school. Flash drives handed out with some disaster recovery contacts and guides are one way to make sure key staff have the info they need. You may want the
flash drives anyway, since recovery from an online backup is not instant. Find out from your cloud provider how long it will take to restore backups in the event of a ransomware attack, for example.
The Why: We’ve all been in disruptive situations at work. Even the loss of a single system can send people spinning and looking desperately for someone who knows what to do. In an emergency, you have to recognize that you cannot do everything exactly the way you would normally do it. Two things are essential when swinging into disaster mode: speed and confidence. Your staff need to know that there’s a plan, that there are folks in charge who understand what the plan is, and that the tools they need to work the plan are available. Finally, disaster planning is not IT’s job. Regardless of whether your approach is a lean framework or a detailed step-by-step plan, if everyone hasn’t participated in developing it, there is little chance of it being the saving grace that you need it to be.
MOVERS, SHAKERS, AND DISRUP TORS SHAPING OUR FUTURE
| INNOVATE
Cleaning up the plastics industry – and our environment By MARK MCCLURE Vice President, International Plastics
Packaging is essential. Whether it is glass, aluminum, or plastics, it is how consumers receive their goods. As part of South Carolina’s $30 billion manufacturing ecosystem, plastic packaging in aerospace and aviation, automotive manufacturing, biotechnology, and life sciences secure relative materials for both their production and distribution. Brian Kuney, a regional VP for the S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership, summarizes this necessary exchange by saying, “The diversity of plastics applications continues to increase each year and is good for the industry’s prospects and its ability to welcome new workers into its ranks.” And with plastics playing a significant role as “packager” in this market, Sara Shumpert, director of the Packaging School in Greenville, cited packaging as a vital link in the global supply chain that enables South Carolina to distribute its goods across the state and around the world. Whether its needs are industrial or something as simple as a retail bag, the physical properties and environmental impact of plastic products make them a more attractive packaging option than glass or aluminum. Plastic is a complex organic molecule and can be made from fossilized or recently living plants – but it is simply organic molecules. And although some see plastics as a menace to the environment, the view is somewhat misconstrued as “greener” and additional “earth-friendly” options become available. Fundamentally, it is the job of the manufacturer to educate the consumer while also providing environmentally minded products and services. And now the Federal Trade Commission is helping some of us spread the word. In October 2012, the commission released a set of “green” guidelines designed to hold companies to truthful standards when marketing their products. Whether it be compostable or some form of degradable plastic, a company’s marketing claims must include competent and reliable scientific data for validation. Most of the claims involve the recyclability of the product or directly address its end of life as compostable, oxo-degradable, or biodegradable. The biodegradation of plastic products means they can be decomposed by bacteria and other living organisms at the microbial level. However, achieving biodegradation is another question entirely.
Compostable products require commercial facilities designed to rapidly break down organic materials into nutrient-rich soil amendment for resale value. However, facilities like this are not readily available to most consumers. And although oxo-degradable products include additives that speed up degradation, the completion of the process requires the presence of oxygen.
The biodegradation of plastic products means they can be decomposed by bacteria and other living organisms at the microbial level. However, achieving biodegradation is another question entirely.
However, landfills receive 81 million tons of discarded plastic each year and are anaerobic environments, meaning there is a lack of oxygen. Nearly 90 percent of U.S. municipal solid waste, including plastics, ends up in landfills. Today’s highly engineered landfills operate under strict federal and state regulations to ensure the protection of health and the environment, while managing and converting biogas into clean energy, which provides power to industries, heat for homes, and fuel for vehicles.
The industry is also advancing carbon sequestration in landfills to prevent the gas from re-entering the atmosphere. What does this mean? Perhaps the solution lies in the existing infrastructure? With this in mind, companies can offer additives to their manufacturing processes and address the end-of-life sequence from the beginning. Moreover, there is no need to change consumer habits or existing infrastructure. The appropriate additive enables discarded plastics to biodegrade in an anaerobic environment and convert into clean energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Information Administration, the solid waste industry currently produces nearly half of America’s renewable energy. In addition to a change in the manufacturing processes, environmentally minded companies can effect change in their own facilities, products, and services. Companies should promote “greener” products with the most scientific and objective research behind them and provide options to help customers decrease the amount of plastic needed to create a product. Through the reduction, reuse, and recycling of plastic goods, the material’s life is not only extended, but it is lighter weight and will require less time to break down. It is also critical for companies to prominently display these innovations on their websites, sales collateral, and other associated materials. Whether it is 100 percent biodegradable products or disruptive additives, consumers and potential customers should have easy access to information that could do more than clean up the plastics industry – it could clean up our living space as well.
8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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24 | PROFESSIONAL |
STRATEGIES FOR HONING YOUR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Dialing up Success Four tips to nailing your phone interview By HANNAH BARFIELD SPELLMEYER Godshall Professional Recruiting and Staffing
In a world of job portals and
CONGRATULATIONS
ANNUAL RANKING OF THE PALMETTO STATE’S 25 MOST DYNAMIC AND SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES
hiring black holes, just getting an interview can feel like an impossible task. I’ve been there. Now that I’ve seen the other side of the curtain, I can disclose in our defense that HR departments and recruiters are parsing through hundreds of resumes on a regular basis. Those are intimidating odds where every interaction counts. Phone interviews can be used to speak with candidates who are geographically unavailable, but more often than not they are merely the first hurdles in a hiring process. They allow employers to get a brief look into the personality and skill set a candidate brings to the table without blocking key decision-makers’ schedules, reserving conference rooms, and struggling through an hour-long interview that’s clearly not a fit. Phone screens also allow employers to evaluate a larger number of candidates before narrowing down the talent pool. If all goes well, you’ll get an interview with the hiring manager and team. If the phone call is botched, you’ll go back to canvassing LinkedIn and Indeed. Follow the tips below to dial up guaranteed success.
SET THE SCENE. Congratulations to the phenomenal RealtyLink Team Members, led by Principals Phil Wilson, Neil Wilson and Jack Jamison on this prestigious designation!
RealtyLink is known as one of the nation’s top firms for retail and restaurant development. To learn more about RealtyLink and potential opportunities please contact:
Neil Wilson 864-263-5413
Jack Jamison 864-263-5414
Phil Wilson 864-263-5415
Greenville, SC Headquarters: 550 South Main Street | 864.242.4008
info@realtylinkdev.com | www.realtylinkdev.com
A corner booth at a busy Starbucks is no place to have a phone interview. It’s loud. It’s distracting. And your interviewer won’t think you respect their time. Find a quiet place that allows you to hear and be heard. Eliminate any and all distractions including cellphone notifications, televisions, pets, children, and computers. Some experts recommend keeping a laptop open in case you need to quickly research something. This is a terrible idea. Interviewers can hear you typing, and there is no feasible way you can coherently continue a conversation while Googling the answer to the last question.
UBJ | 8.25.2017
TALK THE TALK. During a phone interview, you and the other caller obviously aren’t able to read non-verbal cues. One of the most common mistakes candidates make during phone interviews is demonstrating very poor listening skills. Elaborate on your experience, but make sure you’re leaving enough time for the interviewer to provide insight or follow-up questions. Don’t forget that we’re relying solely on verbal communication. You must also use proper grammar and pronunciation.
DON’T FORGET YOUR BODY LANGUAGE. We can’t see you, but your non-verbal cues do influence how you sound. First, sit up straight. You should not conduct a phone interview on an overstuffed couch or comfy bed. Sitting at a table or desk will prevent you from sounding groggy. Along those lines, dress professionally. If you’re wearing your jammies, you’re definitely not going to feel confident and prepared. Most importantly, smile. It changes the inflection in your voice and interviewers can hear the difference.
USE A CHEAT SHEET. Your interviewer can hear you typing on a laptop, but we surely cannot discern your pencil jotting notes. Have your resume and a blank sheet of paper available in order to take notes and write down questions along the way. A phone interview is not the time to be nonchalant about your preparation. It can be even more difficult to impress someone without shaking their hand and looking them in the eye. Take a little effort with the suggestions above and you’ll be the first one called for the in-person meeting
PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS
HIRED
HIRED
HIRED
HIRED
| ON THE MOVE
HIRED
MELISSA HAINES
JEFF NEWSOME
ROBERT A. MOORE JR.
JOSH ROACH
CHARLES ELDRIDGE
Joined Aloft Greenville Downtown as its director of food and beverage. In her new role, Haines will oversee the food and beverage offering for the hotel’s W XYZ bar, the hotel’s catering menus, and breakfast offerings. Haines previously held food and beverage leadership roles at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and the Hyatt Regency Greenville. She graduated from Johnson & Wales with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in hospitality.
Joined Waldrop Mechanical Services as an estimator. Newsome comes to Waldrop with 20 years of experience in the construction industry and specific HVAC/ mechanical estimating experience. Newsome’s professional credentials include Trimble Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Certification.
Joined Carolina Alliance Bank’s Spartanburg office as senior vice president, relationship manager. In this role, Moore will be responsible for serving the banking needs of businesses throughout Spartanburg County as well as the Upstate. A veteran banker, Moore has more than 25 years of experience in this market.
Joined 1st & Main Investment Advisors as a partner in the firm’s Greenville office. Roach is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business, where he earned degrees in accounting, marketing, and management. Roach serves on the United Way of Greenville County campaign cabinet and the advisory board of Caine Halter YMCA. He is a member of the Greenville Estate Planning Council, and has served on the National Kidney Foundation Golf Committee Board.
Joined Countybank as business development executive. Eldridge is a graduate of Clemson University and of the Executive Program at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. e began his financial career in 1970 in Greenville with the South Carolina National Bank that has since developed into Wells Fargo. He served as the Upstate regional president until 2009 when he founded the Regent Bank in Greenville, which later became BNC Bank. He served as president and CEO until his recent retirement in 2015. Since then, he has been providing consulting services to companies across international markets.
VIP TREZ MOORE Trezevant “Trez” Moore joins Lima One Capital as managing director of capital markets. In this role, Moore is responsible for positioning Lima One Capital for strong long-term growth through a strategic capital market strategy, oversight of the company’s mortgage-backed securitization activity, and ensuring ongoing liquidity for the company’s mortgage lending. Moore comes to Lima One Capital with more than 35 years of experience that includes capital markets, origination, and risk in both residential and commercial real estate. He has held positions with Freddie Mac, Cerberus, RBS, and Promontory. Moore holds a Bachelor of Arts and MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
BANKING United Community Bank recently awarded employees and teams for their exceptional performance throughout the second quarter of 2017, including Rick Stanland, based in Anderson. This acknowledgement is part of the bank’s quarterly sales and service champion program. Stanland was recognized as a top producer in customer derivatives.
GOVERNMENT Greenville County recently won the 2017 Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Award for an innovative partnership in creating imap, a dynamic community tool that maps essential human services within the county. Greenville County partnered with Greenville Health System, Furman University, United Way of Greenville, and United Way Connects-SC211 to create, execute, maintain, and sustain imap, an interactive platform that empowers residents, businesses, and organizations to access essential life services such as food, housing, education, and health care.
ENGINEERING Landscape architect and civil engineering firm SeamonWhiteside has added three employees to their Greenville office. Andrew Allen joined SeamonWhiteside as a senior civil engineer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Charlie Geer joined the firm as engineer in training. A recent graduate from Clemson University with a degree in civil engineering, Geer recently passed his Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE) and is preparing to take the Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam (PE) in the near future. Caroline Donaldson joined the firm as land planner. Donaldson graduated from Samford University in 2014, where she earned a dual bachelor’s degree in fine arts and English. She also graduated from Clemson University with a master’s degree in landscape architecture. CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions, & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com. 8.25.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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#TRENDING |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
THE WATERCOOLER Social Chatter
RE: COUNTY VOTES TO NEGOTIATE WITH DEVELOPER OVER COUNTY SQUARE “Why are POLITICIANS doing this behind closed doors instead of a transparent evaluation by county employees who know about development? Greenville County Council used to be by far the best political group I ever worked for, but now they act as if they are U.S. congressmen. It’s too bad there is no investigative journalism in South Carolina, because I’d love to find the money connections to whoever wins.”
Raymond L. Evans “If the county has the money for a new facility, why did they raise the fee on all real property in the county? Since the county continued to build new fire stations knowing the emergency services need NEW communication equipment, why not use saved money for the emergency equipment? Council needs more Republicans on the council so we the taxpayers don’t have to keep funding bigger, more expensive government!”
RE: HARTON NAMED CEO OF UNITED COMMUNITY BANK “CONGRATULATIONS, Lynn! The Greenville community is so fortunate to have both you and UCB. Thank you for all you do for the GSO and the arts in Greenville.”
Linda Cogswell Grandy “Time to move the official HQ here to Greenville.”
John Monarch
RE: RESTAURANTS FEEL THE LABOR PAINS OF THE GROWING FOOD SCENE “The worst part is because the restaurants hire anything with a pulse because they don’t have much of a choice, as a consumer you really feel it. My contribution to the restaurant industry in Greenville is almost null, because every time I go somewhere it’s a terrible experience.”
Chrissy Ouellette
E 33
AUGUST 18,
TOP 5:
2. Harton named CEO of United Community Bank
Joseph Wallace
RE: THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY JOB MARKET IS ON FIRE… AND SO IS THE REST OF THE UPSTATE “I respect David Britt, but that’s a really ignorant comment he made. With that attitude, Spartanburg will never get a significant number of white-collar jobs. Manufacturing plants can definitely move (or close). Plus, office jobs typically pay twice what manufacturing jobs do, and office employees work more reasonable hours. That gives people more disposable income (and time) to support local restaurants, shops, nonprofits, and cultural amenities that make a community truly vibrant.”
Stephen Sykes
Anthony C Gilliard
1. Coldwell Banker Caine announces new office in downtown Spartanburg
“The issue is this: There is a shortage, and the answer is absolutely supply and demand. Pay people more and see what happens. I hate the mentality that if you work in a restaurant you have to be poor. It’s ridiculous. Pay people and you will get good service.”
VOL. 6 ISSU 2017 |
R ATE LABO THE UPST ATS UP HE MARKET GGLE RU ST S NT RESTAURA FING WITH STAF CIES EN AG T EN EMPLOYM TIVE GET CREA S AT ST S, AT STATS, ST
DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE
The layout of print meets the convenience of the Web. Flip through the digital editions of any of our print issues, and see them all in one place. upstatebusinessjournal.com/ past-issues
E U S S I E C R WORKFO THE
3. County votes to negotiate with developer over County Square
GET THE INBOX 4. The Spartanburg County job market is on fire… and so is the rest of the Upstate
CONNECT We’re great at networking.
5. Employers having to get creative in recruiting workers
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*The Top 5 stories from last week’s issue ranked by page views
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UBJ | 8.25.2017
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EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR
| PLANNER
DATE
EVENT INFO
WHERE DO I GO?
HOW DO I GO?
Wednesday
Upstate Alliance 2017 Midyear Meeting & Reception
Crowne Plaza Greenville 851 Congaree Road 4–5 p.m.
Cost: Free, investors only For more info: bit.ly/2fDYxAZ
9/7
Greenville Chamber Netnight
Cost: $15 for Chamber investors, The Champions Club at Fluor Field $25 general admission 945 S. Main St. For more info: bit.ly/2vzw6Ll 6–8 p.m. or 864-239-3727
Saturday
Clemson Area African-American Museum’s Black Business Expo
Calhoun Bridge Center 214 Butler St., Clemson 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
For more info: 864-247-1257 or 864-506-1057
Greenville Chamber Golf Tournament
Greenville Country Club Chanticleer & Riverside Courses 10 a.m.
Cost: $375–$1,500 For more info: bit.ly/2w2KBo1; 864239-3729; or mmann@greenvillechamber.org
MARKETING & ADVERTISING VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES
Wednesday-Friday Greenville and Spartanburg Chambers’ Joint Intercommunity Leadership Visit
9/27-9/29
Hughes Development Corporation and Johnson Development Associates
For more info: Greenville: 864-2393729; Spartanburg: 864-347-6080; mmann@greenvillechamber.org, wrothschild@spartanburgchamber.com
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Tuesday
Greenville Chamber’s Diversity & Inclusion Summit
TD Convention Center 1 Exposition Drive 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Cost: $100 investors, $125 general admission For more info: bit.ly/2uDPySZ nwhite@greenvillechamber.org
ATHENA Leadership Symposium
TD Convention Center 1 Exposition Drive 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Cost: $35 investors, $50 noninvestors For more info: bit.ly/2sUsFdd; 864239-3727; nwhite@greenvillechamber.org
PRESIDENT/CEO
Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com
UBJ PUBLISHER
Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com
8/30 Thursday
EDITOR
Chris Haire chaire@communityjournals.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Emily Pietras epietras@communityjournals.com
DIGITAL OPERATIONS MANAGER Tori Lant tlant@communityjournals.com
STAFF WRITERS
Trevor Anderson, Rudolph Bell, Cindy Landrum, Andrew Moore, Ariel Turner
9/9
Monday
9/18
David Rich drich@communityjournals.com
Donna Johnston, Stephanie King, Rosie Peck, Caroline Spivey, Emily Yepes
ART & PRODUCTION VISUAL DIRECTOR Will Crooks
LAYOUT
Bo Leslie | Tammy Smith
10/17 Tuesday
11/14
OPERATIONS Holly Hardin
ADVERTISING DESIGN
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Kristy Adair | Michael Allen
CLIENT SERVICES
Anita Harley | Jane Rogers
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
SEPTEMBER 15 THE REGIONAL ISSUE
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
UBJ milestone
UBJ milestone jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson
Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport
1988
Kristi Fortner
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE STORY IDEAS:
1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993
1990 Jackson Dawson
acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.
>>
OCTOBER 13 THE DESIGN ISSUE
Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff
Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.
ideas@upstatebusinessjournal.com
Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during
Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood. He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980. In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he
learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage. In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar. “Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said. Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders
>>
with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.” In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.” Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning. The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet. Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s
2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space
1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court
also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design. Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series. “In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.” Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept
2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003
2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running
him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-profnon-prof its. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award. The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family. As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business. “From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.” Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”
2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people
2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award
pro-bono/non-proFit / Clients lients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School
CoMMUnitY nit inVolVeMent nitY in ol inV olV V Ve eMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board,
Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board
eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board
November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21
20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013
AS SEEN IN
NOVEMBER 1, 2013
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OCTOBER 27 CRE ISSUE
onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com UBJ welcomes expert commentary from business leaders on timely news topics related to their specialties. Guest columns run 700-800 words. Contact editor Chris Haire at chaire@communityjournals.com to submit an article for consideration. Circulation Audit by
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