SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 | VOL. 4 ISSUE 39
CRATE expectations After two years, has Greer’s Inland Port lived up to its initial projections? - pg. 2
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Two years young Greer’s inland port exceeds expectations but has room to grow ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF
aboncimino@communityjournals.com Five years ago, 15-year Greer Mayor Rick Danner isn’t afraid to say he didn’t know much about ports, let alone rail-serviced inland ports. “The big joke…was where they were going to dig the canal,” said Danner, recalling the atmosphere nearly three years ago when the Inland Port project was announced. “In some sense, that did make fun of the fact that people didn’t really know what that was, and I will admit that I might have been a part of that crowd.” Today, the Inland Port has meant serious business not only for the Upstate, but also for the economic vitality of the surrounding region. Big names such as Dollar Tree and RiteAid have announced multimillion-dollar capital investment facilities that are expected to lean heavily on the Inland Port, supporting job growth and bolstering local industry. The $104-million Dollar Tree distribution center, for example, is expected to boost container volume by 6,000 containers a year from the Upstate, while BMW’s $1 billion production expansion project in Spartanburg is also expected to increase auto and containerized volumes. And judging by the international interest in Greer related to the ports, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, according to Danner. “It’s interesting, because I think in specific sectors of the international community, the visibility of
Greer has probably grown more than it has in the state,” he said, noting he couldn’t begin to count the number of international business and trade delegations that have demonstrated interest in Greer because of its port access. “There’s a growing confidence in the Greer community and the Greer area as a strong area to do business.” S.C. Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome spearheaded the Inland Port project nearly four years ago alongside leaders with rail service Norfolk Southern and the city of Greer. “I would not be surprised if we had the ability to double our capacity at that facility,” he said. Announced in 2012 and completed in late 2013, the Inland Port in Greer essentially extends the Port of Charleston’s reach by 212 miles inland with direct rail service by Norfolk Southern. Shippers can minimize the congestion and high costs associated with trucking, while businesses – particularly distributors and manufacturers – can take advantage of cheaper real estate for facilities and operations, said Newsome. “Inland ports represent a new trend in terms of distribution,” he said. “They’re closer to the interior where real estate is cheaper, and closer to where goods are demanded. … Retail distribution is not able to bear a very high cost of land, so we are really fortunate to have the area along the 85 corridor as an outlet.” BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME The SCPA owned the100-acre site in Greer for more than 30 years, but it remained largely vacant until Norfolk Southern approached them for a business plan in January 2012, said Newsome. “It happened very fast. Conception to inception in under two years’ time is phenomenally fast,” according to Newsome, who said initial base cargo volume was pegged at 20,000 containers per year through the facility. “We knew there were other customers in the area that might find it attractive, so we went for it, basically.” Newsome said the Inland Port is very close to reaching its goal of 100,000 rail lifts per year – a goal originally set for the first five years of operation, he said. “During the first full year of operations, we handled 58,000 rail lifts,” he said. The inland port recorded 7,500 lifts in July, which annualizes to 90,000 for the next fiscal year, he said. If trends continue as expected, “By the second full year of operation we would have reached our target,” he said. Part of the Inland Port’s success lies with the growth of the Upstate’s automotive industry, particularly with customers such as BMW and Michelin. The auto-
| TRANSPORTATION | 3
Goal: 100,000 rail lifts per year in five years FY 2014: Handled 58,000 rail lifts July 2015: 9,000 rail lifts Projected FY 2015: 90,000 rail lifts
motive and tire industries make up roughly half of the volume, while other customers such as Eastman Chemical and Adidas also represent significant business. While the automotive and related industries are likely to continue to grow, future growth could rest heavily on growing retail distribution near the Inland Port, said Newsome. “We had a major breakthrough in the sense that we have now the first import retail distribution center of significant note, which is going to be opened in Cowpens by Dollar Tree,” he said. “That was really important because these retailers really follow each other. … We think other retailers will be inquisitive about what drew them here.” Newsome said another major milestone was turning a bottom-line profit for the inland port, which happened less than three months ago. One of the original selling points for the Inland Port included replacing truck traffic with rail and intermodal, theoretically reducing both congestion and wear on South Carolina’s crumbling infrastructure. MOVING FORWARD As clients and cargo volumes build, Newsome said the SCPA is already thinking about expanding capacity, both with the inland port and the organization as a whole. The inland port sits on 40 acres of the 100-acre site, and Newsome said paving the remaining 60 acres could be necessary as soon as fiscal 2017. And soon, Greer might not be the only South Carolina city to benefit from an inland port, said Newsome. “I will tell you that we are actively looking for other inland port locations,” said Newsome, who did not give a timeframe for the search. “We have in mind some ideas, other places where there are significant pockets that we think could be inland rail-served.” Danner said the city has yet to return to pre-recession levels of growth, but current projections are at much more sustainable levels than before. While the inland port added relatively few direct jobs to Greer, Danner said the inland port has certainly given residential and commercial development a boost because of new business opportunities. “Size-wise, we’re not typically in the running for large industrial facilities, but certainly having the port’s presence has moved us into a different realm on the industrial side,” said Danner, who said he couldn’t begin to count the number of international business and trade delegations he’s hosted in relation to the Inland Port. “In terms of the threelegged stool of residential, commercial and industrial, we now have all three legs.”
4 | THE RUNDOWN |
TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK
UBJ
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09.25.2015
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 39 Featured this issue: Brewers share challenges, rewards of starting up in SC 8 Front row: Greenville Planning Commission meeting 12 From Smockadot Kids to Preppy and Personalized 20
MONEY SHOT: The plan for the public space of the massive Greenville Water System development includes a sculpture representing the morning thanksgiving Cherokees give for water. Read more on page 12.
WORTH REPEATING
TBA
On hockey and economic development
“It’s more money than you think it should be, and some money on top of that.” Page 8 “If you can explain science to a child, then you really understood it. If you can’t explain it to a child, then keep working on it.” Page 10 “One big thing I’ve learned is, it’s not how much you sell, but how much profit you make.” Page 20
VERBATIM
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” Attributed to Wayne Gretzky, hockey legend
Look for a new Honey
Baked Ham Company and Café arriving soon at 404 Fairview Road, Simpsonville.
“That is probably the best definition of economic development I’ve ever heard.” Lee Fisher, president of CEOs for Cities.
09.25.2015
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
| VENTURE CAPITAL | 5
VC Weekend tackles Upstate’s access to capital problem Euphoria festival was backdrop for two days designed to ‘blow them away’ ASHLEY BONCIMINO | STAFF
aboncimino@communityjournals.com The Upstate put her best foot forward this weekend, and not only for the thousands of foodies at Euphoria. For the fifth year in a row, business leaders hosted an elite group of venture capitalists for a Venture Capital Weekend, aimed at showcasing the region’s growing entrepreneurial scene and business climate. “There is very little VC funding in the whole Southeast, so it’s a little hard to access,” said NEXT President and CEO John Moore, who took over the event from the city after its first year. “Our companies are still raising capital successfully from here; we just need to make it easier.” South Carolina ranked 29th in the country for venture capital dollars invested in 2014, coming to $47.7 million over five deals, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers. While larger states such as California regularly rank highest ($27.2 billion in 2014), South Carolina ranked even lower in venture capital per capita at 37th in the country. “We’re showing them the entrepreneurial ecosystem that’s grown here. What’s going on with capital, what’s going on with facilities, what’s going on with
Matt Dunbar (left), managing director of the Upstate Carolina Angel Network, moderates a discussion with visiting venture capitalists. Photo by John Moore
talent,” said Moore. “We’re showing them that we have venture-ready companies, and then this is also relationship-building for them.” The idea originated with a brainstorming session several years ago where entrepreneurs, city leaders and businesses identified four areas to improve in the local innovation ecosystem, he said. Michael Kerski, planning and development manager for the City of
Greenville, deserves credit for the idea, said Moore. Now in its fifth year, the VC weekend ran Thursday and Friday and included facility visits, business meetings and cultural highlights alongside Euphoria festivities designed to “blow them away” with the region. In past years, the VC weekend has resulted in investments, and there are several investment prospects just from this past weekend, he said. One guest said he wished he had heard of some of the region’s businesses sooner so he could have invested earlier, according to Moore. This year, NEXT appointed a committee to draft invitations and plan schedules. In past years, the goal was just to get people to come, but they’ve been able to be more selective as the success builds, said Moore. “We were looking this year to have a little more balance between software and tech and life sciences,” said Moore. “We’re trying to be sure the capital we bring here is more aligned with the companies that we have.” Even if they don’t immediately invest, he said, they go out and spread the word about the Upstate afterward. “It’s about getting on their radar screen,” said Moore. “This was our most successful year yet.”
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6 | SUSTAINABILITY |
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09.25.2015
Table to farm Event seeks to connect post-consumer food waste generators and compost consumers some is sold; however, much is left over and must be added to the landfill. “We can generate 35,000 tons each year, but only Tires, glass and metal are diverted away from 3,500 tons goes out to the market,” she said. It is the Twin Chimneys Landfill in Greenville County not efficient to pile up any excess yard waste because through recycling programs, but what it must be managed carefully, “or it will catch on about the banana peels, vegetable trimmings and fire,” said Papin. yard waste? The landfill has approximately 8 About 20 percent of what acres available to run a food comgoes into landfills is food waste posting operation, and finding a and another 20 percent is company to run composting would other organic waste, according be an excellent public-private partto Marcia Papin, Greenville estimated number of food waste nership, said Papin. County solid waste manager. generators in South Carolina “Co-locating a food waste comTo connect partners who can poster with a wood waste facility help divert organic material is a perfect market,” said Papin. from the landfill, get it to An ideal capacity for a composting compost operations and sell operation would be approximatethe product, the SC Departly 8,000 tons annually, she said. ment of Commerce is hosting estimated total tons of organic food A composter with a controlled a Food Waste Recovery Net- waste generated statewide yearly recipe could optimize the time it working Event. takes to “cure” the compost and A composting operation can Source – SC Dept. of Commerce, South Carolina get it ready for sale, she said. Food Waste Generation Report, April 2015 use the woody mulch ground Atlas Organics is reportedly from yard waste at the landfill and mix it with post-coninvestigating an operation in the Upstate. sumer food waste, creating a rich humus, said Anna SIMPLE SEPARATION Lange, recycling market development manager with Preparing organic material for composting is as the SC Department of Commerce. simple as tossing food scraps and biodegradable The Oct. 6 event is designed to connect suppliers of material into a different bin, said Lange. Compostwood waste, food waste generators, haulers, composting operations now exist in Columbia and Charlesing operators and purchasers of the end product, like ton; however, food waste generators in the Upstate landscapers, nurseries or farmers, said Lange. often haul their waste to Asheville, she said. A MATERIAL TO SPARE composting operation in Greenville County could The Twin Chimneys landfill operation now grinds serve the entire Upstate, said Lange. just enough mulch to meet the market need, said In addition to those who send their organic waste to Papin. Some is given away to county residents and other operations, several food waste producers could APRIL A. MORRIS | STAFF
amorris@communityjournals.com
6,348
625,322
come on board fairly quickly, she said. “Publix is a strong leader already separating its food waste,” she said. Publix’s sustainability manager is set to speak at the Oct. 6 event along with representatives from Loaves and Fishes, Divergent Energy, Elemental Impact, Atlas Organics, Junk Matters and Feed and Seed. This “matchmaking” event, which also includes speed networking, will put all the stakeholders in the same room and allow them to determine how they can collaborate, said Lange. In addition to the recent federal announcement to reduce food waste, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has set a statewide goal of having 40 percent of waste recycled by 2020, she said. “Right now it hovers at about 30,” she said. If food waste could be diverted and recycled into compost, she said, “this would get us there.”
ENGAGE OCT
6
Table to Farm: Upstate Composting and Food Waste Recovery
Greenville County Square 301 University Ridge, Suite 400 sccomposting.eventbrite.com Speakers: • Publix sustainability manager Kim Brunson • Loaves and Fishes director Paulette Dunn • Divergent Energy business development director Scott Harke • Elemental Impact’s Holly Elmore • Junk Matters founder Joseph McMillin • Atlas Organics president Gary Nihart • Feed and Seed director Mike McGarr
TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE POWER OF THE COMMERCE CLUB ONE MEMBERSHIP
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| WORKFORCE AND M&A | 7
A different type of reconnaissance
GBS Building Supply to be acquired by US LBM Holdings
RECON SC offers vets chance to translate military experience into workplace assets
STAFF REPORT
CINDY LANDRUM | STAFF
clandrum@communityjournals.com Veterans and active duty military personnel will go on a different type of reconnaissance mission on Oct. 1. RECON SC is a daylong career planning and professional development conference that is free for veterans and active duty military personnel, National Guard members and their spouses. The event at the Kroc Center in Greenville is designed to help service personnel identify their inherent traits and translate their military experience into the talents they offer employers. One-third of the state’s veteran population, or more than 100,000 people, live in the Upstate. Participants will be given CareerChoiceGPS, a predictive career assessment, to help identify which career fields are statistically and objectively the best fit for their talents. “This event is about more than finding a job,” said Mindy Espey, senior consultant with Smart Work |
Network, a sponsor of the event. “It’s about finding a purpose. Before you can arrive at a destination – in this case, a career – you need to determine what direction you’re going, and that’s what RECON SC is all about.” During RECON SC, participants will assess career “fit” and be introduced to educational and career opportunities they may not have considered previously. “Many employers have a difficult time understanding how military jobs relate to their businesses,” said Jane Allen, CEO of Smart Work | Network. RECON SC will help veterans to more easily communicate their value to civilian employers, she said. Workshops for human resource managers and staffing professionals are designed to help employers learn more about the abilities veterans have to offer. RECON SC is free and open to all South Carolina active duty military, reservists, National Guard members and veterans as well as business executives and staffing professionals. Registration is required for the assessment and lunch. Visit insideblackbox. com/recon-sc.
This week, US LBM Holdings LLC announced its intent to acquire GBS Building Supply of Greenville from its employee shareholders. The acquisition is expected to close on Oct. 5, 2015, US LBM said in a statement. Bob Barreto will continue leading GBS’s day-to-day operations with his existing team in his current role as CEO and president, the statement said. Other terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 1972 by a group of South Carolina-based homebuilders, GBS today operates six locations across the Carolinas supplying windows, doors, stone, roofing, siding, millwork, lock hardware, columns, trim, moldings, cabinetry, countertops, decking and railing, gypsum, lumber and plywood, insulation, and other building materials. In addition, GBS Building Supply operates a custom molding and millwork center and offers kitchen design services and floor system design. “GBS is excited to join the US LBM team,” said Barreto. “This new partnership allows us to continue to invest in operations and enhance customer service at all our locations. The opportunity
Bob Barreto, CEO and president of GBS
for growth for our employees, customers, and vendor partners is extraordinary.” “GBS Building Supply is a great addition to the US LBM family and continues our strategy to diversify from both a product and geographical perspective,” said L.T. Gibson, president and CEO of US LBM. “GBS has a proven team with a history of success. We are excited to partner with their associates and look forward to future opportunities together in the region.” Headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., US LBM is a collection of building materials distributors across North America.
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8 | BREWING & FINANCE |
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INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
Sudsy startups
BEER BOOM
Brewers share challenges and rewards of new beverage biz
IN THE WORKS
ingly craft beer-friendly. His brewery’s goal is to esAPRIL A. MORRIS | STAFF tablish a tasting room and then pursue distribution amorris@communityjournals.com at local stores, he said. Before a brewer hands a cool pint across the Brian and Nicole Cendrowski of Fireforge are polished bar at a tasting room or restaurant, he or moving toward creating a tasting room that focuses she faces multiple challenges. Founders of Birds Fly on hospitality and experience, they said. The conSouth Ale Project, 13 Stripes and Fireforge brewerfluence of activity in establishing an operation can ies recently gathered to share insights from their be a challenge, said Brian Cendrowski. journey to launch brewing operations in the Upstate. Reeves agreed, saying that funding, space, legal Capital is one of the largest challenges in beginning issues, purchasing equipment and finding backers a brewery, said Shawn Johnson of Birds Fly South: can happen all at the same time. An urgency to ac“It’s more money than you think it should be, and complish it all exists, said Brian Cendrowski, “We’re some money on top of that.” Johnson, who said his losing money because we’re not open and not selling.” first goal was to produce beer, is currently contract Reeves said a surprising success was the commubrewing at longtime producer Thomas Creek nity support and responsiveness of a traditional Brewery. The next step is investing capital to establender. The generosity of friends and family along lish a physical location, he said. with a speedy welcome from the Upstate commuKenworth Reeves, nity were surprising, said Nicole Cendrowski. “It ENGAGE cofounder of 13 makes us more excited and more driven,” said Brian Stripes Brewery, said Cendrowski. Johnson said he was surprised at how SEP funding is a chalgood it feels to brew – “to make a product and people Taste test lenge along with respond to it.” finding a suitable All of the brewers said the key to getting started Sept. 26, 2-6 p.m. location, which he and sustaining a brewing business is developing reCarolina Brew HaHa, will announce soon. lationships, creating a quality product, gaining local Anderson Reeves added that community support and developing a loyal “tribe.” carolinabrewhaha.com banks are surprisRecent state legislation supporting breweries is opening up the market, but more can be done, specifically a lowering of excise tax and self-distribution, what Brian Cendrowski calls “the Holy Grail.” Though there are multiple more Upstate breweries in the works, they all bring something unique and the market is far from saturated, they said. “We bring a personal touch to a manufactured product,” From left, brewing entrepreneurs Shawn Johnson, said Johnson. Kenworth Reeves and Nicole and Brian Cendrowski.
26
GFCU finalizes Pelham Road branch renovation STAFF REPORT
Greenville Federal Credit Union will celebrate the renovation of its branch at 3375 Pelham Road with an open house event Sept. 25. The newly renovated Pelham Road Branch is the first of all four branch locations to undergo a major overhaul and investment for Greenville Federal Credit Union. “Our goal with this new service model is to provide more options and reduce wait times to create a better
overall experience for all members and visitors,” said Paul Hughes, president of the credit union. With the Pelham Road Branch renovation project complete, the project will shift to the remaining three branches. Renovations are underway at the Mauldin Road Branch and the Greer and Wade Hampton Branch renovations are expected to be complete by the end of 2016. The open house will begin at 9 a.m. and last through 4 p.m.
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09.25.2015
Monkey Wrench Brewing: Considering an Upstate
location for its new microbrewery focusing on American and Belgian styles with a garage, tool or repair brand theme. Seeking to find a location (maybe along the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail) within the next month.
Loose Reed Brewing Co.: Reportedly opening in Greenville
Brews: From Anderson Bine & Vine team, this
Seneca-sited spot will serve up both coffee and craft brew, slated for late 2015 opening in Ram Cat Alley.
Upstate Craft Beer Co.: Nanobrewery, brewpub and self-brewing operation is moving forward in construction on Augusta Street, Greenville. Carolina Bauernhaus: Preparing its space in Anderson after codes delays and expecting taproom opening in late October. 13 Stripes Brewery: Will announce location soon, reportedly in Taylors. Fireforge: Eyeing Upstate location for summer 2016 opening.
OPEN AND GROWING Brewery 85 reports it is close to installing a canning line. RJ Rockers recently rolled out its signature Son of a Peach in cans.
Hub City Tap House and Ciclops Cyderi, the Upstate’s first cidery, opened recently in Spartanburg.
Blue Ridge Brewing Co. is slated to open a second location on Trade Street in downtown Greer in late 2015.
09.25.2015
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INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
| HOSPITALITY | 9
3 decades on the grill Fuddruckers of Spartanburg celebrates 30 years Alan and Lee Ann Johnston celebrate 30 years in business at their Spartanburg Fuddruckers location.
SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com Fuddruckers of Spartanburg is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month with a daylong celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The fast-casual restaurant located at 1509 John B. White Sr. Blvd. was opened in September 1985 by Upstate natives Allen and Lee Ann Johnston, franchise owners of The Butcher The Baker Management Co. Their company has grown to include eight Fuddruckers in three states (six in South Carolina with locations in Spartanburg, Greenville, Greer, Anderson, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, one in Matthews, N.C., and one in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) along with six Bojangles’ franchises in the Upstate under the company Chix and Bix LLC. After years of working in the restaurant business, the Johnstons met local businessman Jerry Richardson, the largest Hardees franchisee in the country (now founder and owner of the Carolina Panthers). Richardson recruited the Johnstons to work for his new family steakhouse concept called Quincy’s, Lee Ann as his administrative assistant and Allen as district manager, overseeing five Quincy’s restaurants in Spartanburg. “We can’t imagine that it’s been 30 years already,” said Lee Ann Johnston. “We remember so many things about that special day when we first opened, and we’re still serving the world’s greatest hamburgers.”
Lee Ann Johnston credits their success to their employees and staff. “We’ve had amazing people along the way.” At 30 years, the Johnstons – and the Spartanburg location – are the oldest Fuddruckers franchisee, said Lee Ann Johnston. The Spartanburg location was recently renovated to include new furniture, new signage and a fresh look, said Lee Ann Johnston. “We offer fresh meat, fresh produce and hand-roll each bun every single day. It’s only fitting that we also keep our restaurants fresh.” In honor of the 30th anniversary, special promotions will be offered at all Upstate Fuddruckers locations. The 30 Years of Celebration event will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Spartanburg location from 11 a.m.-8 p.m., with a special presentation at 1 p.m. The event will include day-of anniversary promotions as well as games, giveaways and kids activities. B93.7 radio will be on site with entertainment. “We want to share the fun with everyone,” said Allen and Lee Ann Johnston. “Thirty years is a big deal, so we’re going all-out to celebrate. It only seems right, since we host so many celebrations and milestones at our restaurants. This business was built on community, and we want to share our success and gratitude with everyone.”
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10 | DIALOGUE |
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EAVESDROPPING ON CONVERSATIONS AND WORDS OF INSIGHT
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09.25.2015
3 legends of Internet access PIONEERS IN INNOVATION: THREE LEGENDS OF INTERNET ACCESS Part of the Johnson Innovation Speaker Series with USC Upstate’s George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics
DENNIS HAYES
ESTHER DYSON
DAVID PENSAK
Spartanburg native and inventor of the first PC modem, which facilitated the technology shift leading up to the modern computing landscape. The Smithsonian has had an exhibit dedicated to Hayes and his invention, and he was inducted into the CRN Computer Hall of Fame for his contributions to the industry. Hayes’s current venture, Hayes Security, provides cybersecurity consulting services, as well as functional testing services for software companies. Founding board member for the Georgia Research Alliance, founder of the Georgia High Tech Alliance, founder of the U.S. Internet Industry Association.
Venture capitalist, businesswoman, philanthropist and technology visionary; founding chairman of ICANN, which registers web addresses; funder of HICCup, organization behind Way to Wellville accelerator; board seats include 23andMe, Meetup, Pressreader, Voxiva, Yandex, the Long Now Foundation, the Sunlight Foundation and the Personal Genome Project; member of World Economic Forum and Global Agenda Council on Fostering Entrepreneurship; studied economics at Harvard University.
Developer of the first commercially successful Internet firewalls at Raptor Systems, 30-year advanced computer security and computer architecture researcher at DuPont; taught at the Wharton School of Business, George Washington University School of Law, Drexel University School of Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University College of Medicine, University of Delaware Business School; studied chemistry at Princeton university and received both a masters and Ph.D. from Harvard University, both in chemistry.
“A lot of the innovations that I’ve seen in business started with figuring out how to ask the right question. … If you’ve learned how to ask the right question to begin with and focus your energy on that question … there’s a chance you can find the right answer to be productive.” “If you can explain science to a child, then you really understood it. If you can’t explain it to a child, then keep working on it.”
“If we just implemented all the technology we’ve got … that would change the world much more than any awesome innovations.” “Google helps you find what you’re looking for. What you really need is something more like a map. … You need framework and architecture rather than simply points.”
“I’ve reached a point where I have no idea what’s on my computer … We desperately need someone to help us organize what we’ve got and to help us find what we haven’t.” “If they’re not having fun with what they’re doing, then you as the parent, as the manager, are doing something wrong.” (referring to what longtime family friend Albert Einstein said about raising children with curiosity) “The first firewall was conceived in the backseat of a cab in New York City.”
09.25.2015
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com |
| SQUARE FEET | 11 @SJackson_CJ
Stone Ave. building gets much-needed makeover United Office Building, before renovation.
Driving along Stone Avenue in downtown Greenville, you may have seen the recent transformation of an old building. Originally built in the 1950s, the former United Office Building at 217 E. Stone Ave. was in poor condition. Office space was being rented out by the month with no leases in place, and the two-story building hadn’t been renovated in years, said Eric Tuscan of Stone Avenue Partners, which purchased the building in March 2015.
Interior hallway, before renovation.
Stone Avenue Office Suites, after renovation.
But Tuscan saw a diamond in the rough and took on the challenge. “I’m a big believer in the Stone Avenue and Wade Hampton corridors and wanted to see an adaptive reuse for the building,” he said. Since 2007 he has redeveloped several dilapidated buildings, including 300 E. Stone, now Universal Joint; 225 E. Stone, now Bo Stegall Salon; and 103 Wade Hampton, now 2Dye4 Salon. In the latest project, Stone Avenue Partners re-
Interior hallway, after renovation.
cently completed extensive interior renovations to the building, including new signage, carpeting, lighting, painting and A/C upgrades. Outside, the building has been painted and plans call for additional landscaping, lighting and signage still to be completed. A break room will also be added in the next 30 to 60 days, said Tuscan. With most of the former tenants gone, Tuscan has partnered with John Gray and Drew Stamm at NAI Earle Furman to market the executive suites to young professionals and smaller independent businesses who like the urban setting and walkable environment, especially with The Universal Joint across the street. Rebranded as the Stone Avenue Office Suites, the update has 48 offices, 41 parking spaces and 10 current tenants. Office sizes range from 150 square feet to 450 square feet, some with adjoining doors. Rents range from $215 up to $1,000 monthly for three offices together overlooking Stone Avenue. Leases are one-year terms and include Internet and electricity. “Stone Avenue has always been a big proponent of small-business owners,” said Tuscan. “As Stone Avenue continues to grow, I feel a unique product catering to the small-business owner will help bring business and growth to the area.”
12 | SQUARE FEET |
SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
FRONT ROW
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
sjackson@communityjournals.com |
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09.25.2015
@SJackson_CJ
Greenville Planning Commission Recap of the Sept. 17 meeting
Is building slowing down in Greenville? Probably not – but there does appear to be a lull in new activity this month. Or maybe it’s just everyone taking a deep breath with all the flurry of movement we’ve seen this summer. Regardless, the September meeting of the City of Greenville Planning Commission had only four items on the agenda, and all were approved.
ment” and unanimously approved the application with those conditions.
Plan for the public space of the Greenville Water System development.
GREENVILLE WATER SYSTEM REDEVELOPMENT This application is for DUPLEXES AT ANDERSON STREET AND the final development ARLINGTON AVENUE plan for the public space This application was for a new subdivision at the of the massive Greencorner of Anderson Street and Arlington Avenue, ville Water System detaking three lots and making them three duplexes velopment that is unfor a total of six units. The project was approved. derway. The project was More on this one in UBJ Square Feet this week. designated a planned development, meaning that any major changes have to come back to the PC. Changes to the design include eliminating a planned amphitheater and including more landscaped open spaces and a public art sculpture. PC board member Meg Terry had a conflict of interest on this one, so she stepped out while the application was heard. The amphitheater was scrapped as planners didn’t think it would get much use, especially if the new proposed city park is built nearby. If you doubted the city was getting on board with the park yet, city staff said in the PC meeting that they are making sure “the sidewalks are wide enough for a pedestrian walkway” to the park. Rendering of the planned Brownstones at Anderson and Arlington. The amphitheater space was replaced with a large front lawn and a second “meanNEW APARTMENT COMMUNITY AT dering lawn,” creating multiuse areas that can ac301 WOODRUFF ROAD commodate a temporary stage, tents and chairs. I wrote about this one pretty extensively in last Also in the new plan is a sculpture of a Cherokee month’s recap when the PC voted to table the applithat apparently has been 12 years in the making and cation. Since then, the developer and architect met already approved by the Arts in Public Places Comwith city staff and came up with a plan they think mittee. The sculpture represents the morning would work. thanksgiving the Cherokees give for water. City staff The new plan submitted only has 199 apartments said it will be the “first main piece in the city repre(the original plan had 278), which is all that can be senting Cherokee Indians.” The plan shows the built due to the lack of a secondary access point to sculpture flanked by one fountain (rather than the the complex that would be needed. three included in previous plans) with three water A building was also removed in the updated plans flows representing the three watersheds in the (a major breakthrough, said the architect in the meeting) to break up what was perceived as “a wall of buildings” on the side facing the new extension of the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail. More brick was also added, and the vents that caused a lengthy discussion last month were moved so they will not be facing parking or the trail. City staff recommended approval of the design as long as changes are made to the placement of some garages and additional landscape screening is added. The PC said the design was “definitely an improve-
Upstate (all with Cherokee names), said Jay Martin with Arbor Engineering. The PC board asked if any green/sustainability options would be used in the development. Handicapped parking spaces will be semi-permeable, and enhanced plant areas with native plants will be used to limit the amount of irrigation. One person spoke against the project, saying neighbors are concerned that the park area has been reduced to “walking your dog and picnics.” He also said the project is not a true mixed-use development because it doesn’t have any residential. The city responded by saying that residential isn’t required as part of mixed use, the project has office and public space, and the green space is still a park. This one has to go before City Council before it’s official, and the PC approved it. Mike Keller voted “no,” but did not say why. EAST EARLE STREET PROJECT The only way to describe this proposal is a jumbled mess – not because of the project, but because of the zoning of the lots. The application asked for a portion of one lot to be rezoned from R-6, single family residential, to OD, office and institutional; the remainder of that lot to remain R-6 and be combined with an adjoining lot; and another lot to be rezoned from C-2, commercial, to OD. But out of that muddle arose something beautiful – or at least a much better plan than previously proposed for the site that at one time included a video poker store and other businesses not suited to the neighborhood. The new plans were submitted by Michael Middleton, a Marine Corps veteran of 20 years who >>
Plans for the apartment community at 301 Woodruff Road.
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SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
>> grew up in Greenville and is planning on settling in the North Main neighborhood. Middleton intends to put an office building on a portion of the property that will house his small software business and other office space that he will rent out. For the rest of the property, he said others have expressed interest in building a home. Middleton drew a surprising amount of public support. Several people spoke – not in opposition to the application, which is usually the case in these meetings, but in favor of it. One lady said she owns the lot directly behind the property and has led
REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
sjackson@communityjournals.com | opposition to its development for the past 20 years. She is happy that it’s not going to be “a 7-11 or a bail bondsman” and is now “very excited about this project and thinks it will be a very nice addition to the neighborhood.” James Elrod said he lived on Earle Street for over 40 years and has owned property there for even longer, buying property because “he wanted the right thing to be done there.” He said Middleton’s project would be a very professional building and will enhance Wade Hampton and Earle Street, he said. No one spoke in opposition. The PC asked Mid-
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dleton why the application didn’t extend the Col. Elias Earle Preservation Overlay District to the whole property. Middleton said he’s open to that but would like to get the building built first and then do what’s necessary to expand into the preservation district as he doesn’t want anything to hold up construction. PC members said the design works well and the family connections to the neighborhood means it’s not a “fly-by-night operation.” The panel recommended approval as this one moves forward to City Council for final approval. That’s it for now. See you next month.
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com |
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@SJackson_CJ
6 units planned for Brownstones at Anderson and Arlington Greenville homebuilder Quinn Satterfield
break ground in spring 2016. The local homebuilder also owns several other lots scattered across downtown and in Travelers Rest and plans to build homes at a lower price point, around $249,000, for younger buyers and those who can’t afford a higher price tag. “There’s a huge market for that type of product. We’re really missing out on those opportunities,” he said. t
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needs, as they will be on an L-shaped piece of land behind the others, said Quinn. The buildings are a Davenport design which features flanking steps to the entry. Driveway access will be in the rear and a courtyard area will be between two of the buildings. The project was approved last week by the Planning Commission. Quinn said he expects to
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Builders is bringing six new homes to the corner of Anderson Street and Arlington Avenue in downtown Greenville. The Brownstones at Anderson and Arlington will have three three-story buildings with six “duets” – a term Rick Quinn is using instead of “duplexes” because units will be for sale, not rent, as is often the case with duplexes, he said. Each unit will be individually owned, and a neighborhood association will be established to take care of the common areas. “There’s something special about building a smaller house with nice options,” said Quinn. “We want to put a really good product out there at a fair price.” Pricing will begin around $480,000. Preliminary plans have four of the units (the two buildings fronting Anderson Street) having three bedrooms and 3-1/2 baths with a laundry, bedroom and full bath on the first floor; living room, dining room, kitchen and half-bath on the second floor; and two full bedrooms and bathrooms, including the master, on the third level. Each unit will have an elevator shaft built in with an optional elevator available. The remaining two units may be able to be a little larger and configurable, depending on customer
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
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DEALMAKERS Commercial real estate transactions in the Upstate SPENCER/HINES PROPERTIES ANNOUNCED: Scott Manhoff and Craig Jacobs represented the seller, Intermark Bentley LLC, in the sale of the 272-unit Bentley at Broad River Apartments on 17.6 AC in Columbia to RealSource Property Consulting LLC. COLDWELL BANKER COMMERCIAL CAINE ANNOUNCED: Pete Brett represented the seller, Twister 118 LLC, in the sale of 1.256 AC at Clemson Town Center, Old Greenville Hwy., Clemson, to Founders Federal Credit Union. Pete Brett, David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the seller, South State Bank, in the sale of a 10,225 SF retail center on 1.2 AC at 403 Miller Road, Mauldin, to Bobby M. Safrit II. Charles Humphreys represented the seller, Reeves Family LP, in the sale of a 1,062 SF office/ retail building on 0.282 AC at 1302 Laurens Road, Greenville, to Davis & Meyers LLC. Charles Humphreys represented the seller, Reeves Family LP, in the sale of 0.465 AC at 1103 Laurens Road, Greenville, to Waite PM LLC. Charles Humphreys and Sammy DuBose represented the seller, Barbara B. Selvy, in the sale of a 4,900 SF industrial flex building on 0.77 AC at 872 Woodruff Road, Greenville, to Douglas E. Sprayberry. George Zimmerman represented, the seller, Connector Holdings LLC, in the sale of 114.833 AC along I-185, Piedmont, to Acadia LLC. Pete Brett, David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the buyer, Thomasville National Bank, in the purchase of a 3,290 SF office building on 0.574 AC at 706 E. Washington St., Greenville, from Chudrow Empire LLC.
Tim Satterfield and Angela Halstead represented the seller, Christina M. Nelson, in the sale of a 15,000 SF industrial building on 5 AC at 597 Ford Road, Gaffney, to Friesen US Holdings Inc. Tim Satterfield and Angela Halstead represented the seller, Penny B. Hucks, in the sale of a 1,200 SF residential dwelling at 601-603 Wildwood Road, Spartanburg, to TS by W Inc. Tim Satterfield and Angela Halstead represented the seller, Luthi Construction Company Inc., in the sale of a 1,800 SF office building on 0.2 AC at 361 E. Henry St., Spartanburg, to Thomasville National Bank. Tim Satterfield and Angela Halstead represented the buyer, 127 W. Main LLC, in the purchase of a 26,000 SF retail building on 0.3 AC at 127 W. Main St., Spartanburg, from CBNA-SC LLC. David Sigmon, Sammy DuBose and Matt Vanvick represented the tenant, South Carolina Children’s Theatre, in leasing a 4,400 SF industrial space at 127 Industrial Drive, Greenville, from Lullwater Syndicate Inc. David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the tenant, Body Image Fitness, in leasing a 2,400 SF retail space at 209 E. Butler Road, Mauldin, from Mallika Vejay. David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the landlord, George J. Howard Jr., in leasing a 1,260 SF retail space at 738 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, to Old Crow Barbershop. Pete Brett represented the tenant, The Ebicycle Store LLC, in leasing a 855 SF retail space at 550 S. Main St., Suite 201, Greenville, from RiverPlace Office LLC. Pete Brett represented the tenant, Global View Investment Advisors, in leasing a 4,330 SF office space at 420 E. Park Ave., Suite 303, Greenville, from SC Telco Federal Credit Union.
Pete Brett, David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the landlord, Immanuel LLC, in leasing a 1,200 SF retail space at Hillcrest Marketplace Shopping Center, 687 NE Main St., Simpsonville, to Telecell NC LLC. Pete Brett, David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the tenant, Spice Society LLC, in leasing a 2,350 SF industrial flex space at 188-B Kerns Ave., Greenville, from Roy F. Vaughn. David Sigmon and Matt Vanvick represented the landlord, Mountain City Land & Improvement Co. LLC, in leasing a 1,685 SF office space at Innovate, 148 River St., Suite 205, Greenville, to Broadstreet Partners LLC. Pete Brett represented the tenant, Shuckin Shack Oyster Bar, in leasing a 2,530 SF restaurant space at Earth Fare Plaza, 3620 Pelham Road, Unit 4, Greenville, from Central Realty Holdings LLC. Rick Cauthen, P.E. represented the landlord, Harpro Properties LLC, in leasing a 1,270 SF office space at 101-B Augusta St., Greenville, to Greenville Arts Festival Inc. LEE & ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCED: Bryon Culbertson represented the landlord, Joel Harris Sporting Goods Center Inc., in leasing a 17,266 SF retail space at 991 Bypass 123, Seneca, to Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. Bill Durrell represented the seller, Simpsonville Medical Offices LLC, in the 0.126 AC sale of 672 Fairview Road, Simpsonville, to Buckley Enterprises LLC. Kevin Bentley represented the buyer, Dennis A. Barry Jr., in purchasing 0.35 AC at 2 Winchester Court, Mauldin, from Byte Software Services LLC. Randall Bentley represented the seller, 699 Fairview, LLC, in the 13,200 SF sale of 535 Brookshire Road, Greer, to Marion T. Burnside and
Mary Blakely Hendricks. Kevin Bentley represented the tenant, Enertouch, Inc. DBA GoodCents Solutions, in the 3,120 SF lease of 197 Ridgeview Center Drive, Suite A, Duncan, from Principal Group LLC. Randall Bentley represented the landlord, Corpro Properties LLC, in the 6,384 SF lease of 8501 Pelham Road, Greenville, to Southern Lubricants Inc. Randall Bentley represented the landlord, SEPP Inc., in the 2,674 SF lease of 1110 W. Butler Road, Suite C, Greenville, to Opsource LLC. Deanna Hudgens represented the tenant, 111 Blackstock LLC, in the 2,670 SF lease of 111 E. Blackstock Road, Suite 300, Spartanburg, to N Touch Wireless Inc. Ashley Trantham represented the landlords, Ann Stephens and Betsy Lancaster, in the 2,000 SF lease of 109 W Trade St., Suite A, Simpsonville, to Mantis Homes LLC. Bryon Culbertson and Bill Durrell represented the landlord, Naveen & Vinita LLC, in the 2,270 SF lease of 213 E. Butler Road, Suite B-1, Mauldin, to ACS Technologies Group Inc.
Benji Smith and Josh Tew represented the tenant, Coveris Flexibles US LLC, in leasing 19,522 SF of office space at Patewood Building IV, 50 International Drive, Greenville, for their Financial Shared Service Center. Josh Tew represented the buyer, Oak Tree Ventures LLC, in purchasing three quadplexes at 1433, 1435, and 1437 FernwoodGlendale Road, Spartanburg.
Josh Tew represented the landlord in the lease
Josh Tew represented the landlord in the lease renewal of 2,500 SF of office space to Bellspring Inc. d/b/a JM Services at 4015 Pelham Court, Greer. AVISON YOUNG ANNOUNCED: John Odom and Rakan Draz represented the tenant, Honey Baked Ham Company and CafĂŠ, in leasing 2,000 SF of retail space at 404 Fairview Road, Simpsonville, from Brixmor Fairview Corners LLC. John Odom, Rakan Draz and Rob Howell represented the seller, CBNA-SC LLC, in the sale of 2.29 AC of land at Suber Road at Town Center Drive in Greer to Bentley Properties LLC. John Odom, Rakan Draz and Rob Howell represented the seller, All Seasons Properties LLC, in the sale of 2 AC of land at Clark Drive and Hyatt Street in Gaffney to Allison & Sunei. John Odom and Rakan Draz represented the landlord, Robert P. Harling, in leasing a 820 SF office space at 308 Ridgeland Drive, Greenville, to City Center Counseling LLC.
FLAGSHIP PROPERTIES ANNOUNCED:
Josh Tew represented the landlord in leasing 3,830 SF of office space to JDM Pioneering LLC at 6 and 8 Parkway Commons, Greer.
expansion/renewal of 2,290 SF of office space to PalmettoHealthPro LLC at 1559 and 1561 Laurens Road, Greenville.
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCED: Jake Jackson represented the landlord in a lease renewal of 8,129 SF of office space at 3 Independence Pointe, Greenville, to Integrated Power Services LLC. Jake Jackson and Brantley Anderson represented the landlord in leasing 2,350 SF at 16 Mills Ave., Greenville, to Carolina Active Health Chiropractic Inc. Frank Hammond and Nick Reinhardt represented the landlord in leasing 2,000 SF of office space at Riverside Office Park to Hillcrest Behavioral Medicine PA.
DEALMAKERS continued on PAGE 16
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
DEALMAKERS Continued from page 15 Lynn Tyner represented the landlord in a lease renewal of 30,000 SF of warehouse space to Integrated Courier Solutions at 46 Freedom Court, Greer.
UBJ
O BEAUTIFUL...
NAI EARLE FURMAN ANNOUNCED: Ross Kester and Tyson Smoak represented the landlord, Enigma Corporation, in leasing a 5,816 SF office space at 135 Botanical Circle, Travelers Rest, to Spartanburg Regional Health Services.
Keith Jones and Kelly Sullivan represented the landlord, Michael Lindsay Properties LLC, in leasing a 1,814 SF office space in EastPark at Pelham to Bertrandt US Inc. Dan Dunn represented the landlord, Rose and Walter Montgomery Foundation, in leasing a 2,765 SF office space at Pointe West in Spartanburg to Utility Technology Engineers Consultants. Stuart Wyeth, Alexi Papapieris and Taylor Allen represented the landlord, Terra Parkgreen LLC, in leasing a 12,720 SF office space in Park Central office park in Greenville to Website Pipeline. Towers Rice represented the landlord, Kitchen and Bath of Easley, in the leasing of a 7,875 SF industrial building at 1527 Pelzer Hwy., Easley, to Johnson Electric Co Inc. Scott Jones represented the seller, Milestone Ventures LLC, in the sale of a 16,640 SF office property in Milestone Office Park in Greenville to The Marlin Group Inc. Andrew Babb represented the seller, Magnolia Street LLC, in the sale of 9,850 SF of retail space at 118 & 120 Magnolia St., Spartanburg to EJ Property LLC. John Gray and Drew Stamm represented the seller, Chudrow Empire LLC, in the sale of 3,294 SF of office property to Thomasville National Bank at 706 E. Washington St., Greenville. Glenn Batson represented the seller, Thomas M. Gilstrap Revocable Trust, in the sale of 15,300 SF of industrial space at 111 Pendleton Road, Greenville, to Pendleton Road Properties.
The existing 100-kilovolt tower, shown below, is 80 feet in height and requires 60 feet of right-of-way.
80-ft. Height
Hunter Garrett and John Staunton represented the tenant, Kimura Unity Co. Ltd., in leasing a 101,959 SF industrial space at 700 Buffington Road, Spartanburg.
60-ft. Right-of-Way
Understanding the Scale and Impact of Using an Existing Right-Of-Way Duke Energy has proposed a 45-mile-long high-voltage electrical power transmission line cutting through the mountains and foothills of the Carolinas. Duke has proposed 44 different routes. One option being seriously considered is the use of an existing right-of-way, which on the surface may seem reasonable, but it’s not at all. If selected, this option would require expanding the width of the right-of-way to at least 220 feet and the erection of 240 or more steel towers ranging from 80 feet to 192 feet high. Using an existing right-of-way has more of an impact than you may realize. The equipment and construction requirements for utilizing an existing route will dramatically scar the face of our area forever. A second transmission line, with double-circuited 230-kilovolt conductor cables and towers 80 to 192 feet high, will be placed alongside the existing 80-foot towers. This will require widening the existing right-of-way by at least 160 feet for a total width of 220 feet or more, and increasing the number of towers from about 240 to more than 500.
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
... FOR SPACIOUS SKIES? The proposed 45-mile-long high-voltage electrical power transmission line route will require at least a 220-foot right-of-way and erection of 240 or more additional steel towers ranging in height from 80 to 192 feet, with double-circuited 230-kilovolt conductor cables.
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DEALMAKERS Ross Kester and Tyson Smoak represented the seller, BBW Properties LLC, in the sale of a 10,000 SF industrial property at 180 Tandem Drive, Greer, to Tandem Properties LLC. Gaston Albergotti, Jake Van Gieson and Bill Sims represented the buyer, Bad Company II LLC, in purchasing a 2,400 SF office building and a 2,592 SF industrial building on Laurens Road, Greenville, from Procore Medical LLC. CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD | THALHIMER ANNOUNCED:
192-ft. Height
Brian J. Young and Kacie Jackson represented the landlord in leasing 14,000 SSF of industrial space in Hampton Park at 2819 Wade Hampton Blvd., Taylors, to U.S. Waffle Company Inc. SPECTRUM COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ANNOUNCED: Jack Snedigar represented Kent Worldwide Development in leasing a 3,000 SF space at 25 E. Court St., Greenville, to Kirchner Design Inc. Jack Snedigar represented Kent Worldwide Development in leasing a 1,000 SF corporate office space at 135 S. Main St., Greenville, to CresCom Bank. 220-ft. Right-of-Way
Make Your Voice Heard, Before It’s Too Late Too much is at stake to sit by idly. Home and property values, travel and tourism, water quality, the area’s economy and our quality of life are at risk. No route is a good route, and using an existing right-of-way is not a solution. We understand that Duke Energy has an obligation to provide power, but it can be done in a way that avoids economic and environmental harm to the region. We don’t need a new line anywhere. We don’t need a new substation. Let’s stop Duke now, before it’s too late. Visit the Upstate Forever Website Sign our petition asking Duke to withdraw its proposal: UpstateForever.org | NoLine.org
Write Your NC & SC Public Service Commissions:
Contact your local, state and federal elected representatives and let them know you oppose this project.
South Carolina Public Service Commission: 101 Executive Center Dr., No. 100 Columbia, S.C. 29210
Greenville County Council www.greenvillecounty.org/County_Council/ Spartanburg County Council www.spartanburgcounty.org/govt/depts/cc/index.htm South Carolina State House www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?chamber=S United States House of Representatives www.house.gov/representatives/#state_sc United States Senate www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=SC
North Carolina Utilities Commission: 4325 Mail Service Center Raleigh, N.C. 27699
UPDATE
YAP closes downtown Greenville doors, will open on Poinsett Hwy YAP, a downtown Greenville Malaysian restaurant, has closed its doors at 12 S. Main St. Chef Alex Wong wanted to expand the menu and offer more variety then just Malaysian food, but the Main Street location was not ideal being so close to other Asian restaurants, The Orient and Sushi Murasaki. Wong and his team will make a fresh start by opening Yellow Ginger Asian Kitchen at 2100 J Poinsett Hwy. Yellow Ginger is expected to open in October. No plans have been announced yet for the former YAP space on Main Street.
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UBJ
THE FRESHEST FACES ON THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
“I APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPORT WE’VE RECEIVED FROM THE GREENVILLE COMMUNITY. IN THE WORDS OF THE GREAT VINCE LOMBARDI, ‘INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENT TO A GROUP EFFORT – THAT IS WHAT MAKES A TEAM WORK, A COMPANY WORK, A SOCIETY WORK, A CIVILIZATION WORK.’” - JAMES JORDON JORDON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IS THE GREENVILLE CHAMBER’S SEPTEMBER 2015 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH LEARN MORE AT jordoncompanies.com
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Photos provided
1. Barre3 recently opened at 3014A Augusta St., Greenville. The fitness studio offers one-hour classes that are a combination of yoga, Pilates and ballet barre work. For a schedule and more information, call 864-605-7699 or visit barre3.com/ locations/greenville.
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2. Loggerhead Apparel recently opened at 109 N. Main St., Simpsonville. The company offers coastal lifestyle clothing options and donates a portion of every sale to sea turtle conservation efforts. For more information, visit loggerheadapparel.com. 3. MakeSpace Exchange recently opened at 25 Woods Lake Drive, Suite 818, Greenville. The company offers a studio space for creators to complete projects, host meetings, offer classes and grow their businesses. For more information, visit makerspaceexchange.org.
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The Greenville Chamber salutes our Small Business of the Month. We honor and appreciate all the things that small businesses bring to our community and we are proud to be there for them as well. If you’re in business, you have a partner in us. www.greenvillechamber.org
CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon? Email information to bjeffers@communityjournals.com.
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NAMES FROM YESTERDAY WHO GOT US WHERE WE ARE TODAY
Old South roots, New South mentality Fredrick W. Symmes’ legacy stretches from textiles to Pretty Place Contributed by Rulinda Price Librarian, South Carolina Room, Greenville County Library System
In 1879, Greenville was a vastly different place than it is today. There were no paved roads, no streetlights, no automobiles or buses. The economy was sunk in a deep recession as the nation recovered from the brutal effects of the recent Civil War. A boy who was destined to forever change the quality of life in this city was born that year in a big house at the corner of Buncombe Street and Rutherford Road. His name was Frederick W. Symmes. Symmes was born into a well-established Upstate family. His father, Whitner Symmes, was a successful lawyer who moved his practice from Central, S.C., to Greenville during the 1870s. His grandfather, also named Frederick Symmes, was the personal physician of John C. Calhoun and was editor of the Pendleton Messenger in addition to being a doctor. The late 19th century was a transformative time in Greenville’s history. The local economy was changing as the textile industry expanded in the region. Mills were built and migrant textile workers moved to the city in droves. Symmes was in the perfect position to take advantage of the situation. He attended Furman University for a short while, but his talents clearly tended toward commercial pursuits. His first business, the Symmes-Williams Furniture Company, was begun in 1901, but it was the founding of Nuckasee Manufacturing in 1910 that generated his first real success. Nuckasee Manufacturing was a sewing hall, a type of business closely associated with textile manufacturing. Ready-made clothing was a new concept in the late 1800s, since most garments were handmade before then. Sewing halls became more common following the invention of the sewing machine. Nuckasee Manufacturing was the first sewing hall to be built in Greenville. Situated in the vacant Huguenot Mill, the plant started with 30 employees and grew rapidly. It originally made men’s athletic
undergarments, but soon expanded to include women and children’s underwear. Although it couldn’t be considered glamorous, Symmes’ underwear factory was extremely lucrative and employed about 450 people when it was sold in 1928. By that time, Symmes had started Piedmont Plush Mills, which manufactured draperies and upholstery fabrics. Symmes was associated with other area business ventures as well. He was a member of numerous boards and associations, including Southern Bell, Piedmont Natural Gas, the Greenville Water Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, Poe Manufacturing, Camperdown Mills, the Textile Hall Corporation and several banking institutions. As a businessman he had no equal. He was also an extremely dedicated civic leader. Symmes was instrumental in the 1918 charity drive to help homeless local girls affected by the turmoil of World War I. The Greenacre Home, of which he
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was a longtime board member, and the Greenville Juvenile Protective Association were both established as a result of this effort. Along with L.P. Hollis, he helped establish the Y.M.C.A. camp on Caesar’s Head, furnishing funds in 1941 to construct the beautiful Symmes Chapel, referred to by Greenville natives as “Pretty Place.” Symmes was one of the original members of the endowment to bring the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children to town. As president of the Chamber of Commerce during the 1920s, he campaigned ceaselessly for updated parks and playgrounds. In addition to all this, Fred Symmes was a great friend and benefactor of the Greenville County Library System. Symmes helped create the Greenville Public Library Association, which officially formed on May 2, 1921. Thomas F. Parker was the founder and first chairman of its Board of Trustees. However, when Parker died unexpectedly in 1926, Symmes was elected to serve in his place. Symmes was to hold this office from 1927 until his death in 1957. In 1954, just three years before his death, Symmes established a foundation that was designed to continue to fund charitable institutions in the Upstate. The Symmes Foundation donated $100,000 to the Greenville County Library System in 1965 to purchase and develop property at the corner of Academy and College Streets for a new public library. An additional $500,000 was given during construction in 1968. Opening in 1970, that library became one of the anchors of Heritage Green, Greenville’s cultural campus. The building is now home to The Children’s Museum of the Upstate. Another significant gift to the Greenville County Library System in 1989 helped pave the way for a new location on Greenville’s growing eastside. When the Pelham Road site opened in 1990, it was named the Frederick W. Symmes Branch Library honoring his legacy of leadership and philanthropic support for the Library System. Frederick W. Symmes was a son of the Old South, but he had a New South mentality. The Industrial Revolution in the Upstate was powered by textiles, but the modernization of its society was powered by progressive and forward-thinking visionaries like Frederick W. Symmes.
ENGAGE SEP
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Greenville Textile Heritage Society Annual Festival
25 Heritage Green Place, downtown Greenville scmillhills.com/ gths-special-events
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THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE BUSINESSES
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Whether it’s with Smockadot Kids or Preppy and Personalized, Wendy Turner continues to sew up profits LEIGH SAVAGE | CONTRIBUTOR
Wendy Turner was a busy assistant principal when she became pregnant with triplets. Losing one of the three babies three months after they were born caused her to re-evaluate her personal and professional goals, and she tried to create a more flexible work schedule by founding Greenville-based Smockadot Kids, selling children’s clothing that is “high quality, but a little more affordable for parents.” The company has been through several transformations in recent years, moving away from Facebook sales in 2012 and adding Preppy and Personalized, with women’s clothing, accessories and home decor, that same year. Now, her kids, Matthew and Anna Kate, are first-graders and her business has grown by leaps and bounds, with the new arm of the business shipping 10,000 orders in 2014 and serving customers in more than 40 states. Sales peaked for Smockadot in 2012, when revenues topped $3 million (the company shipped 53,000 orders for Smockadot Kids in 2014), but Turner said she’s been pulling back on volume, “streamlining things and focusing more on items made locally.” Turner has enjoyed the entrepreneurial ride and is continuing to build the business, but is also trying to return to her original reasons for founding the company: “I want to focus more on being with the kids again,” she said. “I’m really focusing on efficiency, because one big thing I’ve learned is, it’s not how much you sell, but how much profit you make.” When did you start Smockadot Kids, and what prompted you to create it? I started Smockadot Kids in 2008. I had given birth to my kids and I wanted something to keep me busy, but I wanted to stay home with them. I was used to going full-tilt and I wanted more flexi- >>
WENDY TURNER Title: CEO/owner, Preppy and Personalized and Smockadot Kids Prior career: Assistant principal at Buena Vista Elementary Education: B.A., Bob Jones University; Master’s degree from Clemson Home state: Massachusetts Family: Husband Brent Turner, kids Matthew and Anna Kate, 7 Facebook followers for Smockadot Kids: 310,929 Site: preppyandpersonalized.com
“Social media is changing things, but at the end of the day, people want to make a connection and get to know the people behind the products.” Wendy Turner
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE BUSINESSES
>> bility. I’m not a designer, but my friends and I just had an eye for what we wanted to dress our kids in. You sell primarily from your website. Is that how you started? Our first season, we did local events like Junior League holiday fairs. Then we started using Facebook, and we were among the first at the time. It skyrocketed our growth. As Facebook grew, we grew. But Facebook has made a lot of changes that made doing business there more difficult. No matter how many fans you have, they show each post to about 1 percent, so it was huge paradigm shift. The organic business page reach slowly declined. So because of that you shifted to sales to your site? Yes, we don’t sell through Facebook anymore. Now we’re going to have one website, Preppyandpersonalized.com. I started Preppy and Personalized in 2012 to reach our moms who were buying kids’ clothing. Smockadot will now redirect to Preppy and Personalized and we will still have all of the Smockadot Kids clothing there. Were you able to keep your customer base after moving off of Facebook? We did see some decline as Facebook started changing. We still use social media to spread the word and to do paid advertising. We also have partnerships with other companies and work with bloggers. But mostly it’s word-of-mouth. We now have approximately 1,000 visits to the [Preppy and Personalized] site per day. Based on the name, it seems your focus was originally smocking but has shifted to personalization. We have seen a shift away from smocking – that became quickly oversaturated. Manufacturers are easy to find, and lots of people started up their own smocking companies. But the personalization along with the design, working with patternmakers, lets us give customers what they like with that personalized option, and that really set us apart. Plus you may outgrow smocking, but monograms are great for the nursery straight
| ENTREPRENEUR | 21
through ribbons for your wedding bouquet – they are timeless. Do you handle manufacturing and personalization here in Greenville? As we grew, we shifted to overseas manufacturing, but now that we’ve pulled back from Facebook, we are focusing on local manufacturing again. We have one big machine that does multiple monograms. We contract most of our work out, and we have seamstresses here that cut and sew for us. Do you find a regional difference in sales? The Southeast is the strongest, though we do strong business up in New England, where they are into monograms. It’s a preppy thing. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, but since I moved here in 1993, I have embraced all things Southern. Are your items available in any shops, or online only? I have a business partner, Leslie Scott, and we have a women’s clothing store downtown, Page Stewart. We sell ladies and children’s clothing there. Starting in October, we will be taking in items to monogram for Preppy and Personalized and selling some of our locally made items there. We’ve seen a need for people to get their own things monogrammed, so we’re looking at taking in items to personalize. I see potential for business growth in that. What have you learned through the founding and expansion of your business? My background is education, so there was a big learning curve there. Using Facebook as a primary source of selling was very unknown, and it grew much faster than expected. But as we’ve shifted efforts away from Facebook, we’ve learned that it’s important to make personal connections. We send personal notes to customers... it’s important to not just be on someone’s Facebook or Instagram page, but to get back to the basics. Social media is changing things, but at the end of the day, people want to make a connection and get to know the people behind the products.
DEFINED Smocking: An embroidery technique used to gather fabric so it can stretch.
22 | INNOVATE |
UBJ
MOVERS, SHAKERS AND DISRUP TORS SHAPING OUR FUTURE
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09.25.2015
Global perspective Emerging business leaders need to educate themselves on what it’s like doing business in other countries By JANE LAYTON
It is important to remember that our perceptions of companies and countries are not always shared around the globe, and to be sensitive to cultural conflicts that exist outside of our usual purview.
Academic program director, Clemson MBA
Our business world is without cultural borders; businesses are no longer homogenous groups of one particular culture. Companies today have their choice of a pool of applicants from around the world, meaning we encounter international businesses in every aspect of what we do. As a result, it is very important for emerging business leaders to educate themselves on what it is like to do business in other countries. Understanding the layout of boardrooms, how other cultures conduct business, and what they believe drives business success enriches the business student and builds awareness that whiteboards, PowerPoints and “lean” are not the only teaching tools used across the world. Small nuances can make or break an important deal, and it is up to each individual to invest in raising their business culture awareness. The feedback that many corporations provide is that they struggle in finding candidates who are globally aware and feel comfortable traveling abroad and conducting business with foreign companies. There is no better way to learn about a culture than to immerse yourself in it, and Clemson business students have a unique opportunity to travel to Great Britain and work with senior executives from four different companies on business strategies and opportunities for those businesses. For two weeks, our students lived and worked at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, Oxford University. In addition to classroom learning, the major goal of the course was to give our students an understanding of how international businesses operate by giving them unrivaled access to a group of companies interested in expanding internationally.
Our initial diverse group of companies our students immersed themselves in were Arrowsmith Engineering, B Hepworth Group LTD, Automotive Insulations and PP Electrical. Our students were granted access to the highestlevel executives of these companies, getting a chance to see and hear firsthand what CEOs look for when hiring and expanding internationally. Based on our students’ initial success, companies like Rolls Royce have agreed to give us access to their senior leadership and inner workings. Learning the barriers (political, economical, cultural) that these companies face allows the student to be more aware of these nuances as they continue their professional careers in the U.S.
We may be aware of difficulties that businesses face here, but it serves us well to learn of the difficulties that businesses face in other countries directly from these businesses, and not the news. Students saw how much the Greek economic crisis affected countries in the EU, and how the conflict with Russia is affecting their logistics (most EU countries relied on moving their product through Russian roads and railroads; this is now blocked). To most of us, these global conflicts are just the news, but for all European countries it affects their daily business activities and their lives. Lessons our students learned in the U.K. can be applied across the globe. For instance, business leaders can be more aware of cultural differences when approaching companies for mergers or acquisitions. It is important to remember that our perceptions of companies and countries are not always shared around the globe, and to be sensitive to cultural conflicts that exist outside of our usual purview. Additionally, when you are hiring an international candidate, it is important to consider that certain products would not add value to their lives like they would in the U.S. because their lifestyle and culture are different. Being aware of how global political unrest is affecting businesses in the market of the country you are looking to enter is yet another example of how the world at large can affect you and your business interests. By becoming more global, we can be more sensitive to issues that affect others, and find a common language with anyone across our big blue ball.
PLANNED GIVING FOR PAYING IT FORWARD From the Kroc Center to Greenville Forward, Jean Harris Knight’s legacy gift to the Community Foundation helped establish programs dedicated to improving Greenville’s future. We make it easy to give back to the place we all love to call home.
www.cfgreenville.org
09.25.2015
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
STRATEGIES FOR HONING YOUR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
| PROFESSIONAL | 23
The balancing act Part-time employment can give mothers flexibility – and the extra income doesn’t hurt, either By CATHY BOGGS Godshall Proefssional Recruiting and Staffing
According to a recent analysis by Ancestry.com, the proportion of working moms in the United States has gone up 800 percent since 1860, and this trend is expected to continue as more women receive college degrees. Today, women are making a name for themselves in the workplace. Yet these same women are also starting families. When children come into the picture, many working mothers find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. While they do not want to give up their careers, they also do not want to give up the time spent at home with their children. One of the best solutions for this dilemma is part-time employment. This option provides working mothers with the flexibility to care for their children, while also being able to continue their career. The extra income doesn’t hurt, either. While part-time work is a viable option for many mothers interested in staying in the workplace, it isn’t for everyone. That’s why, if you’re considering parttime employment, you need to ask yourself the following questions first: • Are you ready for this commitment? • Have you considered the cost of day care? • Are your skills up to date for today’s market? • Will your employer be flexible when it comes to dealing with life situations? • Is the job worth the time away from your family? • Do you have a backup plan for when your child is sick or needs a ride to school?
Once you have considered the logistics of entering or re-entering the workforce as a working mother, it is time to start the job search. First and foremost, be realistic with your salary expectations. More than likely, as a part-time employee, you are not going to make a six-figure salary. Do not let this deter you. Make sure you update all of your social media platforms to be clean and professional. This includes your LinkedIn profile – use a recent photo as your profile picture and not a headshot you had taken 10 years ago. Update your resume if you haven’t already. Be sure to include any volunteer work you participated in during your hiatus from the workforce. Also, reach out to your network. Let your old coworkers or employers know that you’re in the market again. They may be able to connect you with a company that will be flexible with your needs, or they may be open to rehire. Think about contacting an employment agency that can help guide you and identify part-time needs that may not be posted on job boards. Some of the best part-time careers for working mothers include administrative work, schoolteachers or
While entering or re-entering the workplace as a mother may seem like a daunting task, it is possible. With additional resources available, it has become much easier to connect with companies with the capacity and flexibility to take on part-time employees. tutors, nonprofit or church organizations, and financial or accounting work. These types of jobs typically offer on-the-job training as well. Once you have set your sights on a part-time job, be prepared to ask some tough questions during the interview process. Remember, you want to make sure that this job is the right fit for you and the company. Some questions to keep in mind during your interview should include: • What is the company’s “family culture”? Do they value a work/ life balance? • Is the company flexible with hours? Would additional hours be required to work outside of
the set schedule in the office? • What kind of training is available for employees? • Are there other employees/ managers who have the same age children as you? If so, you may want to talk to them and get their opinions on working at the company with children. While entering or re-entering the workplace as a mother may seem like a daunting task, it is possible. With additional resources available, it has become much easier to connect with companies with the capacity and flexibility to take on part-time employees.
24 | ON THE MOVE |
UBJ
APPOINTED
APPOINTED
HIRED
APPOINTED
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09.25.2015
HIRED
Joni Byars
Jennifer Parker
Michael Brown
Jamie Gillenwater
Ken Moon
One of five alumni named to join the Clemson Alumni Association’s board of directors. Byars is a U.S. Army veteran working for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Greenville VA Clinic, where she is the housing manager for the Homeless Veterans Program.
Named to the Academy on Violence and Abuse board of directors. Parker is director of the Center for Child Advocacy Studies and is the program director of the Child Protection Training Center at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She has been a faculty member at USC Upstate since 2001.
Named vice president of business development at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner, Realtors. Brown has more than 20 years of sales management experience, including the past three in the real estate industry. He will identify opportunities and talent to help reach sales and market-share goals.
Named program manager for the 2016 STC Summit in Anaheim, Calif. Gillenwater is owner and manager of Transcend Text LLC. She will lead a team of industry experts to review all of the proposals, recruit special speakers and shape the final conference programs.
Named deputy director of the Cherokee County Development Board. Moon will assist in recruiting new industry, as well as maintaining relationships with existing industry within Cherokee County. He previously served as director of the SC Works Cherokee Center.
DEVELOPMENT O’Neal Inc. hired Gunter Wiedemann as senior electrical engineer and Tanya Fennington as senior process engineer. Wiedemann has more than
25 years of electrical engineering experience, gained from working with BASF, Mustang, and CH2MHill. Fennington recently worked at Jacobs Engineering and has experience working on the client side at Milliken.
EDUCATION John Wheeler, director of Furman University’s Office of Integrative Research in the Sciences and professor of chemistry, was named interim director
of the South Carolina EPSCoR/IDeA program. Wheeler has served as the principal investigator and project director of Furman’s IDeA and EPSCoR programs since 2005, resulting in more than $6 million in funding. >>
Strong local knowledge and talent National perspective and resources The Greenville office of Jackson Lewis is highly regarded for its employment litigation practice, its prominent national ERISA practice, and its sophisticated wage and hour FLSA work. An integral member of the Jackson Lewis team is ELLISON MCCOY, who serves as the Litigation Manager for the Greenville office. Ellison has represented employers in litigation matters before state and federal administrative agencies and various state and federal trial and appellate courts. He devotes a significant amount of his practice to assisting employers with disability practice management, particularly issues arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act. In addition, he handles a wide-variety of employment matters involving claims such as discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, age and disability; sexual and racial harassment; wrongful discharge; retaliation; breach of contract; defamation; covenants not to compete and trade secret violations. Ellison also has extensive experience counseling clients on compliance issues and litigation avoidance strategies, and he regularly conducts management training programs on various employment-related topics. To learn more about the services we offer in Greenville, please contact Ellison McCoy or Office Managing Shareholder Stephanie Lewis at (864) 232-7000 or mccoyE@jacksonlewis.com; lewiss@jacksonlewis.com. With 800 attorneys practicing in major locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Jackson Lewis provides creative and strategic solutions to employers in every aspect of workplace law. To learn more about our services, visit www.jacksonlewis.com.
Greenville Office of Jackson Lewis P.C. 15 South Main Street • Suite 700 Greenville, South Carolina 29601 • (864) 232-7000
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PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS
upstatebusinessjournal.com
>> FINANCE Accord Financial named Jessica Dawkins director of marketing for its U.S. subsidiary. Dawkins is responsible for coordinating all company marketing activities.
VIP
MUSIC Pecknel Music Co. Inc made several personnel changes. Jeremiah Manriquez was promoted to chief operations officer, where he will be responsible for companywide functions involving internal systems and procedures including distribution, purchasing, inventory control, information technology, data entry and strategic planning. Carl Rohleder was promoted to the position of vice president of the band and orchestra division. James McNeely was promoted to store manager in Greenville. Barry Wash joined the company as an educational sales representative. Based in the Midlands, he will be making regular calls and providing service to school band and orchestra programs throughout South Carolina.
John T. Lay Jr. Named president-elect of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). Lay is a shareholder at Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A. Lay is a member of the board of directors of the IADC, the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Lawyers for Civil Justice, and a delegate of The American Civil Trial Bar Roundtable.
PR/MARKETING Cargo hired five new employees to serve in business-to-small business work. Janet Hatcher is a copywriter responsible for developing creative concepts and writing compelling copy for TV, radio, print and digital projects. Tyler Huston was hired as a front-end developer, with the main task of prototyping client websites using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Samantha Miller was hired as an intern, with the primary goal of developing and tracking content for the agency’s social media channels and website. Kristin Mohs is a client engagement coordinator, responsible for providing project support, research and quality assurance to client engagement supervisors and managers. Andrea Tabacchi is a traffic manager, acting as a steward for all project work that moves through the agency. CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
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| ON THE MOVE | 25
26 | THE FINE PRINT |
BUSINESS BRIEFS YOU CAN’ T MISS
Fluor to help with disaster relief in Texas Fluor Corporation was awarded a contract by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide architectural and engineering services to support disaster-related operations in Texas following the severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding that swept through the state in May. Fluor’s contract is one of two task order contracts announced by FEMA for disaster response services in Texas. The contract has a six-month base period with an additional six-month option period. The undisclosed contract amount will be booked in the third quarter. Fluor will support FEMA in the restoration of vital infrastructure, public facilities and services, rehabilitation and reconstruction of private and commercial properties, restoration of the economic base and coordination with voluntary agencies and administration of assistance to households and individuals. “We are proud to be part of this important humanitarian effort,” Bruce Stanski, president of Fluor’s Government Group, said in a release. “For almost two decades Fluor has consistently and successfully provided technical support services to the FEMA Public Assistance Program. Regionally, we have supported relief efforts for Hurricanes Gustav, Ike, Katrina and Rita. Nationwide, we have assisted individuals and communities to recover from the devastation of floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters.”
Women’s Leadership Institute accepting nominations Furman University’s Center for Corporate and Professional Development is accepting nominations for the Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI).
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Nominations are due by Oct. 9, and online applications are due by Nov. 6. The Women’s Leadership Institute of Furman includes five sessions, which take place Jan. 27-April 27, 2016. “We live in an increasingly global society and are faced with economic, political and cultural challenges.” Victoria Kirby, director of the Center for Corporate and Professional Development, said in a release. “Now, more than ever, we need inspired leaders—women who can be transformative in business, politics and communities.” Furman University’s professional leadership conference is led by women who have achieved prominence in business and in the community. They share their successes and struggles to demonstrate how women excel in their careers, become more effective leaders, engage in their communities and build a powerful network. Self-nominations are encouraged. An electronic nomination form and general information about the conference are available at furman.edu/wli.
Harper Corporation opens Spartanburg branch The Harper Corporation is opening its newest branch office in downtown Spartanburg. Harper personnel operating from this location include Office Director and Project Manager Hootie Solesbee, Project Manager Kipp Cox, and Business Analyst and Assistant Project Manager Brandt Goodwin. President David Wise and Business Development Director Kyle Snipes will work from Spartanburg on an as-needed basis. “Spartanburg has been very good to me personally and to our company professionally,” Wise said. “We have cultivated many strong relationships within this community over some 25 years. It simply just made sense to establish a location here.” >> The Harper Corporation is a general contractor with headquarters in
09.25.2015
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
>> Greenville. The company serves the commercial, retail, industrial, institutional, health care and environmental market sectors. Currently, Harper is serving as the general contractor on projects for Spartanburg Water, Wofford College and Converse College.
CEO of 3-D printed car co. to headline S.C. auto summit The founder of Arizona-based 3-D-printed car company Local Motors will deliver the keynote address for the fifth annual S.C. Automotive Summit, held in Greenville next February. Local Motors CEO and founder Jay Rogers is expected to speak about how disruptive technologies such as 3-D printing are shaping the automotive industry. Local Motors plans to have the first 3-D printed cars on the road by the beginning of next year. Now in its fifth year, the S.C. Automotive Summit is the leadership and industry conference held during S.C. Auto Week, which is aimed at highlighting the state’s auto industry during Feb. 21 to 27, 2016. S.C. Auto Week is geared towards automotive industry professionals as well as the general public, students, parents, teachers and counselors. A number of STEM-oriented activities will target middle and high school students, as well as collegiate career fairs for graduate and undergraduate students seeking work in the automotive field. The two-day Automotive Summit will be held Feb. 24-26, in the Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville. Centered around this year’s theme of Connectivity | Collaboration | Innovation, the summit will highlight research within the International Transportation and Innovation Center in the Upstate, as well as other to-be-announced programs and events. Last year, the panelists at the S.C. Automotive Summit discussed collaboration and workforce development, an ongoing issue for the nation’s automotive sector.
Company sells 12 radio stations in South Carolina Miller Communications, which owns radio stations in the Upstate, sold 12 of its radio stations in Florence, Orangeburg and Sumter to Community Broadcasters and its financial partner Northwoods Ventures. FourBridges Capital Advisors advised Miller Communications’ majority shareholders in the transaction, which was worth $2.5 million. According to Miller Communications, since media’s deregulation in 1996, the radio industry has experienced a merger wave. During the height of activity from 1996 to 2006, more than 20 percent of stations changed ownership per year, according to research by the University of California at Berkley. “The Miller Communications’ purchase doubles the size of Community Broadcasters and furthers our strategic vision to grow a small-market radio group throughout the U.S.,” Jim Leven, president and CEO of Community Broadcasters, said in a release.
BUSINESS BRIEFS YOU CAN'T MISS
| THE FINE PRINT | 27
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To learn more, call one of our team specialists at 1-800-975-6060 or visit us online www.integralsg.com
28 | SOCIAL SNAPSHOT |
INSIDE THE UPSTATE’S NETWORKING AND SOCIAL SCENE
EXPERTS SHARE M&A INSIGHTS Last week at the Peace Center in downtown Greenville, Wyche hosted an M&A CEO panel discussion featuring Lynn Harton (United Community Bank), Bob Humphreys (Delta Apparel), Todd Newnam (Encore Technology Group) and Michael Riordan (Greenville Health System). At the event, Wyche and the CEO panelists shared key insights about navigating complex deals, and how to avoid pitfalls in the M&A process.
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09.25.2015
REAL ESTATE AND BREAKFAST
Photos provided
Panelists Sarah White with McCallum Sweeney and David Clayton with the South Carolina Department of Commerce discuss requests for information (RFIs) at the City of Greenville’s Third Quarter Real Estate Breakfast held last week at Clemson University’s facility in the ONE building location in downtown Greenville.
Photo by Sherry Jackson / staff
CONTRIBUTE: Got high-resolution photos of your networking or social events? Send photos and information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
09.25.2015
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INSIDE THE UPSTATE’S NETWORKING AND SOCIAL SCENE
upstatebusinessjournal.com
| SOCIAL SNAPSHOT | 29
FYI WITH TATT The Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted an FYI Friday event featuring speaker Dean Hybl, executive director of Ten at the Top.
Photos provided
CONTRIBUTE: Got high-resolution photos of your networking or social events? Send photos and information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
30 | #TRENDING |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
UBJ
OVERHEARD @ THE WATERCOOLER
> Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce “Learn about the commercial real estate projects marching forward in #Spartanburg.” > Michael Badeaux’s Engineering Upstate Real Estate “City revitalization is contagious…Spartanburg is catching the fever, are you?” > Emily Wood “‘It’s only getting better!” > Laura Lunde Ringo “So much great stuff happening in Spartanburg and almost all are slated to be connected by trails throughout the urban area. ”
RE: EUPHORIA
09.25.2015
BIZ BUZZ
Distilled commentary from UBJ readers
RE: CRE PROJECTS MARCH FORWARD IN SPARTANBURG
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
The Small Business
| VOL. 4 ISSUE 38
Issue
PLUS: SMALL BUSINESS TOOLBOX
DREAMING BIG WH ILE
STARTING SMALL game, next favorite family ent shops to your From online consignm making a huge impact in the Upstate are small businesses
DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE >> The layout of print meets the convenience of the web: flip through the digital edition of any of our print issues at >> ustatebusinessjournal. com/past-issues
>> WEIGH IN @ THE UBJ EXCHANGE Got something to offer? Get it off your chest. We’re looking for expert guest bloggers from all industries to contribute to the UBJ Exchange. Send posts or blog ideas to eprice@communityjournals.com.
RE: REDONKULARY
The top 5 stories from last week’s issue ranked by shareability score
>> 305
1. CRE projects march forward in Spartanburg
>> 123
2. Council approves inducement for new $100M facility
>> 109 3. Former Ayers Leather space to get $1M makeover
>> 102 4. Automotive supplier announces $35M Duncan expansion
>> 93 5. Cupcakes with a ‘tude
> @ryanlhamilton “Redonkulary looking sharp in @UpstateBiz. Proud to have helped bring this game to market. Go Kristin!...”
RE: BAKING UP BUSINESS WITH 3 CULINARY ENTREPRENEURS > Professional Network Connections “Interesting stuff happening at Mill Village Farms!”
RE: CARSON TALKS HEALTH CARE AT UPSTATE CHAMBER COALITION SUMMIT > @amorris_CJ “@EdwinMcCain with @NikkiHaley and @ CarlSobocinski at @AchieveEuphoria”
>> CONNECT WITH US We’re great at networking. LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/ UPSTATE-BUSINESS-JOURNAL FACEBOOK.COM/ THEUPSTATEBUSINESSJOURNAL @UPSTATEBIZ @ashleyboncimino
@ssimmons830
@SJackson_CJ
@jerrymsalley
@BenDavidJ
@clandrum
@amorris_CJ
> Vanessa via site “I agree with Mr. Carson and I’m glad he recognizes the unintended consequences of the ACA…especially when it comes to small business. One instance in particular involves federal actions that have taken away affordable health care options available to a large number of small businesses, notably their use of Health Reimbursement Arrangements. As employees continue to face high out-of-pocket and deductible costs, employers that can’t afford a group health insurance policy need these types of alternative healthcare options. I hope that the political rhetoric surrounding the topic of helping small businesses is more than just talk in this upcoming election season. In the meantime, Congress is trying to cut small businesses a break. I encourage any small business who is looking for affordable healthcare options to learn more: http://www.zanebenefits.com/education/ sbhra-take-action”
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DATE Friday
9/25 Monday
9/28
Friday
10/2 Thursday
10/8
| PLANNER | 31
EVENT INFO
WHERE DO I GO?
HOW DO I GO?
Greenville Chamber Friday Forum Speaker: Geoff Hart, WYFF 4
Embassy Suites 670 Verdae Blvd., Greenville 8-9:30 a.m.
Cost: $15 Chamber member, $20 nonmember Register: bit.ly/forum-sep2015
GPATS Disadvantages Business Enterprise Public Input Meeting
Greenlink Transfer Center 100 W. McBee Ave., Greenville 12:30 p.m.
More info: SJulius@greenvillecounty.org or GSparks@greenvillesc.gov
BBQ Bash to Celebrate Upstate Manufacturers
Hartness Estate Smith Road Entrance, Greenville 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Cost: $40 Chamber member, $100 nonmember Register: bit.ly/bbq-bash2015
First Friday Leadership Series Speaker: Carl Schlachte, CEO of Ventiva
Clemson at ONE 1 N. Main St., 5th Floor, Greenville 5:15-7 p.m.
Cost: Free Register: bit.ly/firstfriday-oct2015
Upstate International Informational Meeting Past and prospective event organizers invited to participate
International Center of the Upstate 9 S. Memminger St., Greenville 9 a.m.
More information and register: UI-Info@internationalupstate.org
Thursday
10/1
INSIDE THE UPSTATE’S NETWORKING AND SOCIAL SCENE
CONTRIBUTE: Got a hot date? Submit event information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
ART & PRODUCTION
IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF UBJ? WANT A COPY FOR YOUR LOBBY?
OCT. 16: THE MANUFACTURING ISSUE Women are thriving in this growing field.
ART DIRECTOR Whitney Fincannon
PRESIDENT/CEO
Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com
UBJ PUBLISHER
ADVERTISING DESIGN Michael Allen
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Kristi Fortner
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UBJ welcomes expert commentary from business leaders on timely news topics related to their specialties. Guest columns run 700-800 words. Contact Executive Editor Susan Clary Simmons at ssimmons@communityjournals.com to submit an article for consideration.
Nicole Greer, Kristi Jennings, Donna Johnston, Annie Langston, Lindsay Oehman, Emily Yepes
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ACCOUNT STRATEGY Kate Madden
1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993
1990 Jackson Dawson acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.
>>
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
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.
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
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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-prof non-profits. 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 olV inV olVe VeMent & 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
OCT. 30: QUARTERLY CRE ISSUE The state of commercial real estate in the Upstate.
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
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20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013
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jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport
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