TRENDING: AUTOMOTIVE IN S.C.
Volvo workers produce the S60 from the automaker’s new plant in Berkeley County. (Photo/Volvo Cars)
VOLVO, MERCEDES CREATING NEW GENERATION OF S.C. AUTOMOTIVE WORKERS By Liz Segrist, Staff Writer
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one another is really unique. … To see this kind of renaissance in advanced manufacturing is pretty amazing,” said Susan Pretulak, ReadySC’s vice president of economic development. Germany-based Mercedes-Benz Vans and Sweden-based Volvo Cars have rushed since to hire a combined 3,300 workers to begin vehicle production within a region that lacks significant automotive manufacturing experience. Recruiting, vetting, hiring and training workers was crucial to launching operations on schedule. The state was financially and logistically on the hook to assist with workforce training, per the incentives used to help secure the economic development wins for South
Carolina. The S.C. Commerce Department, the automakers and the S.C. Technical College System — including its ReadySC workforce training division and Trident Technical College in North Charleston — collaborated to launch external training programs. Both companies also train new hires internally. Pretulak said the need to hire thousands of automotive workers at one time, combined with a low unemployment rate and the competition for skilled advanced manufacturing workers, created challenges and required creativity. “Recruitment of people is a key challenge for any company,” Pretulak said. Volvo planned to hire 2,000 people
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n the spring of 2015, two global automakers announced plans to invest $1 billion to build manufacturing campuses and produce vehicles in the Lowcountry for the first time, sparking the need for thousands of skilled automotive workers. Since then, Mercedes-Benz Vans expanded its existing reassembly site in Ladson to build Sprinter vans part-by-part for the U.S. and Canadian markets. Volvo Cars built a new automotive campus near Ridgeville to build the new S60 sedan for North American customers. Both companies began producing vehicles in 2018. “When I reflect back on that … to have two world-class, luxury car makers and automotive OEMs locate within 20 miles of
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