Sumter County - SCBIZ Magazine

SPRING 2020

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STEAM students in Sumter County explore new worlds through microscopes.

IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL Sumter County boasts central location, low costs, great quality of life

By Jim Tatum, Associate Editor | Photos provided by Sumter County Economic Development

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entrally located in the Midlands, Sumter County is around a two-hour drive to Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, less than an hour from Florence and about a half hour from Columbia. With a reasonable cost of living — the median price of a house is around $113,000, lower than state and national averages — and easy access to I-95, I-20 and U.S. 521, the county offers a well-balanced mix of bucolic rural settings and lively urban atmosphere.

The area boasts a proud military history. The county and city are named for General Thomas Sumter, “The Fighting Gamecock,” who was one of the most audacious and successful patriot commanders during the Revolutionary War. Sumter is the home of Shaw Air Base, which has

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Sumter County by the numbers Populat

ion: 107,379 Median Household Income: $41,946 Median House Value : $113,200 The region has a civ ilian labor force of 47,913 with a pa rticipation rate of 58.7%. Of individu als 25 to 64 in Sumter County, 20.2% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, wh ich compares with 32.3% in the natio n.

Source: America n Community

Survey

Since 1986, Thompson has provided construction and industrial services with the highest standards in safety, quality and integrity for a variety of industries. We now serve the United States with over 20 locations, plus mobile operations across the globe. Our growing family of companies has come a long way, but Sumter will always be our home.

SAFETY QUALITY INTEGRITY Thompson Industrial Services provides safe, comprehensive industrial cleaning services to major industrial facilities. Our work is safer, faster and more precise with our growing line of advanced automation technologies.

Thompson Construction Group focuses on industrial construction and on-site maintenance. Specializing in large industrial projects, we build and maintain facilities for a range of industries like Power, Paper, Steel and beyond.

Thompson Turner, general contractors, builds commercial, government and educational facilities. We offer single-source, deadlines and budget-oriented delivery, including Design/Build and CM at Risk.

Thompson Power Services provides construction services related to boiler and major gas-path equipment installation and repair for electric utilities and industrial facilities.

Thompson Maintenance Services provides equipment maintenance, facility maintenance, operations support, elevated cleaning and small capital project improvements.

Thompson Disaster Recovery Services provides recovery solutions to State and Federal agencies including the repair, replacement, and reconstruction of residential areas impacted by natural disasters.

Thompson Custom Fabrication provides sheet metal fabrication, structural steel fabrication, CNC Plasma cutting, and on-site installation services to a wide range of industries.

www.thompsonsoutheast.com 800-849-8040 | 100 North Main Street, Sumter, SC 29150

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SUMTER Students tour a new spec building in Sumter County.

not only generated billions of dollars in revenue over the years, but many long-time citizens initially came to the area wearing Air Force blue — and with the relocation of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Army headquarters, Army green.

So, Sumter County has always been a good place to live, work and play. And yet, underpinning the pleasant mix of smalltown feel and city amenity is a palpable, crackling energy, an unmistakable un-

The Sumter County Economic Development team at the Sumter School District State of the School Breakfast.

derstanding that “good” is not quite good enough.

Sumter County doesn’t want to just sit at the table; they want to set it.

To put it another way, says Greg Thompson, “good is the enemy of great.”

Thompson, a Sumter native, is CEO of Thompson Industrial Group, an industrial/ construction cleaning services company.

He joined his family’s business in 1986; since then, he has grown the business to

more than 3,000 employees and multiple offices across the Southeast. He said there was never any question where he wanted to build his business and his life. But even if he hadn’t had the insider’s knowledge, he said he would still locate his business in Sumter County.

“We went from three to over 3,000 employees. This is clearly a community where we can grow and thrive,” he said. “It’s a great place to do business.”

Serving Sumter and the Surrounding area since 1954 Residential & Commercial Sales & Property Management Services Located at 1081 Alice Drive www.scbizmag.com

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Rentals: 803-774-RENT(7368)

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COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SUMTER

A band entertains the crowd at Sumter’s Oktoberfest, a popular event enjoyed by visitors and locals.

Thompson also chairs the Sumter County Economic Development Board and has been a leader in economic development efforts at the county and the city level for some 13 years. Indeed, one of his ongoing efforts is to reinvent Sumter County and, especially, the city of Sumter as a place to which people will proactively seek to relocate.

His family and his company have been involved in revitalizing downtown Sumter.

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Students at the Manufacturers & Technology Expo.

His company bought and renovated a historic building for its corporate headquarters.

His wife has renovated downtown spaces as well, even launching two restaurants rivaling some of the higher-end establishments usually found in larger, more well-known cities. They are also part of a group that bought the Sunset Country Club in Sumter and are bringing it back to viability.

“We are trying to create all the things in Sumter that make others want to come

you

here,” Thompson said. “(I believe) We are being successful — my own children have come back and their friends are coming back … Have you been to Sumter, lately? If you haven’t, you should — we have a real renaissance going on here.”

Thompson isn’t the only one noticing the ongoing progress and dramatic revitalization. Indeed, the area’s success is all the result of coordinated collaboration between county, municipal and economic develop-

Sumter South Carolina

to

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COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: SUMTER

ment officials and the business community.

“Sumter is the ideal location — it’s growing rapidly and I’m excited to be part of that growth,” noted Chris Carano, a chemical process engineer with Nova Molecular Technologies.

Jay Schwedler, president/CEO of Sumter County Economic Development, has been instrumental in coordinating and implementing these efforts. He is encouraged with the accomplishments thus far and feels optimistic about the future.

“There are many phenomenal things happening here — industries are expanding, small business is on the rise and downtowns across our region are experiencing an uptick of revitalization,” Schwedler said.

Ultimately, Sumter County’s success is due to a strong spirit of collaboration between municipalities, county and business community.

“We have an incredible team that has come up with a great plan and we are implementing it,” Thompson said.

One important component of that plan is workforce development, and crucial

to that is providing more technical and STEAM education opportunities, especially at younger ages and grade levels. Schwedler said Sumter County is implementing programs designed to do just that.

The economic development team hosted an education summit to align and develop a community strategy in 2016. From that, a Manufacturers and Technology Expo was developed and is now held annually for eighth grade students. The expo, in turn, was the catalyst for the eSTEAM Sumter Festival, held every October. Launched in 2018, the festival gathers more than 6,000 attendees and showcases vendors, industries, educational institutions and community organizations to demonstrate the advancements in science and technology and the opportunities that exist in Sumter County.

Another initiative, the Ross McKenzie Emerging Leaders Program, is a year-round leadership experience for high school juniors that introduces economic and community development concepts through monthly interactive sessions. Students earn three college credits as well as placement on a

community board or committee and serve as Regional Ambassadors for community events during their senior year.

“A well-trained and ready workforce is increasingly the most critical element to attract and sustain business,” Schwedler said.

“Everyone wants to win, but in order to be competitive, a community must first set the stage with a game plan and a winning attitude along with players that are excited to be on the field.”

With that in mind, the economic development board is taking a proactive stance in education, Thompson said. Plans are underway to launch a STEAM-based charter school this year. In fact, the goal is not just to provide another education choice, but to ratchet up the game significantly, to help create an education system so desirable that people will want to relocate to Sumter County just for the schools.

“Our focus is to create absolute excellence,” Thompson said. “We can’t afford to be good at this — we have to be fantastic, tops in the Southeast, not just here and in the state.

What we do here must be world class.”

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Locals gather for a grand opening in Sumter County.

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People enjoying one of the numerous events held in downtown Sumter.

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Patriot Park Pavillion, downtown Sumter.