Industry and Manufacturing

Industrial growth

on the rise in Sumter

From the tires that kept America running during the pandemic to the needles used medically worldwide to the rover exploring Mars, Sumter is home to big-time companies.

Manufacturing continues to lead the way as the largest growth and employment sector in Sumter County. With more than 70 national and international companies, Sumter is an ideal location for new industries and expanding existing industrial operations. Specializing in heavy metals and machinery, many products that are made in Sumter make their way around the globe as fi nished goods or as components of a larger global supply chain.

Long before a new industrial facility goes online, a highly competitive industrial recruitment process takes place where communities like Sumter are vetted based on a unique set of criteria determined by a company to help them determine the best location to set up operations. Communities are weeded out based on size, infrastructure, logistics and customer preferences. A large portion of the selection process is driven by the availability of a skilled workforce and skills training opportunities. Sumter boasts an aggressive workforce agenda to ensure we are seriously considered when all other criteria have been met. The Sumter School District’s Career and Technology Center along with Central Carolina Technical College’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Training Center lead the way in preparing students

and adults for the growing needs of manufacturers. Our STEM-certifi ed K-12 schools, coupled with a plethora of talent initiatives, showcase to onlookers and prospective businesses our innate desire to grow our own.

With fi ve local industrial parks and a multi-county regional megasite, Sumter is poised for growth; and despite the global economy impacted by the recent pandemic, we are excited about the continued growth and expansion of local industry and manufacturing. BD has entered phase 2 of its major expansion project announced back in 2018 and is already projected to surpass the previously anticipated capital investment and new job development. In addition, over $113 million will be invested in operational expansions by Nova Molecular Technologies, Santa Cruz Nutritionals and SKF. King Machine also announced it will be occupying the speculative building that was completed a year ago in Black River Industrial Park with plans to invest $2.6 million over the next few years as well as creating approximately 30 new jobs.

Sumter’s economic development efforts are led by Sumter Economic Development with support from the private sector through the Sumter EDGE and a regional partnership with Lee County and TheLINK Economic Development Alliance. With people and product in place, Sumter is ready for rapid growth, and our industrial sector will continue to lead that growth for the foreseeable future.

Did you know?

• Sumter is the only community in the

United States with two Caterpillar operational facilities.

• 90% of those who enter a health care facility around the globe will interact with a product produced in a BD plant.

• SKF Sumter provided 5 specialized thin-section bearings to NASA for use in the Mars rover Perseverance. They were used in fi ve locations on the rover including the main robotic arm and the

“hand” piece that collects samples from the planet’s surface.

• “This region is positioned for greatness as evidenced by the recent announcement of the expansion of King Machine in Sumter. We work diligently to provide industries the necessary backing to realize our fullest potential and their ultimate success.” - Gordon Eckley, Chairman, TheLINK Economic Development

Alliance

• “While we work every day to bring new companies to South Carolina, it is always exciting to see one of our existing businesses expand. We celebrate Nova’s $14.9 million investment in Sumter and the 25 new jobs the company will create.” -South Carolina Gov. Henry

McMaster