BY BRUCE MILLS
CAN-DO ATTITUDE Nova Molecular’s local operations earn expansion over Texas site
The "can-do attitude" of a locally based operation as opposed to a second site in Texas was a key factor in a chemical purification company picking Sumter for its current expansion. A groundbreaking ceremony for Nova Molecular Technologies' 25-job expansion announcement was held last year in Pocotaligo East Industrial Site near U.S. 521, and company President Chris Adams discussed a brief history of his firm with The Sumter Item after the event. A leading producer of high-purity solvents specially through a waste recovery and return program, Nova Molecular previously operated solely out of Bayport, Texas. Adams said in 2014, company founder Mike Clumpner became interested in a Sumter-based chemical company named Emes. Emes, which featured a solvent recovery program in the paint market, had a successful business model and Clumpner decided to purchase the business, according to Adams. That operation became known as Nova Sumter and there was also Nova Bayport. In a few years, Adams said, it became clear that the company's best opportunity long-term was with Nova Sumter. "One, there was a great business model," he said, "but, I think, more importantly the 'can-do attitude' of the people in the Sumter business was really infectious. In Bayport, they would tell you all the reasons things couldn't be done. And here, they would figure it out. It was a very entrepreneurial, scientifically, problem-solving organization." At the end of 2018, Nova sold the Bayport business to another chemical company and focused solely on the Sumter operation. The sale of Bayport helped partially fund the current local expansion, which totals $14.9 million in capital investment, Adams added. Nova Sumter currently has about a 2.5-acre site location. The new operation in Pocotaligo East Industrial Site will be 15 acres. Nova is the first tenant in the 143-acre industrial park, which is basically next door to Continental Tire. Nova Molecular Human Resources Director Jackie Evans said the company has already added some jobs in the expansion and will be looking to add about 20 more, rounding out at about 70 total employees. Nova is currently recruiting distillation operators with workers experienced in wastewater or chemicals, she said. The company is expected to begin making materials at the new site this spring. Nova's expansion announcement was made in October 2020.
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