An Electrifying Year

Mission

To establish Upstate South Carolina as a unified and innovative economic region; market the Upstate for global business investment and talent attraction; foster public-private collaboration and regional relationships; and move ideas into action.

Vision

A 10-county Upstate SC region where business thrives, and people can prosper through access to a diverse array of career opportunities.

Strategic Plan, COI Engagement, RFIs mark 2022 accomplishments

You might say 2022 was an electrifying year for Upstate economic development, as shown by the $3.94 billion in new capital investment announced by 68 projects, with 6,476 new jobs to be created.

Each of the 10 Upstate counties had an announcement, and we saw a balance of new companies and expansions from existing employers.

One sign of the times: electric vehicles and alternative fuels were a strong driver in our capital investments. BMW announced $1.7 billion for production of electric vehicles and battery assembly. Dash EV, a producer of 100% electric and solar charged vehicles for carsharing, brought its headquarters to the Upstate. And Bosch announced a $200 million expansion to support hydrogen fuel cell production.

Projects that leverage innovation and emerging technologies are key to the Upstate’s future – as noted in the strategic plan that we launched in 2022.

More than 50 public and private investors and industry partners helped to shape the plan, which takes six emerging megatrends into account to guide our 2023-2028 program of work. The plan’s pillars are a strong endorsement for the direction our team has been headed as we’ve ramped up engagement with Centers of Influence (COIs) and grown our talent attraction efforts.

In 2022, we leveled up our COI engagement, welcoming 63 visiting COIs to the region and connecting them with 422 investors in the process.

Investors had access to 66 events, including a full year of the fan favorite “Small Group Gatherings.” We offered tours of educational assets like Roper Mountain Science Center and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.

And, on the talent front, we reached new audiences in nearby markets with our Move Up talent attraction efforts in addition to showcasing technical training opportunities through Skill Up.

We accomplished all these while responding to a smash hit number of RFIs – 80, double the number from 2021 – and while moving to a new office.

Please read on for more 2022 highlights and our vision for the next five years.

These accomplishments are made possible through partnership with the more than 200 investors we call #TeamUpstate. As we say, “We can’t do it without you.”

Sincerely,

John Lummus President & CEO Upstate SC Alliance

A Strategic Vision

2023-2028 Program Years

Trend 1

Post-pandemic communications are fundamentally altered.

Trend 2

Industry 4.0 is changing the nature of manufacturing and industrial services.

Trend 3

Environmental, Social & Governance and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion rise in prominence.

Trend 4

Workforce and talent are critical site location factors.

Trend 5

Growth creates pressure throughout the region.

Trend 6

Change is a constant in global markets that influences decisions about global value chains.