Economic Development in South Carolina

[krazeeboi]

Agri-Ethanol is looking into several sites in SC. The one in western Lexington County is in contention.

[GvilleSC]

Good news coming from GE in Greenville. It is 'recalling' 40 jobs from 2002 layoffs. It got a $1 billion order to fill from Saudi Arabia!

It's great that a company will go back and offer these employees their jobs back, even after 5 years (they'll start in January). Here's a link to the article from The Greenville News

Has anyone seen the Spinx ads on 85? They've been up for a while, but I was reminded of them today when I saw one. They say "Grow it here, Make it here, Use it here" and then gives an exit. It's for their biodeisel fuel (correct me if I'm wrong). It's nice exposure along a busy interstate and who knows what it could lead to in the future.

Edited December 15, 2006 by GvilleSC

[GvilleSC]

In the Greenville News today, there was an article on Lockheed Martin in Greenville County. It only signed a 7 month lease and is most likely weighing options outside of South Carolina. LM said that the state doesn't offer enough incentives; which their competitors are getting elsewhere. Lockheed is one of the largest industrial employers in the county. If the state of South Carolina lets them go, not one elected official in Columbia deserves to return.

[krazeeboi]

Not enough incentives? In South Carolina?

[GvilleSC]

Not enough incentives? In South Carolina?

Here's a quote from the article:

Lockheed Martin is one of Greenville County's largest industrial employers, and company officials have said the state doesn't offer enough incentives to retain jobs.

The company's competitors are receiving large incentives from other states to keep jobs and add new ones, and the challenge at Donaldson is to keep costs competitive and improve facilities, Lockheed Martin officials say.

They employ 1,100 people currently in Greenville.

And here's the link: The Greenville News

Edited December 15, 2006 by GvilleSC

[CorgiMatt]

In the Greenville News today, there was an article on Lockheed Martin in Greenville County. It only signed a 7 month lease and is most likely weighing options outside of South Carolina. LM said that the state doesn't offer enough incentives; which their competitors are getting elsewhere. Lockheed is one of the largest industrial employers in the county. If the state of South Carolina lets them go, not one elected official in Columbia deserves to return.

Yikes. How many employees? Oh, never mind - 1,100.

Edited December 15, 2006 by CorgiMatt

[krazeeboi]

Wow. That needs to be rectified.

[krazeeboi]

House speaker Bobby Harrell is proposing $15 million in state grants and tax credits be made available to companies that partner with South Carolina-based research institutions and conduct hydrogen fuels research in the state. The South Carolina Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Fund would be available to private companies that work with the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, South Carolina State University and the Savannah River National Laboratory and the institutions would have a voice in who receives the financial incentives.

The fund, spread over three years, is front-loaded to encourage companies to commit to research partnerships sooner rather than later. It would be funded at $7 million in 2007-08; $5 million for 2008-09; and $3 million in 2009-210. Funds unspent by June 30, 2012, would relapse to the state under Harrell

[GvilleSC]

Sounds good to me!

[Spartan]

^Agreed

[krazeeboi]

From Site Selection magazine online

[krazeeboi]

House speaker Bobby Harrell is proposing $15 million in state grants and tax credits be made available to companies that partner with South Carolina-based research institutions and conduct hydrogen fuels research in the state.

I was reading up on this story as reported by Charleston's Post & Courier which included this interesting excerpt:

But the editor and publisher of The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Investor in Detroit laughed at the notion that hydrogen fuel cells could become a big business or South Carolina a big player in that business. David Redstone said he'd been watching the industry for nine years.

"I don't see it. I don't believe there's a market. I think it's a fad, a trend, that I think has taken on a life of its own. It's a niche business at best. For transportation energy, it's decades if ever," Redstone said. And the hub companies today, located in Connecticut and Vancouver, Canada, aren't going to move.

"I don't understand why every state has these big programs to attract hydrogen cell research. What are you doing? Pass real energy legislation. Require the power industry to do something real, put up windmills or something. (Hydrogen fuel) is not going to be a high volume industry in the foreseeable future, and certainly not in South Carolina."

I'm not an expert by any means on the hydrogen industry, but here's what I have to say to that. Firstly, we're in this for the long haul, so "decades" sounds just about right. Heck, it took RTP in NC decades to take off, and look how it's paying off for that state now. Secondly, who says there can't be more hub companies? Just because they only currently exist in CT and BC doesn't mean that more won't pop up anywhere else, or that the current hub companies won't have any operations here. Thirdly, there is a focus in SC on other alternative fuels. Specifically, a portion of USC's research campus will have a focus on alternative fuels in general, not just hydrogen-based. In other words, all of the disadvantages this guy cites is what RESEARCH is all about (duh).

[Captain Worley]

Unless there is a HUGE breakthrough, hydrogen is a technological dead end. Of course, research may find this huge breakthrough, and it may come tomorrow, but I doubt it.

I think the state is throwing an awful lot of money at a technolgy that has an awful lot of obstacles to overcome before it becomes viable. I think there are many other areas, conservation is one, where the money could be more effectively spent.

[krazeeboi]

Sanford is also proposing more money for conservation.

[Spartan]

The key thing for SC is to not put all of our eggs in the hydrogen fuel basket. My personal opinion is that it will prove to be a good fuel source in the long run, but not in the near future. In the mean time we have more pressing issues to deal with, such as improving our knowledge based work economy. Research firms like those that USC and Clemson are attracting with Innovista and ICAR are a solid start in that regard.

[Greercat]

The key thing for SC is to not put all of our eggs in the hydrogen fuel basket. My personal opinion is that it will prove to be a good fuel source in the long run, but not in the near future. In the mean time we have more pressing issues to deal with, such as improving our knowledge based work economy. Research firms like those that USC and Clemson are attracting with Innovista and ICAR are a solid start in that regard.

Exactly what firms have been attracted to Innovista? I know of no established companies - just a few existing USC research projects and a couple State funded, so-called, startups with a few employees each. The State and Columbia seem very focused on this one technology seemingly due to the urging of a few faculty members. Anyone familiar with Venture Capital knows you need to have bets on several technologies to achieve one big winner (in this case economic development for the area). Such technological depth is, so far, unapparent at Innovista. The Innovista/USC initiatives need to display true economic development results before we compare them to ICAR and those hundreds of jobs attracted to date.

[krazeeboi]

What jobs are we talking about in connection with ICAR? I'm aware of jobs already connected with Millenium Campus, but I'm not familiar with the ICAR-related economic developments.

At any rate, most of the Innovista-related economic developments have been related to the Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells. A little more about that can be read here. ICAR's advantage is that the research focus is automotive in nature, which is an established field and, of course, the related companies that have a presence in the Upstate. Hydrogen technology in general is a rather novel field, so there is still a lot of groundwork to be laid. I'd like to hear more from Innovista concerning the other research areas, which are environmental, nanotech, and biotech. I suspect we'll hear more when Craig Davis's building lands either a major tenant or a few smaller tenants. Our state in general lacks when it comes to venture capital, but one plus Columbia has is the presence of Trelys, the state's largest and most active early-stage venture capital firm.

[goodbye]

At ICAR I know that BMW has a research facility, Timken just opened a large facility, SAE International will be heavily involved, and IBM as well. The jobs related to the school itself are being filled as we speak. In the long run there will most likely be many more companies involved, as this is only one of five clusters planned for the ICAR campus. They also hope to integrate residential and retail into the overall finished campus.

I cannot speak for Innovista as I have no first hand knowledge of what is happening there. I'm sure someone here will fill us in.

[gs3]

At ICAR I know that BMW has a research facility, Timken just opened a large facility, SAE International will be heavily involved, and IBM as well. The jobs related to the school itself are being filled as we speak. In the long run there will most likely be many more companies involved, as this is only one of five clusters planned for the ICAR campus. They also hope to integrate residential and retail into the overall finished campus.

I cannot speak for Innovista as I have no first hand knowledge of what is happening there. I'm sure someone here will fill us in.

Timken was something like 400 jobs...many of the jobs were relocated to CU-ICAR from Connecticut and Ohio, plus all the local hires.

[goodbye]

Also, Clemson is hoping to build a fueling station for hydrogen-powered cars at ICAR. Discussion is already underway with a California fuel cell company to use one of its fuel cells to generate power for the graduate center for automotive engineering at ICAR. That would produce the hydrogen for the station, which could be used to fuel two hydrogen-powered buses the university wants to provide for transportation between Clemson's main campus and the ICAR campus in Greenville. Read more...

[Spartan]

I have yet to see anything that says how many new employees are currently associated with Innovista, so I can't answer that question.

Its hard to compare directly the two because these are two different beasts. ICAR has been around longer, and has had more time to get established. Also, ICAR deals with automobiles, which is a well established technology. You're also dealing with companies that have had some association with SC alread (eg: Hubbell, BMW, Michelin). Innovista deals with more conceptual research at this point, and there aren't many (if any) companies of this nature in SC that can simply relocate a few miles. Give it time. My only point was that these research and development oriented collaborations are a step in the right direction for establishing a broader knowledge based economy in South Carolina.

[gs3]

Also, ICAR deals with automobiles, which is a well established technology. You're also dealing with companies that have had some association with SC alread (eg: Hubbell, BMW, Michelin).

Hubbell isn't part of ICAR....it's part of Millenium Campus and it is an additional 400 plus jobs over and beyond the Timken, BMW, SAE, Clemson Grad School, etc. jobs.

Millenium Campus isn't strictly focused on the automotive industry....it's simply a large companion office campus, open to any and all industries, with a nod toward research.

[The_sandlapper]

I know back in 2004 mayor Coble discussed bringing hydrogen feuling stations to the midlands in hopes of creating an eastcoast a "hydrogen highway" stretching from New York to Miami.

Hydrogen highway

[krazeeboi]

Timken was something like 400 jobs...many of the jobs were relocated to CU-ICAR from Connecticut and Ohio, plus all the local hires.

OK, I knew the companies Skyliner mentioned were partners, but I didn't have any specific numbers handy as far as jobs go. That number is sure to increase once all the involved companies announce some solid plans and as more buildings go up.

On another note, it appears as though Google is scouting sites in the Lowcountry and Midlands for a possible expansion. Word on the street is that the company might put more than one facility in SC. Pretty exciting.

[CorgiMatt]

I was reading up on this story as reported by Charleston's Post & Courier which included this interesting excerpt:

I'm not an expert by any means on the hydrogen industry, but here's what I have to say to that. Firstly, we're in this for the long haul, so "decades" sounds just about right. Heck, it took RTP in NC decades to take off, and look how it's paying off for that state now. Secondly, who says there can't be more hub companies? Just because they only currently exist in CT and BC doesn't mean that more won't pop up anywhere else, or that the current hub companies won't have any operations here. Thirdly, there is a focus in SC on other alternative fuels. Specifically, a portion of USC's research campus will have a focus on alternative fuels in general, not just hydrogen-based. In other words, all of the disadvantages this guy cites is what RESEARCH is all about (duh).

Sorry I didn't reply to your post in a more timely manner, Krazeeboi, but I've been away. Interestingly, the day after I read your post, I saw on World News Tonight with Brian Williams a report on Toyota's imminent status as the world's #1 car maker. The report was out of Detroit and was actually about GM and its plans to basically keep doing what they have been doing in recent years with the anticipation that the public's perception will catch up with the facts, those being that GM vehicles have become as reliable as Toyota's, with customer satisfaction surveys showing it. At the very end of the report, the reporter said that another thing GM plans to do in the future is manufacture cars that will run on fuel cells. There you go. It will take a lot of research, a lot, and it certainly appears that Columbia is going to be one of the places in the fuel cell research driver's seat.