Staff Report

Published March 23, 2011

Site Selection Magazine’s March issue features Spartanburg, S.C. as No. 2 in the nation for the total number of economic development projects in 2010, with 29 projects.

The ranking is released annually and is based on the number of total projects per “metro category.”

Spartanburg ranked second in the Metros with populations 200,000 to one million category—ranked higher than Shreveport, Louisiana; Greensboro, North Carolina and Charleston, S.C.

“Spartanburg’s prime geographic location, superior infrastructure, and strategic inventory of sites and buildings are a recipe for success in the eyes of site consultants,” says Carter Smith, executive vice president of the Economic Futures Group. “Combine this with our proven past successes and consultants and companies alike know they will not only mitigate risk by selecting Spartanburg, they will increase profitability for their clients and shareholders.”

Examples of new business in 2010 from the Economic Futures Group’s target industries include BMW, Röchling and Cooper Standard from the Automotive sector; Odermath and Huntington Foam from the Advanced Materials sector; ResMed from the BioSciences sector and Syncreon from the Logistics sector.  The team credits their success to the strong leadership and partnership between the public and private sectors in Spartanburg County.

“Companies love it here, says David Cordeau, president and CEO of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce.  “As we have seen over the past few years, not only are companies locating here from around the world, local companies continue to expand in Spartanburg County.  We also have a great local team with public and private sector leaders totally supportive of economic growth.  With eight colleges and universities in Spartanburg County, we can also support the complete spectrum of workforce needs.”

Spartanburg has the highest per capita investment in the country. Upstate S.C. accounts for a substantial portion of the state totals in economic development, capital investment and the generation of new jobs year after year.  Spartanburg County is a significant contributor.

Ingo Angermeier, chairman of the Economic Futures Group added: “With ‘Mayberry Values’ and BMW performance, those of us who are blessed to live in Spartanburg, love Spartanburg.  We are not surprised that companies from around the world seeking to relocate find our same wonderful quality of life attractive.  To those 29 companies: Welcome home…Welcome to Spartanburg.”

“The bottom line is, we know who the Golden Goose is – business and industry,” said David Britt, Spartanburg County councilman and chair of council’s Economic Development Committee. “We have a 20-year track record that is unsurpassed in the USA. We not only recruit companies to Spartanburg, we help them be successful and grow. We want companies to become a part of our community as these companies are really the associates that work inside these organizations. We have the best associates in the world and if you don’t believe us drive a BMW.”