By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scbiznews.com
Published Sept. 28, 2011

The North Charleston Boeing plant was part of a Spanish company’s decision to locate its first North American facility in Greenville County at the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center.

Carbures LLC, a high-tech firm based in Cadiz, Spain that makes carbon structures for the aerospace industry, will invest $6.5 million and generate at least 50 jobs over the next five years, the Greenville Area Development Corp. and S.C. Department of Commerce announced today.

Carbures executives – President Carlos Guillen, CEO Rafael Contreras, CEO Ivan Contreras and Vice President Angel Vallejo – have their eyes set on the future production of the 787 Dreamliner in the Lowcountry.

Vallejo said the company’s experience supplying for Airbus, Europe’s aircraft giant based in France, has prepared them to be potential suppliers for Boeing and other aviation companies.

Carbures LLC Vice President Angel Vallejo said the company will hire 50 initially but could double in size over the next decade. (Photo/Liz Segrist)

“We already provide for one of the major players in the aircraft industry in the world. We are prepared. We have the knowledge. We know how big companies work and what we can expect from big companies to ask from us,” Vallejo said. “We are fully ready and willing of course, to work for Boeing.”

The design and manufacturing facility is set to open in the second quarter of 2012. Carbures chose Greenville from four other potential sites nationwide after more than a year of studying locations.

The county and state government support, the workforce and Clemson University’s advanced materials research program drew the company to this location. The company hopes to draw its workforce locally and from the university.

South Carolina’s emphasis on the aerospace industry also lured Carbures. The Upstate SC Alliance recently named aerospace as its fifth focus and recruitment area.

“This is the right place and the right time,” Vallejo said.

SCTAC President and CEO Jody Bryson said Carbures will move into a 40,000-square-foot building on the 10 acres on Perimeter Road across from the SCTAC office at 2 Exchange St. in Greenville. SCTAC will begin construction soon on the $6.5 million facility and lease it to Carbures for 15 years.

The new operations will allow engineers to design and engineer custom products in carbon fibers, Ivan Contreras said.

Carbures LLC is the first American-based spinoff from the European-based Carbures, an advanced materials research company which stemmed from a university project. It has grown from three people to 95 people in the past 11 years.

The Greenville plant could reach up to 100 jobs within the next decade, Vallejo said. The company is recruiting to fill management and engineering positions. Call Hannah Chapman at 864-593-3934 or visit the company’s website for job opportunities.

Carbures is an international technology company established in Spain and the U.S. that engineers, designs and manufactures products for the health care, construction, defense and automotive industries, as well as for civil infrastructure providers.