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The Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance is a proud supporter of the Operation F35-Beaufort campaign. Beaufort County is ready for the F-35B and the future operational and training missions at MCAS Beaufort. All of this will mean new jobs and economic opportunities for our region.
Kim Statler is executive director of the Lowcountry Economic Network. Several times a month she will blog on local issues pertaining to economic development and the work of the Network.
Jasper alternative energy
Champion Wood Pellets Announces New Facility in Jasper County
Investment expected to create 22 new jobs
RIDGELAND, S.C. – June 24, 2010 – The South Carolina Department of Commerce, Jasper County and the Lowcountry Economic Alliance today announced that Champion Wood Pellets will locate its new manufacturing facility in Jasper County. The $2 million investment is expected to generate 22 new jobs.
“We are pleased to locate our first manufacturing facility in Jasper County. The area offers us an exceptional business environment, a productive workforce, close proximity to suppliers and good access to I-95. We appreciate all the support we have received from state and local officials, and look forward to being a leader in the development of renewable energy,” said Bill Nimmer, president of Champion Wood Pellets.
The company will supply wood pellets for home heating fuel, alternative industrial energy and equine bedding markets. The facility is expected to be fully operational by August 1.
Lowcountry Economic Network
Aerospace Cluster Beaufort
Beaufort highlighted as an 'Aerospace Cluster in the South' you Might not Know About
Beaufort County, S.C., was highlighted in the most recent issue of Southern Business & Development as an Aerospace Cluster in the South You May Not Know About.
This is the second time Beaufort has been mentioned in SB&D for its defense/aeronautics cluster. The magazine also previous noted the area as a Dedicated Destination for Defense.
Here's what the magazine says about Beaufort County this time around:
Did you know that the South Carolina/Georgia aerospace corridor runs right through Beaufort County, S.C.? Less than an hour from both Boeing in Charleston, S.C., and Gulfstream in Savannah, Ga., Beaufort County also is home to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, which will be receiving the Joint Strike Fighter ..."
Military strong economic driver for Beaufort
Military's economic might in Beaufort County just as strong as tourism, report says
By JOSH McCANN
jmccann@islandpacket.com
843-706-8145
Published Monday, May 17, 2010
With jets that scream overhead and throngs of visitors who flock to see new Marines graduate, the military has an impact of $1.2 billion annually on Beaufort County, according to a recent study by economist Don Schunk of Coastal Carolina University.
The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce commissioned Schunk to update the Beaufort County section of a statewide study he performed for the S.C. Military Task Force in 2004.
The results show the military rivals tourism, which chamber officials say generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue for the county.
Unlike tourism, however, the military is not as prone to fluctuation, Schunk and chamber officials said.
Innoventure Southeast
Alliance, Buckwalter Place, CareCore attend Innoventure Southeast
May 14, 2010 - Representatives from CareCore National, Buckwalter Place and the Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance joined hundreds of South Carolina’s leading researchers, corporations, entrepreneurs, investors and economic development officials at this week’s Innoventure Southeast conference in Greenville.
More than 400 people attended the two-day conference, which serves as an opportunity to connect some of the state’s most innovative people and companies to one another.
Kevin Ryan, executive vice president of CareCore National, was one of 60 ‘champions’ who presented at the conference. Ryan spoke on using technology and clinical expertise to control utilization in the health market.
“The Innoventure conference was a great opportunity to introduce CareCore National and Beaufort County to the thought leaders in the state of South Carolina,” Ryan said. “This was not just an opportunity to talk about the great things that are happening at CareCore National, but an opportunity to capitalize on the experience and knowledge of the state’s leaders in education, business and technology.”
Buckwalter Place and the Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance both served as anchor sponsors of Innoventure.
Kim Statler CSCMP
LEN director to be part of Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals panel
May 13, 2010 – Kim Statler, executive director of the Lowcountry Economic Network, will be part of a Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) panel discussion that will address economic development in the Lowcountry and Savannah, along with goals, opportunities and challenges for the region.
Statler will join a group of economic development leaders from South Carolina and Georgia to discuss the current state of economic development and what is being done to attract companies to the Lowcountry.
F35 is good opportunity
F35s -- An opportunity we can't let fly by
By JON REMBOLD
Published Monday, May 10, 2010
Most folks probably realize the Marine Corps will be replacing its current workhorse, the F/A-18, with a new airplane, the F-35B, which is the Marine variant of the Joint Strike Fighter.
The new jet has been nicknamed the "Lowcountry Lightning," but its stealth technology will make it anything but visible to radar. Some say it could be the last manned airplane the Marine Corps will employ because of the additive effects of the extended lifespan of modern airframes and the ever-advancing technology of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
As I write this from my Lady's Island home, I am enjoying the sound of freedom as my friends and your friends fly overhead practicing their fine art in the dark. I'm happy to be able to sleep better at night because of their night flights, knowing their sharply honed skills will prevent those who wish us harm from enjoying peaceful sleep.
I'm strongly in favor of bringing the F-35B to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Here are a few of the reasons why I think the Lowcountry Lightning will enhance our community:
Economic Development Beaufort County
Economic development in Beaufort County is a partnership
From today's Beaufort Gazette:
Beaufort County has so much to offer each of us as members of this community.
There is no place like the Lowcountry on a warm sunny day with every natural amenity at your finger tips. Before 2007, we could stop the conversation right there. That was before the bottom fell out of every major economic market in the Lowcountry.
Today, people are working to determine how they stay in the Lowcountry and desperately need to reinvent themselves and find employment. Today it’s about people and people who need jobs to keep their homes and feed their families. The Lowcountry Economic Network and Beaufort County together are making progress in positioning this county for existing business growth and business relocations.
CareCore
CareCore brings jobs to the Lowcountry
CareCore ground-breaking
CareCore expansion will be a boon for our region
The following was published in the March 9 edition of the Neighbors section of The Beaufort Gazette
If you happened to drive through Buckwalter Place in Bluffton the afternoon of March 1 the sight of backhoes and dump trucks moving around an open dirt field probably didn’t seem too out of the ordinary.
“Likely another store going in,” you probably thought to yourself; or another building awaiting a tenant in what’s still a slow market.
The reality is that only hours earlier a group of local officials and business leaders stood together to mark the groundbreaking of what will be an economic boon for our region. CareCore National, one of the nation’s leaders in specialty benefit healthcare management, began the expansion of its presence in the Lowcountry.
Beaufort Creatives
Area creatives take center stage
An insert by the Municipal Association of South Carolina in the most recent issue of SC BIZ highlights the state's Creative Class and Creative Cities.
Beaufort received prominent recognition.
Check out the images or download the pdf here.
Boeing in the Lowcountry
Boeing is frequent topic in the Lowcountry
As discussed in this morning's Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette, Boeing has become a popular topic among Lowcountry residents and officials. Over the past week or so economic development officials along with Nexsen Pruet, a key player in the Boeing deal, have been touring the Lowcountry talking about the deal and how it can translate into new opportunities for our region.
(from the Island Packet story)
Kim Statler, head of a public-private partnership that recruits businesses to the region, was slated to speak at another event Wednesday at Belfair in greater Bluffton.
The session -- titled "BOEING SC: Dreams Take Flight" -- was about how incentives can boost business in South Carolina.
Statler said Boeing's plant dovetails with fellow aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream's existing facility in Savannah and the arrival of the Joint Strike Fighter, a next-generation military jet. Some of the jets are expected to be based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort by 2014.
CareCore
CareCore National breaks ground on Buckwalter Place expansion
Groundbreaking for the new 31,200 sq. ft. CareCore National, LLC corporate headquarters was held Monday morning (March 1) at 11:30 a.m. at Bluffton’s Buckwalter Place near the intersection of Buckwalter Parkway and Bluffton Parkway.
Donald R. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of CareCore National, LLC, presided at the groundbreaking together with Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka, Bluffton State Legislator Bill Herbkersman, and Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton.
CareCore National’s Ryan said, “we are pleased about this groundbreaking because it not only means we are making a capital investment in our community and creating needed knowledge-based jobs."
AT&T Broadband
AT&T Investment in South Carolina Network Aimed at Enhancing Mobile Broadband Service across the State
Plans Call for Addition of 3G to More Than 200 Cell Sites and the Expansion of Backhaul to Increase Wireless Network Capacity
Columbia, South Carolina, February 18, 2010
AT&T* today unveiled its South Carolina wireless network investment plans for 2010, which include the addition of 3G to more than 200 new and existing cell sites throughout the state.
The planned wireless network enhancement strategy is part of AT&T's 2010 wireline and wireless capital investment, which is expected to be in the $18 billion to $19 billion range companywide, an increase of between 5 and 10 percent over 2009. This planned amount also includes an increase of about $2 billion in capital expenditures for wireless and backhaul related to AT&T's wireless network. This planned level of investment is framed by the expectation that regulatory and legislative decisions relating to the telecom sector will continue to be sensitive to investment.
FastTracSC
Entrepreneur training program tops 1,000 grads
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Staff Report
CHARLESTON -- FastTracSC, an organization designed to help entrepreneurs hone the skills needed to create, manage and grow successful businesses in South Carolina and supported in the Lowcountry by the Technical College of the Lowcountry, reached a statewide milestone last month.
Port of Port Royal
Prospective buyer found for Port of Port Royal
By JULIANN VACHON
jvachon@beaufortgazette.com
843-706-8184
With a signed letter of intent, hope has risen again that the idle Port of Port Royal has found a buyer.
S.C. State Ports Authority chairman Bill Stern signed a letter of intent Friday to sell the approximately 51-acre port of Port Royal property to a prospective Charleston developer.
Although the sale is not final, the authority will take the property off the market while it finalizes a contract with the buyer, Stern said.
Officials would not release the name of that buyer nor the sale price, citing ongoing negotiations. NAI Avant, the broker listing the property, reduced the price tag from $27 million to $20.4 million last year.
A group of Hilton Head Island investors tried to get financing for the parcel in 2007, but the deal fell apart in 2008.
Lowcountry Economic Outlook
Lowcountry banks on more than tourism to survive economic downturn
By JOSH McCANN
jmccann@islandpacket.com
843-706-8145
Travel down Innovation Drive in Bluffton and you will hear bulldozers and dump trucks roaring and clanging away at the site of a planned 32,000-square-foot second building for CareCore National.
The company, whose 400 employees manage cost, quality and safety for national health insurance plans, is expanding after moving its corporate headquarters in 2007 from Wappingers Falls, N.Y., to the Buckwalter Place mixed-use development and technology park.
To many who seek to diversify the Lowcountry's economy, the construction noise -- and the 150 new CareCore employees it promises -- is the sound of much-needed progress.
For the most part, Beaufort and Jasper counties don't have much in the way of high-tech industry.
Rare exceptions include XRDi, a Beaufort firm that makes small engines for unmanned aerial vehicles, and Vetronix Research, a Hilton Head Island firm that designs and builds electronics used by the military.
Industry Appreciation Week Ambassadors
Network & Alliance announces Economic Development Ambassadors for Beaufort and Jasper counties
The Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance on Tuesday announced its 2010 Ambassadors for Economic Development as part of South Carolina’s celebration of Industry Appreciation Week.
Canada Smith, manager of Turkey Hill Plantation, has been named Economic Development Ambassador for Jasper County while Craig Schauss, president of Hilton Head Island-based Vetronix Research Corporation has been named Ambassador for Beaufort County.
Industry Appreciation Month
Beaufort County welcomes a new business during Industry Appreciation Month
As we dive head first into a new year it’s important that we stop to recognize what our businesses and professionals contribute to our county while also understanding what makes this region such an attractive destination for companies.
In conjunction with the S.C. Department of Commerce, Beaufort and Jasper counties and Palmetto Electric Cooperative, the Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance is celebrating this month – Industry Appreciation Month – by sharing several stories about the Lowcountry’s strengths and successes.
Industry Appreciation Month is an opportunity to say thank you to area companies for their many contributions to our community as well as a chance to build awareness among our residents that existing business is a fundamental driver of our local economy.
Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine
Footage of F-35B
Here's footage of Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine and Rolls-Royce LiftFan® successfully powered the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) fighter through the first in-flight engagement of its STOVL propulsion system.
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