MANNING, S.C. (WCSC) – South Carolina is in the midst of an economic development boon, as companies vow to spend billions of dollars in capital investment and create thousands of new jobs.
For South Carolina as a whole to thrive, state leaders believe rural counties need to be part of the picture.
“Rural counties have to be, and the whole state needs to be involved,” Gov. Henry McMaster said.
McMaster took part in a shovel ceremony last week at Latitude Corp.’s future large metal components manufacturing facility in Clarendon County.
In what is now an empty, 50,000-square-foot building in a Manning industrial park will eventually become a $29 million workplace for 200 employees.
“I’ve been the county council chairman for 23 years, so it’s been certainly the largest [jobs] announcement since I’ve been here and then I understand even before that,” Clarendon County Council Chair Dwight Stewart said.
When the Wisconsin-based Latitude Corp. was deciding where to expand, a program spearheaded by the state’s technical college system sold them.
“The readySC program, which recruits and trains workers, convinced us that South Carolina was the right state for our business investment,” Latitude Corp. President Tom Verbos said.
That program is one tool South Carolina has to ensure rural counties can play a role in the state’s recent economic development surge. Charleston WCSC-TV
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