I-95/US 301 is getting funding!!!!!!

PRESS RELEASE: Clyburn Announces $12 Million TIGER Grant for I-95/US 301 Interchange

Washington, DC - Sixth District Congressman and House Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn today announced Orangeburg County has received a $12.1 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant to create a southbound access ramp from U.S. Highway 301 to Interstate 95. The project will also extend Highway 301 from the interchange to the site of the Jafza intermodal distribution center.

This grant award added to $14.9 million previously secured by Congressman Clyburn, and $3 million and $1 million contributed by the State and Orangeburg County respectively, will be enough to complete this $26 million phase of the I-95/U.S. Highway 301 improvement project. This project is crucial to the full utilization of the Jafza center, which is located in the Global Logistics Triangle bounded by I-95, Highway 301, and S.C. Highway 6.

"Today's TIGER grant is an early Christmas present for the State of South Carolina," Congressman Clyburn said. "This project will make a Continental Tire or Boeing aircraft type project possible for Orangeburg County and the I-95 corridor."

According to Orangeburg County's TIGER grant application, Jafza "center operators expect the full distribution center to generate more than 6,000 jobs regionally in an area which is, and has been for decades, one of the nation's most economically disadvantaged."

The center, when completed, will receive offloaded cargo from the Charleston and Savannah ports by train and trucks for distribution to its final destination.

"Orangeburg County is thrilled with today's announcement of the TIGER grant to enhance the I-95/US 301 interchange that will create an opportunity for significant economic development along an economically challenged area on the I-95 corridor," said Bill Clark, Orangeburg County Administrator. "I would like to thank Congressman James Clyburn, along with Senator Lindsey Graham and the other members of our Congressional Delegation for their work in assisting our local officials in making improvements to the needed infrastructure that will lead to job creation for the citizens in our County."

"This is a project I have been working on for more than a decade, and it is exciting to see it come together at a time when our rural communities along the I-95 corridor have been hit so hard by the economic downturn," Congressman Clyburn continued. "Today is truly a great day in Orangeburg County."

In addition to the long-term impact on the local economy, the construction of the access ramp and 301 extension is estimated to create 404 jobs from 2012 to 2016. Most of those jobs are expected to be created in Orangeburg County, which ranks eighth among the nation's poorest counties with a population greater than 65,000 based on 2008 data.

From the Times and Democrat.

Sumter get Continental Tire Plant

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Logistics key to Continental decision to build in S.C.

By Chuck Crumbo
ccrumbo@scbiznews.com
Published Oct. 12, 2011

SUMTER -- Continental Tire’s plans to build a new plant in Sumter County have been hailed as proof that the Obama administration’s decision to crack down on imports of subsidized tires from China is working.

In September of 2009, the government launched a three-year plan to impose tariffs on Chinese tires — which were priced at least 25% less than tires made in the United States — to bolster the U.S. industry and spur job growth.

Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt speaks during the announcement about Continental Tire’s plans to open a manufacturing plant in Sumter County. (Photo/Jim Hammond)

When Continental Tire the Americas, which is based in Fort Mill, said in April it planned to build a new plant somewhere in the United States, theAlliance for American Manufacturing cheered the announcement and said “enforcing U.S. trade law works.”

But as far as Nikolai Setzer is concerned, tariffs had nothing to do with Continental’s plans to build a $500 million manufacturing facility in the Palmetto State.

“We have such a strong demand for our tires that it makes it necessary for us to increase our U.S. operations next year independent of external forces,” said Setzer, a member of Conti’s executive board and chief of the company’s global tire business about the tariffs policy on Chinese tires. Continental Tire is a subsidiary of Continental AG in Hanover, Germany.

Following last Thursday’s announcement at the Sumter Opera House, Setzer repeatedly stressed logistics was key to the company’s decision.

“It’s not driven by the outside environment,” Setzer said of the decision to build a plant that eventually will employ 1,600 workers. “It’s driven by our important KPIs (key performance indicators), which must be fulfilled.”

“We need a good logistics setup. Logistics are important for tires. We are close to a harbor here,” Setzer said, referring to the Port of Charleston.

The port, which is less than 100 miles from Sumter, is important to the tire industry because most raw materials used to make tires — like rubber and carbon black — are imported.

The port also is essential to exporting products, although Setzer said tires made in Sumter are expected to be used for consumption in North America.

According to the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department, South Carolina exported $2 billion worth of rubber and plastic products in 2010.

Other advantages the state has logistically is its location between New York and Miami, its interstate highway system that connects the state to major cities along the Eastern Seaboard, and railroads.

“We have lots of customers on the East Coast,” Setzer said, adding that the plant will be supplying tires to automakers in the United States. “And we have suppliers close. It’s a great advantage for us to be close.”

South Carolina, which already is the No. 3 tire manufacturing state, could vault to first place by the time Continental’s facility is up and running in 2017.

Continental’s project, along with the $1.2 billion expansion of Bridgestone’s manufacturing facilities in Aiken County, and Michelin’s $200 million investment in its Lexington plant, will increase the state’s daily production capacity by 50% to 120,000 tires from the current figure of 80,000, according to statistics compiled by Tire Business, a trade publication for tire dealers.

As the state’s tire business grows, more suppliers and vendors are likely to follow.

For example, the same day Continental was making headlines in Sumter, DuPont announced the startup of a $500 million Kevlar manufacturing facility in Berkeley County near Charleston.

While Kevlar fiber is best known as the material that goes into making lightweight, bullet-proof armor for law enforcement officers, it also is being used to manufacture tires. According to DuPont, Kevlar was used in 1 billion tires that went to the automotive and aerospace industries in 2010.

DuPont could be an example of more investment and jobs that are likely to follow this year’s $2 billion worth of announcements by Continental, Bridgestone and Michelin.

“It’ll be interesting to watch how fast the supplier industry starts migrating toward South Carolina, further anchoring the state at the top of the manufacturing ledger,” Tire Business said an editorial in Monday’s edition.

Eastern Orangeburg County Sustainability Study

I just had a chance to meet Mr. Roger Waldon of Clarion Associates. His company is conducting a study of our area and the impact the Global Logistics Triangle and Jafza will have on our communities.

Please visit www.eastorangeburgcountyfuture.com and get involved in this study. You can help shape the future of our community in Eastern Orangeburg County.

Ron

Columbia Under Construction: Winter 2010 edition

Columbia Regional Business Report

Jafza Santee Training Center
721 Hannah Drive – Santee
This 16,000-square-foot, multitenant building consists of 12,000 square feet of industrial
space and 4,000 square feet of office and conference space. The building is designed for
approximately 6,000 square feet of expansion. All the industrial units for lease have frontage
on Interstate 95.
Developer: Jafza South Carolina, Charleston
Architect: MV Design/Build, Columbia
General contractor: Miller-Valentine Construction, Columbia
Engineer: MV Design/Build, Columbia
Estimated completion date: March 2011

Build it and they will come!

Jafza's first building is out of the ground. I will post updated photos every couple of weeks.

Prep work begins on construction of first building at Jafza

By MARTHA ROSE BROWN, T&D Correspondent | Posted: Friday, October 15, 2010 5:18 am | (2) Comments

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T&D CORRESPONDENT/MARTHA ROSE BROWNCrews with Porth Contracting Co., the Miller Valentine Group and Tri-County Electric Cooperative work together Thursday prepping the five-acre site for Jafza’s first commercial building at its Santee location.

SANTEE - Preliminary work is under way on a 16,000-square-foot building at Jafza South Carolina LLC's 1,322-acre park near Santee.

Jafza plans to develop a logistics, manufacturing and distribution park at the site.

Phase 1 of the Jafza park consists of 47 acres on the west side of Interstate 95, next to the Santee Town Hall, and 76 acres on the east side of I-95, behind the Santee Outlet Mall.

To help create a "flagship building" for the project, Orangeburg County and Tri-County Electric Cooperative worked together to get Jafza a no-interest federal loan for the construction of the "Jafza Enterprise Center" on five acres bordering I-95.

As many as three tenants are expected to occupy the building, Drue Fitzgerald, Jafza USA business manager, said Thursday.

"We're excited," Fitzerald said.

However, he said he could not disclose the names of the potential tenants because formal contracts had not yet been signed.

Crews first arrived at the site on Oct. 7 to begin the prep work, said contractor John Porth of the St. Matthews-based Porth Contracting Company Inc.

Porth said his company is responsible for all clearing, grading, paving and utilities at the site.

On Thursday morning, crews from Porth Contracting; the Miller Valentine Group, a commercial real estate general contracting company and Tri-County Electric Cooperative were busy digging footers in preparation for pouring the building's concrete foundation, said Jim Tuttle, an employee of the Miller Valentine Group.

Gregg Robinson, executive director of the Orangeburg County Economic Development Commission, described the building as "flexible" in that it will "allow Jafza to customize and grow the building according to the client."

"We're very happy that Jafza feels confident with the (economic) market coming back," Robinson said. "This is a significant step in the right direction as we are coming out of a recession and posturing this area for growth.

"We're getting ourselves ready for new companies as well as expanding companies and port-related industry."

Contact the writer: marfawose@aol.com.

Jafza begins to build!

You can see the equipment at work, if you drive along I95 between exit 97 and 99 and look to the west. Construction has finally begun on the Jafza's site. The first building is much smaller than initial plans of Jafza, but this is still an exciting event for Santee, South Carolina. the 24,000 sq.ft building is schedule to be completed by January 1, 2011. It is my understanding that Orangeburg County will be paving Hannah Drive in the next couple of months.