Laurens County Development Corporation Celebrates Successful 2016

01/19/2017

A consistent 2016 lays groundwork for 2017

LCDC Executive Director Jonathan Coleman — Photo courtesy of GoLaurens.com

Laurens County Development Corporation (LCDC) board members, stakeholders and investors received a report card on the 2016 economic development climate for Laurens County and the state of South Carolina at the LCDC annual meeting on Tuesday at Musgrove Mill Golf Club.

Nelson Lindsay, Director of Global Business Development for the SC Dept. of Commerce, and Jonathan Coleman, Executive Director of the LCDC, issued the reports for their respective organizations.

Lindsay’s annual recruitment report indicated that in 2016, South Carolina recruited 13,101 jobs in 131 projects with a capital investment of $3.4 billion. In 2015, 17,288 jobs were recruited in 150 projects with a capital investment of $4.2 billion.

Projects initiated in 2016, new and improvements, totaled 421, compared to 341 in 2015 and 349 in 2014.

According to Lindsay, the size of projects coming to SC has decreased over the past few years. The average capital investment in 2016 was $20.9 million, compared to $42.6 million in 2013.

The election created uncertainty in the market in 2016 but Lindsay said that 2017 has the potential to be very strong and “blow away last year.”

When it came time for Coleman to speak, his focus was on the consistency of 2016 and the future for economic growth in Laurens County.

The LCDC received 49 requests for information in 2016, compared to 49 in 2015 and 67 in 2014.

Job announcements in 2016 included D&W Fine Pack with 62 jobs created and a capital investment of $20 million, Bodycote with 30 jobs created and a capital investment of $3.5 million, Yanfeng with 35 jobs created and a capital investment of $71 million and Teknor Apex with 68 jobs created and a capital investment of $8.1 million.

In 2016, 195 jobs were created in Laurens County with a capital investment of $114.1 million. The average wage in Laurens County was $15.70 compared to $15.07 in 2015.