190 Jobs In Chesterfield a Product of Gov. Haley's 2011 Paris Trip

The Schaeffler Group announced on Thursday plans to expand its already significant presence in Cheraw, Chesterfield County. The expansion will require a $40 million investment that will create 190 new jobs.

The German-based company has operated in Cheraw for more than 40 years and also maintains a presence in Fort Mill and Spartanburg, employing more than 2,300 people statewide.

The announcement is a direct result of Gov. Nikki Haley’s trip to the Paris Air Show in the summer of 2011. She met with officials from Schaeffler in Germany following her stay in Paris. It’s the second major influx of jobs tied directly to that trip, which, was much-maligned at the time for costs incurred by taxpayers. The aircraft component manufacturer GKN was also recruited in Paris and began operations in Orangeburg this year. So far, the trip has yielded 440 jobs and $78 million in investment.

Haley’s spokesman Rob Godfrey said, “Gov. Haley is on the front lines of the battle to grow our economy and bring more jobs to our state, and her work is paying off: we’ve announced more than 29,000 jobs and record-setting investment in South Carolina since taking office, and unemployment is down. But we are not satisfied. We’re going to stay focused on bringing new jobs to every part of our state.”

Schaeffler is a bearing manufacturer with two plants in Cheraw, both of which will expand in 2013. The announcement provides a boost to Chesterfield County, which reported an unemployment rate of 10.5 in October.

readySC™, a division of the S.C. Technical College System, will offer pre-employment training designed specifically for the Cheraw operations. Training in this project will be in the areas of technical skills, advanced automation, safety practices and leadership skills.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits, which will be available when hiring targets are met.

Keep up with all of Patch's coverage of South Carolina politics by following us on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.