Upstate SC Alliance Announces Fifth Area Of Focus For Economic Development

Upstate SC Alliance announced aerospace as its fifth area of focus for economic development opportunities in the region during the organization's annual mid-year meeting on Tuesday at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.

Upstate SC Alliance, the public/private economic development group whose focus is to stimulate jobs and investment in the 10 counties in the Upstate.

Hal Johnson, president and CEO of the organization, said that aerospace will join advanced materials, automotive, biosciences and energy as targeted industries for the Alliance's efforts.

A release from the development group said that currently 160 aerospace/aviation-related companies call South Carolina home and that 52 of them are located in the Upstate, including Lockheed Martin, GE Aviation and Honeywell.

Last year the group played a role in recruiting Southwest Airlines to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

And with Boeing's $750 million aircraft production facilty in Charleston already doing business with 30 Upstate companies, the group felt it had another strong economic target to focus on.

"Expanding the Alliance's list of targeted industries to include the aerospace industry makes senses," Johnson said. "The Upstate already boasts a rich infrastructure in advanced manufacturing to take advantage of the numerous tiers in the aerospace manufacturing process that provide a diverse range of well-paying jobs. We are already hard at work identifying and recruiting businesses in aerospace, which is a $210 billion industry."

During the group's meeting, a report was issued detailing how 12 new companies chose the Upstate as their new location and nine companies announced local expansion efforts, which translate into $275 million in capital investments and 2,750 jobs through the first half of 2011."

The development group invited Sen. Lindsey Graham-R and S.C. Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome to speak at the event. The two men spoke of why the need to deepen the Port of Charleston is so important to the Upstate.