S.C. bringing in the business

Marquee names such as Starbucks Coffee Co. and Adidas helped stimulate South Carolina's economy in 2007.

Corporate expansions from the Seattle-based java giant and the German sportswear company helped the state Commerce Department recruit a record number of jobs and capital investment money last year, the agency said Monday.

The agency said it worked with about 150 companies that announced expansions and relocations, which are expected to generate 15,666 jobs and slightly more than $4 billion in spending.

The figures surpass the jobs and corporate investment Commerce bagged in 2006, the previous record year. The department said the announcements came at an average of more than three a week.

Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor credited the state's business-friendly policies, including changes to the workers' compensation insurance system and tort reform.

In a statement, Taylor said the numbers "reaffirm that South Carolina is a preferred location in which to do business."

"Additionally, we continue to see growth in new areas and an unprecedented amount of world-renowned companies choosing to locate here and bringing with them jobs and investments that will have a lasting impact on our state's economy," Taylor said.

Automotive industry expansions made the biggest single impact on the state's economy, with 3,066 new jobs and $1.69 billion in capital investment. Foreign investment accounted for 26 percent of all projects recruited in 2007 and for 31 percent of new jobs, Commerce said.

The 2007 announcements that generated the most jobs were in the Upstate. Adidas America Inc., for instance, plans to bring 1,200 jobs by expanding its Spartanburg County warehouse, while Kraft Foods expects to create about 1,000 jobs by adding to its Louis Rich plant in Newberry County.

In the Midlands, Starbucks is building a 150,000-square-foot bean-roasting plant that will employ about 160 workers in St. Matthews starting next year.

The Charleston region attracted some of the largest capital investments, with Google Inc. planning a $600 million data center near Goose Creek and DuPont set to spend $500 million to build a Kevlar plant at its existing Berkeley County site on the Cooper River.

The Charleston Regional Development Alliance, which works with Commerce to promote the area, said it helped attract 11 employers last year that decided to either set up shop or grow their existing operations. The companies are expected to generate 958 jobs and $1.2 billion in capital investment.

For example, South Africa-based Pegasus Steel and England-based TWL Precision Ltd. decided to open their North American headquarters in the Charleston area. They are expected to spend a total of $18.5 million on the projects and generate about 155 jobs.

Quality of life continued to be a top draw for companies that the alliance worked with last year, said David T. Ginn, the group's chief executive officer.

"A thread that runs through all of (these projects) is that our three-county market is very attractive as a place not only to work but live," Ginn said. "It's not the (only) reason that they come, but it's an important criterion."

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.