Local boat builders hiring amid easing sales drought

Local boat manufacturers have begun hiring to build more watercraft, an encouraging sign of a thaw in the deep recession that engulfed the marine industry.

Sea Fox Boats in Berkeley County plans to add 25 workers, and Scout Boats of Summerville recently brought back about 35 employees. Key West Boats of Summerville beefed up its fleet of workers last year.

All three said they expect to produce significantly more vessels than in 2009. That year was a low point in the rough seas of the boating trade. 'It's beginning to feel a little bit more like normal,' Scout Boats President Steve Potts said. 'It's not normal yet.'

Three things are causing the current uptick, boat builders said: increased sales at boat shows from recession-weary buyers coming back into the market, dealers replacing depleted inventories and dealers picking up new product lines.

Power play

State regulators ordered public hearings on South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.'s request to raise power rates by 9.52 percent to be held in North Charleston, Summerville and Columbia. The times, dates and places were not announced except for the Columbia hearing, which takes place at 6 p.m. May 24 at 101 Executive Center Drive. The Charleston-area hearings most likely will be held in April.

Shipping out

Carolina-Pacific, a South Carolina-based exporter of wood briquettes that are used as a renewable energy source, loads its first shipment from the Port of Georgetown. The company will export 5,000 tons of its product to Scandinavia on the first ship, the 351-foot Liamare.

The company signed a 20-year contract with the State Ports Authority last summer to ship through Georgetown and occupy 100,000 square feet of warehouse space to make the briquettes, which are described as an environmentally friendly coal substitute.