Upstate SC Alliance

Meet: The South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC), Greenville’s 2,600-acre business park that’s home to more than 100 aerospace, automotive and advanced engineering companies.   This buzzing innovation hub delivers more than $2 billion in economic impact for South Carolina every year. Congratulations to SCTAC for winning top honors in the 2024 Southern Economic Development Council Communications Awards for this video production!

Clemson University has unveiled its latest groundbreaking autonomous rescue vehicle: Deep Orange 15. Deep Orange 15 is an off-road, semi-autonomous search-and-rescue vehicle. Able to travel at high speeds, it is equipped with advanced gear including a rotating passenger seat that can assist injured individuals. The vehicle is the 15th created as part of Deep Orange, Clemson’s flagship vehicle prototype education program, where master’s students in the Department of Automotive Engineering work with industry professionals to build each vehicle from scratch. More about Deep Orange 15: https://bit.ly/3YV7edE #DeepOrange #AutonomousVehicles #Automotive

Today was the perfect opportunity to unleash our inner child at The Children's Museum of the Upstate (TCMU)! CEO Lauren Luneckas and Director of Brand & Communications Jessie (Cappello) Amos pulled back the curtain on the museum's current projects and community impacts at our Coffee & Conversation event. TCMU is an incredible resource for Upstate families: It's the No. 7 largest children's museum in the nation, No. 10 in the world, and is the first children's museum to become a Smithsonian affiliate. With a focus on local needs, TCMU is fostering “career curiosity” among young minds, creating opportunities to dress up, play-act, check out items at a child-friendly grocery store, fix airplane parts and build their own race cars. Thank you to MTC Federal Credit Union for sponsoring our event series! #Education #ChildrensMuseum #STEAM

Q: Why did a Finland-based manufacturer of indoor climate technology choose to locate its new facility in Anderson County? A: Because of the location's easy access to major highways, dynamic business environment and availability of skilled labor. 💪 Halton Group announced its $2.6 million investment in July, bringing 65 new jobs to the Upstate. In this Anderson Independent Mail story, the company's leaders share their plans to form partnerships with vocational schools like Tri-County Technical College, and to tap into business resources such as the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, local SHRM organizations, and the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance. https://bit.ly/4fTTc2g #BusinessMovesHere #Sustainability

Once known as the "textile capital of the world," Upstate SC's rich mill heritage has set it up for success in advanced materials engineering. The state is still home to more than 200 textile manufacturing facilities, with about half of these in the Upstate. Now, their focus has shifted to engineered materials. In Spartanburg, Milliken & Company develops innovative textile and advanced materials for bullet-proof vests, fiber optic cable, flame-resistant clothing and more. The educational realm has also witnessed the transition to advanced materials. Clemson University once had a department dedicated to textiles — in 2010, it merged with another program to create the school of materials science and engineering. Now the department is creating environmentally-friendly products that avoid the use of "forever chemicals," and is working with NASA to develop a durable textile that could withstand long-term life in outer space. https://bit.ly/3SMVDcQ #AdvancedMaterials #EngineeredMaterials #Textiles

South Carolina has secured top positions in several critical categories in Business Facilities magazine's 2024 Annual State Rankings: 🌍 No. 3 in Population Growth 🏢 No. 5 in Corporate Tax Climate 🚗 No. 6 in Automotive ⚡ No. 6 in EV Investment 🤝 No. 10 in Best Business Climate The state also ranked high in the 2024 Metros Ranking with several top 10 wins. Of these, the Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson metro area was named No. 6 in Small Manufacturing Hubs and Spartanburg is the No. 8 Fastest-Growing Metro. South Carolina's strong national performance underscores the state's commitment to being a strong and business-friendly environment. State Rankings: https://bit.ly/4cjGqab Metro Rankings: https://bit.ly/3ArY520 #SouthCarolina #EconDev #TopMetros #TopStates

For the first time, international automakers in the United States outproduced the American Big Three, producing 4.9 million light vehicles versus GM, Ford and Chrysler's 4.6 million. In 2023, South Carolina plants operated by BMW, Volvo and Mercedes contributed nearly a half-million vehicles to the international total. The vast majority of those were made in the Upstate by BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC, which assembled 410,793 at its Plant Spartanburg. South Carolina’s gross state contribution from auto makers and dealers in 2023 was $10.4 billion. https://bit.ly/3ymiyF0 #Automotive #Manufacturing

Global marketing leader Development Counsellors International recently interviewed our own Tiffany Tate about Move Upstate SC. Listen to the full podcast to learn why we hosted 36 college career professionals on an immersion tour of the Upstate. Interested in getting involved in next year’s tour? Drop us a line!

Deepening our region's hiking and cycling culture, the Saluda Grade Trail has won a $450,000 federal grant from the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies. Even before its opening, the trail has already proven to be an economic driver to Upstate SC, influencing both TIME Bicycles and Munich Composites in their decisions to locate new investments in Spartanburg County. The 31-mile rail trail is expected to travel through the Piedmont countryside before climbing into the mountains along the route of the historic Saluda Grade railway. https://bit.ly/4fqSfy8 #SaludaGradeTrail #Biking #Cycling cc: Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) | Conserving Carolina | PAL: Play. Advocate. Live Well! (formerly Partners for Active Living) | Upstate Forever

We're excited for FENECON to join South Carolina's growing advanced energy cluster with its new operations in Greenville County! #AdvancedEnergy