PrintPrintThe first company to locate in the Charleston area to support Clemson University's wind turbine test facility, announced today that it was bringing 190 jobs to Dorchester County and $47 million in investment. German-based alternative energy company IMO Group is locating its first U.S. facility in Dorchester County.
Staff report
Published March 9, 2010
The first company to locate in the Charleston area to support Clemson University's wind turbine test facility, announced today that it was bringing 190 jobs to Dorchester County and $47 million in investment.
German-based alternative energy company IMO Group is locating its first U.S. facility in an empty building in McQueen Industrial Park in Dorchester County. It is slated to open by July.
The company manufactures slewing rings and slew drives for some of the top wind turbine manufacturers around the world, the statement said. The parts also are used in construction machinery, medical technology and ship building.
“Charleston’s strong port coupled with its strengthening profile in alternative energy gave us complete confidence in our decision to come here,” said Rüdiger Unverzagt, CEO of IMO USA Corp.
In November, the Clemson Restoration Institute announced it would build a $98 million wind turbine test facility in North Charleston to test the next-generation of drivetrains that power massive wind-energy generators.
The facility funded through a U.S. Department of Energy grant is expected to create hundreds of jobs and place one of the nation’s most important sites for wind energy research and development in the Charleston area.
The Restoration Institute and its partners have received a $45 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, which they will combine with $53 million in matching funding, to build and operate a large-scale wind turbine drivetrain testing facility at the institute's research campus on the former Navy base.
IMO looked at locations with access to a major seaport and airport and with a 40,000 square foot facility that is move-in ready. The company also needed a region with a technically-trained and academically-prepared workforce.
IMO USA Corp. will use the port for importing material and exporting products to around the U.S., Europe and Asia.
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