|
Turbocharger manufacturer expands facility, adds jobs
By Matthew French
Staff Writer
Holset Turbochargers is expanding its Lowcountry operations, creating nearly 200 new jobs.
The company, a subsidiary of Cummins Inc., announced late last month that it will invest $13 million in a new 110,000-square-foot facility in the Palmetto Commerce Park, located off Ladson Road in North Charleston.
The new plant will increase the production of diesel engine turbochargers. A turbocharger is comprised of a turbine and a compressor that forces compressed air into an engine, allowing the engine to produce more power and torque while improving efficiency. The company specializes in building turbochargers for medium and heavy-duty diesel engines, according to company documents.
The company opened its manufacturing facility in the area in 1989 and expanded 10 years later. Its latest move will bring its local employee base up to about 600.
“Two factors were instrumental in this decision (to expand here): a competitive incentive package and a strong base of existing resources in the region,” says Jeffrey Stanton, Holset’s manufacturing support leader. “Our site selection search took us to Eastern Europe, Central America, South America and North America. We were impressed by South Carolina’s aggressiveness, cost of living, quality of life and port access.”
Holset began construction on the new facility late last month and hopes to have production running by early 2006. Its global headquarters is in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, and the company employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. The company also has manufacturing facilities in India, China and Brazil.
Holset expects to produce about 200,000 turbochargers per year at the new facility and could expand to produce more if needed. Stanton added that the new plant will not impact the company’s other North Charleston facility, which is located on Leeds Avenue and has about 400 employees.
Boost in economic auto cluster
Ted Creech, chairman of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, marks the addition of the Holset expansion to the area as a victory in one of five key economic development clusters.
Earlier this year, the alliance received the final version of AngelouEconomics’ report which suggested focusing on five economic clusters: aircraft and aerospace; automotive; biosciences; creative industries, which includes historical preservation, architecture, film and visual media, and urban planning; and advanced security, which includes tracking and surveillance software, biometric access, and security and intelligence software.
“The Angelou report says we should focus on (these) five major cluster industries,” says Creech. “Our region competed with markets across the world, and we stood up and said that we would be competitive. Holset has assured us that we are competitive on a global scale.”
Manufacturing jobs have largely replaced many of the textile-centric jobs that have been transplanted overseas for cheaper labor. Companies like Cummins Marine, Robert Bosch, Vought-Alenia and Holset have stepped in to fill the void and have created a manufacturing base that the region hopes it can capitalize on in the future.
“Holset has committed itself to bringing more and better jobs to the region, and this helps deepen our automobile cluster,” Creech says.
Gov. Mark Sanford says South Carolina will push for further expansion in economic development by trying to attract more companies to the state.
“We’ve made some significant strides in growing our state’s automotive cluster over the past few years, and this announcement is obviously another big step forward on that front,” Sanford says. “Ultimately, we’re hoping to accelerate the pace of growth not only in that cluster, but across all sectors of our economy. That’s why we’re going to keep pushing for reforms, like expanded income tax relief, that will make South Carolina even more competitive in attracting jobs and capital investment.”
While Stanton would not say what the average wage of the new employees will be, he did say they would exceed the average manufacturing wage in Charleston County.
“These are manufacturing and skill jobs that will allow us to further diversify our economy,” says Kurt Taylor, a North Charleston city councilman. “These are good paying jobs in excess of the average salary for the region. We are happy that our good friend and good corporate citizen took a worldwide search and determined that where they are is where they should be.”
Luring new manufacturing jobs could play a key role in the pursuit of other opportunities for the Lowcountry, such as a second aircraft manufacturing plant with EADS North America. The company hired to consult on-site selection for that project has indicated that finding enough qualified workers to fill potentially 1,000 jobs is a prime factor that will be considered in the final selection process.
“It goes without saying that these are very exciting times for the region,” says Creech. “This is our 12th such announcement this fiscal year and 168th in the 10 years since the alliance formed.”
Matthew French covers manufacturing for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@crbj.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version