The head of a newly unveiled manufacturing company said Wednesday that the 50 competitively waged jobs it will create are likely to be filled -- hopefully by locals -- by this time next year.
Carolina Door and Millwork Chief Operating Officer Joe Walters made the announcement at the company's 28-acre site in Laurel Bay.
Over the next three years, the company will invest $10 million to $12 million to develop its first manufacturing facility, he said.
Finding a reliable workforce in Beaufort County for Walters and other prospective industries may be tough, county economic officials have said.
Education levels among many potential workers don't meet many businesses' minimum training qualifications, neighboring counties have readily available workers, and the county's low 4.6 percent unemployment rate all play into the problem.
Beaufort County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, according to data from S.C. Association of Counties.
However, the company is working with the Technical College of the Lowcountry to create a program specifically for training employees to work for the manufacturer.
"We are working very closely to tailor a program to meet his needs," said TCL President Anne McNutt.
Walters said he is particularly interested in people with computer-assisted design skills, which the college offers classes in, and for people with mechanical aptitude.
"We're trying to attract somebody looking for a career," Walters said.
Officials have said that jobs and industries like these are sorely needed in the county to diversify the economy beyond tourism, reduce homeowners' tax burden, and to improve low- and moderate-income families' quality of life.
The Greater Beaufort-Hilton Head Economic Partnership has been wooing the company, previously referred to only by its Project Panther code name, for months. Walters said the partnership and the Beaufort County Council's work was key to choosing a site in Beaufort County over a Jasper County option.
"Getting into the park has been kind of a struggle without the help of the economic partnership (and) Beaufort County," Walters said.
The county, which provides nearly half of the partnership's annual budget, implemented measures in the fall that expedited business development in the commerce park and increased state tax credit incentives. Carolina Door and Millwork is the first business to make a new home in the
195-acre commerce park since the economic partnership bought the land in March 2006.
Carolina Door and Millwork will market its wares wholesale to home builders primarily through the Beaufort-based Grayco Building Centers.
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