Marion County industrial site certified ‘shovel-Ready

MARION Following months of preparation, the North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) and the Marion County Economic Development Commission have received recognition for a newly designated site.

On Wednesday, Cleveland-based Austin Consulting a leader in the site selection consulting for the food and beverage industry provided NESA with its 'shovel-Ready; Site Designation Award for the Food and Beverage Industry for the Marion County Manna Site, located at the intersection of Gurley Road and US Highway 501, giving the NESA region the state's two lone certified food processing sites.

The state's only other certified food processing site resides in Florence County as the Pee Dee Electric Food Processing Certified Site. 

A certified site such as the Marion County Manna Site provides an expanding or re-locating business with detailed property, geotechnical, utility, environmental, ownership, transportation and permitting research within the convenience of a small binder. 

Before awarding the designation, Austin Consulting evaluated over 200 critical variables which are summarized in the appropriate sections of the report. As part of the process, Austin Consulting performed detailed field investigations of the site and conducted numerous meetings with economic development and utility officials at the city and county level. 

This confluence of information shows the site meets the highest standards in the food processing field and allows companies to expedite the process of doing business in the NESA region by mitigating much of the time, expense and risk incurred during a typical site selection process.

South Carolina State Senator and Chairman of the NESA Executive Committee Yancey McGill said the certification of Marion County Manna Site will be an incredible buoy for business in the area, by both increasing interest in the region and providing it with the state's second certified food processing site.

The certification of this site marks a great day for Marion County and the NESA region, as well, McGill said. A product such as this gives the NESA region and Marion County a great asset and gives us a marked advantage when competing with other areas. This certification will allow NESA and the Marion County Economic Development Commission to market this site as a product that is ready to host an industry today, with all peripheral utility research already completed. Considering the fact that the NESA region already has the state's only two certified food processing sites, this puts our counties in a great position to compete for and win projects in the food processing industry now and in the future.

The 33-acre site's certification will make it one of the top destinations for food processing or distribution centers in the coming years. 

Fred Gassaway, the executive vice president of marketing of the South Carolina Power Team, said as South Carolina continues to focus on agribusiness, the site is a perfect fit for not just the region, but the state as a whole.

The time and cost savings offered through site certification will go directly to the bottom line of the food company that can take advantage of this unique site, selected and evaluated with the needs of the food industry foremost in mind, Gassaway said. We are pleased to have participated in making this Certified Site a reality.

South Carolina State Senator Kent Williams, a member of the NESA Executive Committee said he feels the certification of the site puts Marion County in a great position for future projects. 

I was thrilled to learn of the awarding of the 'shovel-Ready; Site Designation Award for the Food and Beverage Industry to the Marion County Manna Site, Williams said. Marion County joins an elite group of sites to complete this process successfully. This accomplishment puts us on the forefront for companies looking to develop these food & industry businesses in the Southeast.

Elista Smith, chairwoman of the Marion County Council, said the newly certified site will offer Marion County and its populace to become involved in the industry of food processing and agribusiness. 

The Marion County Council is excited about the Marion County Manna Site certification, and council also wishes to thank all of those that took a major part in getting our site certified, Smith said. All of Marion County should be excited because this site certification will provide an incredible opportunity to show off the continuous success of agriculture in South Carolina and especially Marion County. Agribusiness has always been a dominate force in Marion County economy.

South Carolina State Representative Wayne George said the certification not only improves the business climate of the county, but also provides a necessary improvement for economic development in the region.

I applaud the Marion County Economic Development Commission's leadership team and NESA on developing one of two shovel ready sites in South Carolina for the food and beverage industry, George said. The site located off major highway 501 Bypass and near major highway 76 is an attractive site as we recruit agribusiness jobs to our area. With a down economy the past few years, food is one area that has seen no decline in jobs and investments. We need to look for jobs in the food area to foster growth during these challenging times. This site is a tremendous asset as we look to provide the new jobs our citizenry deserve.