Agribusiness

Aerospace

With the lowest unionization rate in the country, our state has attracted some of the biggest names in the aviation industry.

Agribusiness

From traditional farming to modern food processing, our region has a long history of agribusiness success.

Distribution
& Logistics

Distribution & Logistics

Our prime location and reliable infrastructure connects us to domestic and global markets.

Metals

A highly skilled workforce is the reason manufacturing is at our region's core.

Plastics
& Chemicals

Plastics & Chemicals

A business friendly environment is why some of the world's largest plastics and chemical producers locate here.

Plant the Seeds of Success

With hundreds of years of agricultural heritage, an unbeatable location halfway between Miami and New York and within 10 hours of more than a third of the entire population of the United States, our region is the ideal location for manufacturing and distributing perishable or fresh food products along the East Coast. Contact our team today to start your site search.

Advantages

Proximity to farmland production

Our region has more than 23% of the state’s cultivatable farmland within our nine counties. These farms produce more than $620 million in receipts annually. That represents about 21% of the state total. Many prospective food processors have met with our local farmers and have been warmly welcomed as potential new customers for fresh produce.

More than 1 BILLION gallons per day of excess water capacity

Some of our sites also sit atop the Middendorf Aquifer which offers a virtually endless supply of clean fresh water ideal for beverage formulation and food processing. In addition, we have numerous regional municipal systems with significant excess water capacities as well.

Robust regional wastewater treatment plants

Specifically for the food processing industry, we have identified several sites that have high tolerance waste-water systems, requiring less pretreatment, resulting in lower operating costs. Additionally, onsite pollution control equipment related to wastewater pretreatment systems are exempt from property taxes.

Expedited permitting available

Less than 1% of environmental permits in South Carolina are challenged. DHEC administers the issuance of federal permits in the state. DHEC gives priority to the permitting review of new facilities. Permitting fees in South Carolina are comparable to those in most states. South Carolina law does not require environmental impact statements.

Two premier third-party validated “shovel ready” food processing sites

Austin Consulting validated a site in Florence County and a site in Marion County as being “shovel ready” for the food processing industry. This program not only resulted in comprehensive due diligence on these sites but also gave our team the expertise to know what food processing companies need. We are ready to help you find the perfect site within our region.

Proven Success

The NESA region has a rich and constantly evolving agricultural history that has proven its success for over two hundred years. From farm-to-fork, our region has a robust and established agribusiness supply chain and the critical transportation infrastructure needed to move product.

Workforce

With numerous major food processors already in our region and in the surrounding counties, our region boasts a qualified and experienced food processing workforce. With no cost workforce recruitment, screening, and training via Ready SC and the technical college system, finding the right people has never been easier. Our region’s food processing workforce works in facilities that are engaged in meat and poultry processing, beverage manufacturing, vegetable canning, frozen foods, shelf stable products production, additive ingredient manufacturing, and food service distribution. With such a diverse workforce, there are few food-related industries that we cannot accommodate within our region.