South Carolina's Media Engine for Economic Growth

SCBIZ 2008 - Issue 3

At first glance, Union County is nowhere close to being an economic development success story. The Upstate community of nearly 30,000 residents traditionally ranks high among state leaders for joblessness, and it has been that way since the local textile industry died years ago and took more than 2,000 local jobs with it. Workers who once depended on local mills for their livelihood were forced to look elsewhere for a paycheck.

The art of the deal

The principals of The Capital Corp. are relaxed and helpful as a photographer turns their lobby upside down. They talk casually as a large rug is spun around, a heavy sofa moved aside, a pair of tables pushed out of the way. They pose for a picture with their easy-talking president and CEO, C. Dan Adams, in the middle. When the photographer is finished, the men restore the room themselves. They do it smoothly, without discussing or deciding who grabs the rug and who moves the sofa. Together, the company principals and their president work efficiently until the task is done. That simple act of putting a room in its proper order is an appropriate metaphor for how this executive team works at The Capital Corp. in Greenville, where the president and his key players do the heavy lifting themselves.

Sister Act: Elizabeth Allen

It was a cold, windy day this January when Elizabeth Allen’s sister, Katherine Cross, came to her with an idea. Cross had been downtown in Greenville earlier in the day and ducked into an artist’s studio to seek shelter from the rain. There, Cross met Al Keiser, an accomplished photographer whose digital prints on satin and other fabrics caught her eye. Cross immediately thought of her sister, a chemist and aficionado of textiles and fashion.

Sister Act: Katherine Cross

Database technology doesn’t have a thing to do with her undergraduate degree in music and religion, but Katherine Cross is singing a tune of another calling these days. That’s because the Greenville-based computer consultant is having a successful run with her own business, King’s Cross Consulting. The company helps businesses manage their Web site databases and provides a range of Web and server services such as e-commerce, reporting, intranet and Internet applications and Web page application conversions.

Janet Christy quickly recalls why she set out to start her own Greer-based consulting firm: “Demand and evolution.” After spending 25 years in the telecommunications industry, where Christy designed and launched a number of communication services for the public and private sector, including leading a team at BellSouth to provide Internet access for all K-12 schools in South Carolina, Christy started consulting with economic development groups to help them use their technology as marketing tools. That work led her to help small businesses and women- and minority-owned businesses grow.

CU-ICAR drives the future

A rhythmic beep-beep and a flashing yellow light alert you to the slow, sideways slide of a glossy, white oversized door. Below this door, a narrow steel plate rises up to seal the recess so you can safely cross over the threshold. Step inside and you’ll find a room with walls that are paneled in an Op Art black-and-white geometric design. As you walk around, you can’t help but notice that your footfalls are eerily muffled even though the space is empty except for a broad platform set slightly off center. If you’re thinking this is some hipster lounge with entry only for VIPs, you’d only be partly wrong.

Carmen Geschke is sitting at the conference table in her office organizing a stack of papers. The president of ProTec Enterprises LLC looks up briefly as the volume of proceedings on the other side of the wall increases. Laughter rings through the sound of industrial equipment as a group of her employees assemble hydraulic hoses for one of their automotive clients. “I have a great team,” Geschke says, smiling.

Nancy Whitworth is standing in the Wyche Pavilion on the banks of the Reedy River in Greenville. Along with about 50 participants in the inaugural Food for Thought Conference, the city’s director of economic development is enjoying the soft breeze that blows off the water on this near-perfect night in May. Despite the idyllic moment, she’s thinking about business. “This has always been a business community,” she muses. “It just took a while to figure out the quality-of-life piece.”

BMW production goes into overdrive

Steel beams rise from the 1,150-acre site in Greer. Backhoes clear the earth and mixers pour cement for the foundation that will support BMW Manufacturing Co.’s $750 million plant expansion. Announced in April, this expansion will double the size of BMW’s plant, giving the company the ability to build several new lines of automobiles. The new larger facility will not only affect Spartanburg County, its influence will ripple across the state, trickling down from the Upstate through the Midlands and across the Lowcountry.

Tuning in to tourism

Cruising to the top of “Led Zeppelin: The Ride” is quite peaceful; the cloudless, blue sky drawing nearer, a soft breeze blowing off the Hard Rock Park lagoon, Robert Plant’s nasally, tenor crooning suggestively. Then, Jimmie Page’s guitar begins to grind and squeal, the car reaches the coaster’s apex and hell breaks loose. Twisted metal loops and curls defiantly suspend howling riders above the ground. “Shake for me, girl,” Plant demands.