By Dan McCue

ORANGEBURG -- Orangeburg County economic development officials have long believed that the eastern part of their 1,100-square-mile county, with the crossroads of Interstate 26 and Interstate 95 being within 70 miles of the Port of Charleston, is the ideal location for distribution companies looking to ship products throughout the southeastern United States.

In fact, long before Jafza International came into the picture, the county embarked on an aggressive plan to create several industrial commerce parks on its own and in collaboration with other municipalities.

These include the Orangeburg County Industrial Park, Orangeburg County City Industrial Park, John W. Matthews Industrial Park, Shamrock and the Carolina Regional Business Park. Tenants in most, if not all, of these facilities have undertaken significant expansions in recent years.

"We knew by virtue of our proximity to the Port of Charleston and to two interstates that combined are traveled by 135,000 vehicles a day, not to mention a host of other amenities, that we had something special," said Gregg Robinson, executive director of the Orangeburg County Development Commission.

"If we can achieve this kind of success as public entities, imagine what private enterprise can do," he said.

In addition to its prime location near two busy interstates, the area Jafza International settled on is also well served by rail, something that has already proven to be a magnet for the development of other industrial properties and industrial parks.

"Given that 75% of the U.S. population is located east of the Mississippi River, we provide excellent market access to companies trying to effectively and efficiently distribute their goods," Robinson said.

The industrial base in Orangeburg County employs about 8,200 workers at roughly 100 business operations. The Jafza International project would at least double that base, Robinson said.

Currently, the county's largest employer, Husqvarna, a manufacturer of riding lawn tractors, employs about 2,000.