By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

Orangeburg, S.C.: The gateway to North America?

That’s part of the vision that’s driving the development of Jafza International’s development of 1,300 acres at the crossroads of Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 301 into a massive logistics, distribution and manufacturing center.

“Anybody that knows about logistics and the movement of cargo through this country knows that the trend has been toward more and more goods entering the Southeastern United States,” said Chuck Heath, Jafza’s senior vice president and managing director. “The question is how and where to locate a facility that will help speed those goods to market.”

For Heath and Jafza, several factors made the Dubai-based company decide that Orangeburg was where it wanted to be.

First, there was the fact that CaroLinks had culled together options to purchase 1,300 contiguous acres. One rung higher on the ladder of importance was the site’s connectivity, not only to the Port of Charleston, but to the ports and existing distribution centers throughout the Southeast, not to mention two interstates.

“But what made the decision, ultimately, was the positive reception we received from Orangeburg County, the state, Congressman Jim Clyburn and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham,” Heath said. “From the start it was, ‘You have the vision. Let’s get it done.’ ”

Up to that point Jafza was looking at a number of sites throughout the Southeast. Once it chose Orangeburg, Heath said, he told LCP Consulting Ltd., a leading logistics and supply chain specialist, to start looking at other sites.

“Certainly another facility in South Carolina isn’t out of the question nor is a network of sites throughout the country … but we’re looking throughout North America, including potential sites in Canada, the Western United States and the Midwest,” Heath said.

That statement is in line with the economic development strategy the government of Dubai has outlined in Dubai Vision 2010, the emirate’s plan to reduce its fiscal dependence on oil and attract foreign investment.

One crucial concept of the vision is to make Dubai and its outlying facilities crucial “nodes in the global economic networks.”

While Jebel Ali, the nation’s huge logistics and manufacturing center, is seen as the “hub of hubs,” the country has steadily established other centers in North Africa, India and Europe to serve as gateways and bridges into other markets.

Said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, in 2005, “What’s good for business is good for Dubai.”