By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

JEBEL ALI, Dubai -- Representatives of at least six international companies said their companies are determined to locate facilities at Jafza South Carolina LLC's planned logistics and commerce park in Orangeburg during a luncheon meeting at Jafza's 81-square-mile free trade zone in the United Arab Emirates.

While these company officials told the Charleston Regional Business Journal that their plans in regard to South Carolina are in only preliminary stages, at this time, their combined planned investment in the state would be well in excess of $50 million and result in the creation of an initial 250 jobs.

In addition, Chuck Heath, managing director of Jafza International, Jafza South Carolina LLC's parent company, said a marketing survey conducted in the past 10 days prompted strong interest in the possible expansion of a total of 33 companies into South Carolina as a direct result of the company's purchase of more than 1,300 acres in Orangeburg last September.

"Of course, we're gratified in their confidence in us," said Heath, who indicated that the Orangeburg project is such a priority that he will be buying a home in the state to help see it through to fruition.

A delegation of seven from South Carolina, including Bill Cronin, director of global business development for the S.C. Department of Commerce; Gregg Robinson, executive director of the Orangeburg County Development Commission; and other Orangeburg County officials traveled to Dubai this week to get a first hand look at Jafza's operations and to meet face to face with several economic development prospects who have been doing business with Jafza in the Middle east for years.

Grace Soriano-Brown, contracts manager for Sider Gulf FZCO, a supplier of steel and stainless steel products, said her company had been considering an expansion in either the New York City metropolitan area or just outside Washington, D.C., when it learned of Jafza's purchase of the Orangeburg site and immediately decided South Carolina is where it needs to be.

Similarly M.L. Soni, managing director of M.R.S. Packaging Limited, a company that works with seven U.S.-based candy and snack foods manufacturers, said he wants to establish a presence in Orangeburg "to provide my clients with the kind of logistics solutions they need to help grow their companies.

Presentations by Robinson and Cronin before a room crowded with interested business men and women, many of them the decision makers for their companies, drew an enthusiastic response and inspired more than a half hour of questions on everything from incentives to the basics of doing business in the United States to the South Carolina labor market and the range of housing that is available here for the management teams that could be relocating to the state to oversee their company's expansions.

In the past month, Jafza South Carolina LLC has issued two requests for proposals related to the Orangeburg project. The first is directly related to assembling a team to design the master plan for the development, a project that is expected to be completed by the end of August.

The work includes a study of the market needs and potential of the site, an analysis that will be used to expand Jafza's marketing efforts.

The second request for proposals focuses more on the technical side of the project and the environmental due diligence work that must be done before development begins.

"Right now, we're about a week ahead of schedule in our development plan, Heath said. "We're planning to kick off a full blown marketing campaign for the site in September, once the master plan is in place."

Much of the discussions between county officials, the state and Jafza in Dubai this week have focused on how they can most effectively collaborate on marketing the project and take advantage of Jafza's unique position in the international logistics and commerce park arena.

"One of the reasons we're here is we wanted to see first hand what Jafza is doing here in the Middle East and firmly get our minds around the concept and history of their efforts in Dubai," Cronin said. “Our other intent is to emphasize to these companies that we want them to use our community, Orangeburg and the state as a whole, as a springboard into the U.S. market."

Robinson agreed.

“About 80% of what we can do in this regard can be done through business guides and the creation of FAQs to distribute to these companies, but face-to-face discussions with these prospective new South Carolinians is vital to our economic development effort. These companies have unique histories and experiences and expectations here in the Jebel Ali free zone that are quite different from what they'll experience in the United States,” he said.

“It's just different doing business here in Dubai as opposed to back home. What's got them excited and made them comfortable about anticipating an entry into the United States is their strong faith in Jafza. We're here to emphasize that we want to help them not only locate here, but also to prosper and expand, creating even more jobs in our community while giving them unparalleled and easy access to the rest of the North American market."