By Lydia Dishman
Contributing Writer

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.”

Stockbroker Charles Schwab once said, “A man, to carry on a successful business, must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing.”

The Upstate had not one but many such successful businesspeople, those with visions and dreams that turned an upcountry land traversed by wildlife, Native Americans and rivers into the vibrant urban hub of industry and development that it is today.

With more than 128,000 businesses in 2006, and a work force of more than 640,000, the region has become home to a variety of industries including automotive, aviation, biopharmaceuticals, advanced materials, call centers, computer and software services and manufacturing facilities.

Not to mention that between January 2007 and April 2008, nearly $209 million has been invested — just in Greenville County — by a diverse array of companies such as Cytec Industries, Datran Manufacturing, Millmer Milliken and Q Tires, just to name a few. All of this activity has created more than 1,000 jobs according to the Greenville Area Development Corp.

“If there is a singular reason why the Upstate is so successful at attracting industry, it is because there’s visionary leadership with a get-it-done mentality,” says Kevin Landmesser, vice president of the GADC. The GADC, along with the Upstate Alliance, Greer Development Corporation, Economic Futures Group, formerly the Spartanburg Economic Development Corporation, and others are working to promote the area to attract business. According to the Upstate Alliance, an overall, aggressive tax incentive program rewards companies for job creation and investment.

The Upstate Alliance also found that this region boasts the production of 60% of the goods shipped through the Southeast’s largest container port in Charleston. Its location — within a 48-hour drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population — is key.

Though the 10-county Upstate is a medium-sized market, it makes up one of the strongest manufacturing centers in the country. Greenville is a locus, not only because it is the most populous, but also because it is home to more than 300 corporate headquarters, more than any other region in the state, according to the S.C. Department of Commerce.

International flair
For the past few decades, the Upstate has been the recipient of more foreign investment per capita than any other region in the United States, with more than 237 international companies locating operations or headquarters here.

Landmesser, who has been helping facilitate company relocations since GADC was established in July 2001, asks businesses contemplating a move to the area, “Why should you not locate here?” 

“There are no fatal flaws,” Landmesser says. “No unions, no traffic, (no) congestion, it’s not too expensive, there is a pro-business environment and it is a beautiful location.”

Landmesser asserts that there has been increased interest in the Upstate from foreign investors. “Part of it is BMW’s expansion, and part of it is because of the weak dollar,” he explains, adding that companies from Asia, Europe, the U.K. and Canada have been all been contemplating moves.

The international flavor carries over to other types of businesses. The Paris Café and Restaurant in downtown Greenville is owned by Joseph Leon, originally from Montreal, and his Parisian wife, Pascale. The couple already owned and operated a successful café and bakery on Hilton Head and wanted to tap the international market in Greenville.

Leon says when he was researching the Upstate, he felt certain that its number of foreign companies and diverse population would be open to French cuisine. After three years and several tweaks, Paris Café and Restaurant has found a recipe for success. Leon praises the city for good parking and no traffic. He also points out that the processes for business licensing are very streamlined. 

People
Greenville’s city manager, Jim Bourey, is a Boston native with 31 years of experience in all aspects of local government in places such as Phoenix and Minneapolis/St. Paul. He notes, “The people here are genuinely friendly and welcoming. Here, as opposed to a big city, you can be more engaged in the issues personally and have the opportunity to really make a difference.”

Not only are the folk friendly, they are also educated. John Warner is president of Swamp Fox, an online community he built to encourage business people to network. Warner emphasizes the paradigm shift in the perception of the work force in the Upstate from textile manufacturing to automotive and industrial engineering.

“We need to stop saying our labor is cheap and start understanding that it is smart,” he says.

One of the major selling points of the Upstate is its work force. Beginning with elementary education and continuing on through universities such as Furman, Clemson, Wofford as well as Greenville Technical College, there is no shortage of schools at which one can get a quality education and enjoy the cultural benefits of having such institutions in close proximity.

Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research is the poster child for bringing education together with economic development. Executive Director Bob Geolas is fond of saying, “Innovation is a body contact sport,” meaning that new ideas develop when people are given the space to connect. CU-ICAR is drawing together a diverse pool of professors and students from across the country and the world. 

But Bourey cautions, “We need to be even more welcoming if we are going to be world class. We need to continue to embrace diversity.”

As such, there are a variety of diversity initiatives in the works. The city of Greenville is striving to have at least 10% of contracted work come from minority businesses. Michelin and BMW have similar goals.

German-born Carmen Geschke, president of ProTec Enterprises LLC, a Tier 2 automotive supplier, moved to the Upstate from Michigan four years ago. Geschke notes there have been multiple resources available to help her company grow. She in turn, is joining with other small, minority- and woman-owned suppliers to form an industrial alliance. 

The Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership at Furman University launched a unique program that encouraged community leaders to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by the many facets of diversity in the state, including differences in cultural background, language, gender and physical ability. The YWCA of Greenville and its yW Empowerment Center program has a number of seminars, conferences and resources specifically designed to help women in business.

Places
Reno Deaton, executive director of the Greer Development Corp., asserts that the availability of great buildings is as important as work force and quality of life. “We have a real tangible advantage with so many locations in close proximity to BMW,” he explains.

A Grubb & Ellis Research study for the first quarter of 2008 found that engineering is driving growth in the region’s industrial real estate market. Banking is also helping the market, the report added.

“Nationally, the financial services industry is facing severe challenges, but local banks Carolina First and Palmetto Bank are busy constructing new headquarter facilities... several other smaller local banks are expanding or establishing their market presence,” the document said.

Things
But beyond work force, office space and ease of local government processes, the quality of life is that tangible and intangible piece that Whitworth was chewing on at the Food for Thought conference.

Health care is one of the components that can make or break quality of life.

“I would stack (Greenville’s health care) up against any health care anywhere in the nation,” Mary Hassett, senior vice president for Strategic Initiatives for the Bon Secour St. Francis Health System in Greenville says.

Hassett cites readily available advanced technology such as digital mammography, robotics and minimally invasive surgery. Later this year, St. Francis will introduce a third campus, this one being planned at the Millennium/CU-ICAR development. 

St. Francis CEO Valinda Rutledge anticipates that traditional health services and innovative wellness concepts will complement each other in a unique mix on the Millennium campus.  

Additionally, Hassett points out, the health systems in the Upstate collaborate with one another to provide an ever-greater level of care for the community.

The arts are another important component of a dynamic quality of life. The Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg and the Anderson County Arts Center provide local and international artists a place to exhibit and perform. And while the arts feed the soul and inspire the mind, they have an economic impact, too. The Metropolitan Arts Council distributed more than $125,000 to area arts groups and artists touching almost 400,000 residents in and around Greenville County. During 2005-2006, the arts and cultural industry in Greenville County accounted for more than $19 million in direct economic impact with an ancillary impact of $92 million, according to data compiled by MAC.

MAC’s Alan Ethridge states, “The main mission of the Metropolitan Arts Council’s five-year strategic plan is for Greenville to be recognized as one of the top 25 small-city arts destinations in the country.”

Nancy Whitworth looks over at the Reedy River’s opposite bank where a clutch of artists’ studios are part of a new mixed-development project. The doors are flung open, inviting browsers and buyers. She says simply, “This is a good place to be.”