Richland County attracts record $638M in investment in 2020

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Richland County received a record $638 million in new capital investment in 2020 and added a total of 1,377 jobs.

Eight companies announced investments in the county in 2020, according to a news release from the county, led by Mark Anthony’s Brewing $400 million Pineview Industrial Park production facility, which is expected to create 325 jobs.

“Richland County has accomplished so much in the area of economic development, and the efforts we’ve undertaken to attract companies here helped put us in good position to weather the economic upheaval of the past year,” Paul Livingston, Richland County Council chair, said in the release. “It is exciting that so many top-notch companies made the decision to invest in our community and our people.”

In January, the S.C. Department of Commerce announced $4 billion in 2020 statewide capital investment resulting in 11,147 jobs.

Richland County also completed a strategic plan in 2020 to guide future economic development efforts and launched a technology action plan designed to help the county and the Columbia region compete for knowledge economy jobs.

The county’s 2020 annual report also highlighted Xplor Boatwork’s $3.4 million manufacturing facility, which created 34 jobs, and a $2.3 million expansion by technology company Capgemini of its BullStreet District operations that added 150 jobs.

Since the 2011 inception of the Richland County Economic Development Office, the county has attracted $2.2 billion in investments that have created 8,204 jobs, according to the release.

“With more than 1,300 jobs and $638 million in capital investment announced from a range of diverse companies, 2020 was a record-setting year,” said Yvonne McBride, County Council vice chair and Economic Development Committee chair. “We’re truly on a path to move the community forward with a more inclusive approach to economic development.”