Snelling, SC, July 29-- "Good things come to those who wait." That was the phrase of the day Wednesday during a news conference to announce first-phase development of the largest industry located at the South Carolina Advanced Technology Park in Barnwell County, according to the Orangeburg Times and Democrat.
The Southern Carolina Alliance, the economic development arm of Bamberg, Allendale, Barnwell and Hampton counties, owns the massive industrial park which has been transformed from what one official called a "1,630-acre, moth-balled processing plant" to one of the largest regional parks in the Southeast.
Legislative and county council officials joined Alliance representatives at the site to celebrate the burgeoning development of Kronotex USA Inc., which produces quality wood products including flooring for commercial and residential use.
A world leader in the laminate flooring industry, Kronotex is a member of KronoGroup Switzerland, a privately held Swiss company founded in 1897. With U.S. headquarters in Alpharetta, Ga., the company is committed to expanding its North American operations.
The company chose to develop its first North American operation on a 342.7-acre site at the SCAT Park.
Kronotex currently has a sales office and customer service operation in Alpharetta, Ga., along with distribution facilities in Savannah, Ga., and Houston, Texas. Kronotex USA products, including laminate flooring, OSB and melamine laminated particleboard, are manufactured in Germany and France.
Phase One construction will include a 360,000-square-foot building to house laminating and floor plank profiling lines capable of producing 200 million square feet of laminate flooring annually. Production is anticipated to start during the first quarter of 2005.
Phase Two will include construction of a medium-density fiberboard and high-density fiberboard core plant. Additional phases will include more laminating and flooring lines.
"We expect to employ at least 70 here by the end of next year. That number will continue to grow annually. We estimate by the end of Phase Two, total employment will be 140 or more and (the company will) invest about $135 million. This is over the two- to five-year time frame ... the state requires when calculating the return on investment for economic development projects," Kronotex USA President Norm Voss said.
The plant will be able to manufacture the highest quality laminate flooring products, including embossed-in-register surfaces and beveled edges.
"We are aggressively pushing construction ahead to be able to start producing laminate flooring here in Barnwell during the first quarter of 2005," Voss said.
Columbia-based M.B. Kahn Construction is the primary building contractor for the project.
Voss said it was the Alliance's commitment to bringing the necessary infrastructure into the park (including water and sewer which is being provided through the Bamberg Board of Public Works) that made the difference in attracting the company to the area.
Hal Stone of the S.C. Department of Commerce said the future addition of rail lines at the site will make it even more attractive. He presented Voss and Steve Russell, vice president of manufacturing, with American flags as a token of appreciation for their commitment to developing the company's investment.
The U.S. Department of Energy provided $5 million in infrastructure development funds to the SCAT Park.
Voss expressed his optimism surrounding the company's future development at the park.
The park is the former site of the Allied General Nuclear Services plant. Kronotex is one of two industries at the park. UniTech Services Group, the first nuclear decontamination laundry licensed in the United States, is the other.
