Arthrex, a leading designer and manufacturer of minimally invasive surgical instruments, recently announced plans to build a 200,000 square-foot, $74 million manufacturing facility in Anderson County, South Carolina. The new facility is targeted for completion in 2019 and is projected to create 1,000 jobs over five years.
The company will receive property tax discounts as high as 90 percent over the next ten years as part of a 40-year agreement between the company, local municipalities, and the state of South Carolina. New positions will be available for machinists, assemblers, manufacturing engineers, and senior operations management at a minimum rate of $20/hour.
Playing into the company’s location decision was proximity to advanced manufacturing training programs at the nearby Tri-County Technical College, which the company sees as key to developing and identifying qualified workers. Anderson County was able to sell Arthrex the property it will use for the facility at cost, due to a recent capital investment push that poured $1 billion into new and expanded industrial infrastructure.
Equally impressive is the Swiss company Stadler breaking ground on a new manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City, Utah last week. The company will design, build, assemble, and test trains for transit properties throughout the United States and North America at the new location.
The 10-year, $50 million project will entail the construction of new roads, utilities, test track, a manufacturing plant, and an office building. Additional growth is expected to mesh with corresponding orders. The company will hire 1,000 new employees, with additional jobs anticipated for the area due to local supplier growth and others potentially relocating to Salt Lake City to be closer to Stadler.