Security fence company to move to USC’s Innovation Center, create 60 jobs

Electric Guard Dog, the nation’s largest electric security fence company, is relocating into the new Innovation Center on the University of South Carolina campus and creating about 60 jobs.

The company has leased 20,500 square feet in the 110,000-square-foot building at the corner of Assembly and Blossom streets for its new headquarters. The center was built by Holder Properties of Atlanta in conjunction with USC.

The company has 60 employees at its current headquarters in Synergy Business Park near Interstate 20 at Bush River Road and plans to double in size when its moves into the new building in March.

“We chose to move to get the space we needed to accommodate the major increase in support staff we’ve made,” CEO Jack DeMao said in a news release. “Innovation Center has the capacity for our continued growth, and the proximity and relationship the building has with the University of South Carolina enables us to offer internships and job opportunities to students and graduates.”

The company bills itself as the leading supplier of electric security fences. In addition to office workers, it has 60 contractors nationwide. That number, too, is expected to double, DeMao said.

Electric Guard Dog, founded in Columbia in 1991, will be located on the fifth floor of the Innovation Center.