EDC: Manufacturer plans to move to Horry County, create 49 jobs

Horry County industry recruiters expect to announce the arrival of a new manufacturer — and 49 jobs — next month.

Officials have not disclosed the name of the company or the nature of its business, but they plan to make a formal announcement in early September.

“This is going to be a company that everybody’s going to be impressed with,” said Fred Richardson, chairman of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. (EDC) board. “It’s a manufacturing operation and it’s going to be a good fit.”

The announcement would be the first since EDC President Jim Moore resigned in June. Moore held the position for less than six months. Richardson, who has led the agency since Moore stepped down, said activity at the EDC hasn’t slowed since the CEO’s departure.

“We’re doing pretty OK now,” he said. “We continue to get companies calling us.”

Morgan Dendy, the EDC’s marketing director, said the agency is talking with more than 20 companies about moving to the area or expanding their existing operations.

“It’s really an exciting time for us,” she said.

If the new manufacturer is to receive any county tax breaks or other financial perks, those incentives must be approved by Horry County Council. Chairman Mark Lazarus said county leaders expect to discuss an incentives deal for the company next month.

“They just got everything kind of finalized,” he said, referring to the EDC’s negotiations with the company.

The manufacturer is similar to other companies that have been contacting the EDC lately, Richardson said. Most major industries look for locations that have an interstate. The Grand Strand doesn’t have such a highway, but for many smaller firms that’s not a problem.

“We’re getting a steady stream of smaller type companies that are looking to move here,” Richardson said. “A company with 49 or 50 jobs, you recruit 10 of those and that’s equal to 500 jobs. … In many ways, we’re more suited for a smaller company that has less transportation issues.”

Of course, local leaders would love to land a Boeing or a Volvo like their Lowcountry peers did. But because they are spending $1.3 million per year on the EDC, they want something to show for that investment, even if that means courting smaller firms.

“The ultimate goal is to get the big one,” Lazarus said. “But in the meantime, let’s start filling the pipeline.”

CEO search narrows

More than 50 people applied to be the EDC’s next CEO, but most of them aren’t qualified for the job, Richardson said.

The CEO is responsible for managing the organization and recruiting companies to move to the area. Thursday was the application deadline.

“I’m going back through them,” Richardson said of the applications. “I’m putting them into three categories: a yes, meaning they might be qualified or are qualified; a maybe, meaning they’ve got a high level of experience but maybe not in this particular, exact field; and no, meaning no I wouldn’t send them on to anybody else.”

Late Thursday, Richardson was still making his final choices. He suspects just 10-15 applications will reach the search committee tasked with choosing finalists. Some resumes, however, looked promising.

“We’ve got some possibilities to talk about,” he said.

If the committee doesn’t find a suitable candidate, Richardson said the agency will restart the search.

Moore was the second CEO to head the jobs agency since local officials reorganized the EDC in 2010. His predecessor, Brad Lofton, left the post to take a job in Georgia last summer.

Lofton announced more than 1,500 jobs during his three years running the agency, but about half of those positions have not been filled and hundreds never will be, according to public records.

The first industry expansion Lofton announced was for AvCraft Technical Services, which filed for bankruptcy in March. Another, Ithaca Gun Co., never signed a contract with the EDC and withdrew from the area. Those firms accounted for 270 of the jobs on Lofton’s press releases. While Lofton did have some successes — a Star Tek call center has welcomed more than 340 employees — several firms have been slow to hire or have seen setbacks, including layoffs.

During Moore’s time leading the agency, the EDC announced the arrival of two companies. Star Life Safety, which implements hospital life safety systems, moved from New York to Myrtle Beach with plans to create 36 jobs; and Little Spider Creations, a prop-making business, migrated from Colorado to North Myrtle Beach and aims to hire 35 workers.

This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 11:37 PM with the headline "EDC: Manufacturer plans to move to Horry County, create 49 jobs."