Unidentified food plant slated to bring 400 jobs to Midlands. Here’s what we know

A $400 million food or beverage production plant is slated to create 400 new jobs for Orangeburg County, according to a state bond request and permitting documents.

The identity of the company is hidden, but permitting and bond request documents refer to the development as “Project Panther.”

The state Department of Commerce asked the U.S. Army Corps to allow the secret applicant to “construct and operate a food or beverage production, packaging, and distribution facility” this summer.

The plant will be required to create no fewer than 400 new jobs, according to the bond request.

“It’s a huge deal for Orangeburg, so it’ll be great for them,” House Ways and Means chair Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville told reporters. “Jobs and economic activity and what it’s bringing there, it could be transformational for that area.”

The Joint Bond Review Commission, a committee of state House and Senate members, approved $85 million in economic development bonds for the project Wednesday. The State Fiscal Accountability Authority will also have to approve the bonds for the state Department of Commerce.

The project will be 918 acres in Orangeburg east of U.S. Highway 21 and north of Weatherford Road, according to a permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filed in July 2025. The plant would be located near the Orangeburg Municipal Airport near other industrial plants.