S.C. is ready to offer big bucks to attract DaimlerChrysler

June 4, 2002

JEDBURG, S.C. The AP is reporting that when South Carolina failed to entice Mercedes-Benz here a decade ago, officials learned to be more prepared the next time industry came looking.

Now that DaimlerChrysler AG is considering the area to build a cargo van plant, South Carolina is ready to compete with bigger bucks under a bill Gov. Jim Hodges signed last month. It would allow the state to offer about $100 million in incentives.

The state can use the money to buy land, build roads and make other improvements to lure the company to a site 30 miles north of downtown Charleston on Interstate 26.

"South Carolina is always more competitive than other states. Always," Hodges said. "Not just incentives. Any prospect that looks at South Carolina will find it's a better place to do business than any place in the country."

State officials are waiting to find out if the higher incentives -- $28 million more than for BMW in Greer -- are enough to win a second vehicle plant. A decision could be made as soon as this month.

DaimlerChrysler is considering the site in Berkeley County; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Savannah, Ga., for a plant that would employ about 3,000 initially at an average wage of $19 an hour.

A van plant would boost substantially average wages in the Lowcountry, an area heavily dependent on tourism and other low-paying service jobs.

DaimlerChrysler will pay about $6 to $8 more than the prevailing wage for production workers in Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville.

Automakers "are going to pay a premium, and they'll create a queue of people trying to get in," said Matthew Murray, an economist at the University of Tennessee. The process won't endear the company to existing industries, as the automaker drives up area wages, he said.

People around Jedburg said they would welcome the raise.

"If it comes out here it's going to benefit a lot of people," said Pam Short, a retired state prison guard who lives in Jedburg, a community about four miles from the proposed plant site. "There are a lot of good people in this area who have to go way out of town to get decent-paying jobs."

The Jedburg site is closer to a base of auto suppliers than either Savannah or Jacksonville. It also has access to two interstates, rail lines and the Port of Charleston.

Car manufacturers look for sites with easy access to their product's final market and good roads, rails and utilities, Murray said.

Jacksonville counts transportation as one of its main advantages. It's close to three major interstates, three rail lines and has a major container port.

"Anytime we're courting a customer, one of the big things we sell is our distribution network," said Robert Peek, a spokesman for the Jacksonville Ports Authority. "Manufacturing firms look very favorably on that."

Savannah also has a container port and access to two interstates and rail lines.

Robert Morris, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, said Georgia doesn't have the incentives available to compete with Alabama and South Carolina for big auto plants.

"When it comes to the major auto plants, Georgia has come up short in the past," he said. "To attract an auto assembly plant can soak up a lot of your resources."

Even if Georgia doesn't win the next auto plant, it will be a victory for the Southeast, Morris said.

"One of the great success stories the Southeast has been the auto industry. When one auto plant announces for this region, it's good for all our states."