What is Sage Mill East?
Located in Graniteville, South Carolina, Sage Mill East Industrial Park offers a perfect place to do business while experiencing an unparalleled quality of life.
The Area
Aiken County
- Aiken County is part of the Aiken-Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) with a population of more than 500,000 and a workforce of more than 245,000.
- Forbes ranked the Aiken-Augusta MSA fifth in its 2009 “America’s Best Bang-For-The- Buck Cities.”
- Aiken County was rated the number 1 small market for best places to locate your company by Southern Business & Development.
South Carolina
- A Right-to-Work state
- Ranked as one of the nation’s most pro-business states by Forbes
- Ranked 2nd lowest in manufacturing costs by Business Facilities
- Rated number 2 in top states for doing business in 2012 by Area Development Online
Site Data
| Acreage | Individual tracts ranging from 17 acres to 450 acres; can be subdivided or combined |
|---|---|
| Water | 12” and 16” lines, Breezy Hill Water and Sewer Co. in excess of 1 mgpd of capacity |
| Sewer | 8” and 12” lines, Breezy Hill Water and Sewer Co. 5 mgpd of capacity |
| Electric | 7.2 Kv, 12 Kv and 115 Kv lines, Aiken Electric Cooperative, and SCE&G |
| Natural Gas | 4” and 6” lines, Carolina Gas Transmission |
Sage Mill East is a South Carolina Department of Commerce Certified Site, meaning it has been thoroughly analyzed and documented by a thirdparty engineering firm. A Certified Site is considered to be “shovel ready” for acquisition and development. The site is also certified by McCallum Sweeney Consulting, suitable for alternative energy, food and beverage manufacturing, and other significant projects in the primary metals/metal fabrication or chemical industry.
Labor Force
The quality and stability of our workforce is one of the great strengths of the Aiken area. These workers are drawn from a population that is young, growing and pursuing the many avenues of educational advancement available.
The area is home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site and the Savannah River National Laboratory, one of 12 national labs in the U.S. The SRNL performs R&D in many areas, including bio-remediation, ceramics, robotics and remote sensors.
The Aiken-Augusta metropolitan area has the largest concentration of hydrogen researchers in the nation. The area is also home to major manufacturing facilities for Kimberly-Clark, Bridgestone/Firestone, Tognum America- MTU- Detroit Diesel, GlaxoSmithKline, Owens Corning, and UPS.
For seven years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of South Carolina – Aiken as the Best Regional Public College in the South. Aiken Technical College is one of the state’s leading technical training facilities.
Transportation
Sage Mill East exists in a truly unique position near the twin centers of Southern business – Atlanta and Charlotte.
Highways
As a central point in the Southeast, the area includes a growing system of major highways, including I-20, I-26, I-77 and I-85, which allow businesses access to the major metropolitan areas of the Southeast.
Airports
Augusta Regional Airport (30 minutes from Aiken) and Columbia Metropolitan Airport (50 minutes) provide six airlines to serve the area. Aiken Municipal Airport enjoys corporate jet service.
Ports
The Port of Charleston and the Port of Savannah are less than three hours away, providing two significant international shipping options.
Rail
The site is served by one of the nation’s largest freight railroads, Norfolk Southern Railway.
Quality of Life
- The area includes several full-service hospitals and the Aiken Regional Medical Centers. In nearby Augusta, the Medical University of Geogia and the MCG Health Center give community members even more options for health care.
- Aiken is one of the most popular horse-training areas in the United States and hosts horse races, steeplechase and world-class polo matches.
- The area is home to more than a dozen golf courses and the 2,100-acre Hitchcock Woods, which is among the largest urban forests in the nation.
- Aiken County provides the quintessential Southern experience to its residents, along with a cost of living that is considerably less than the national average.
- Aiken Chamber of Commerce
2016 Top States for Doing Business:
Georgia Back in Top Spot Again
Steve Stackhouse-Kaelble
Q3 2016
The overall cost of doing business is, of course, a primary consideration, one that encompasses a wide range of components, from real estate costs to utility rates to labor expenses. The environment created by state and local leaders plays a big role, too — the choices they make on tax structures and business incentives can tip the scales on cost, and they also can impact the no-hassle factor driven by their overall responsiveness, their regulatory practices, and how fast they respond to permitting requests. And the kinds of workforce programs states establish make a tremendous difference in both labor-related costs and hiring challenges. A location or facility project won’t get far without adequate capital, either, and that’s a factor that can vary quite a bit from one place to another.
Site consultants have an insider’s view into all of these factors — and an unbiased perspective, too. That’s why Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business analysis solicits the views of in-the-know consultants. For 2016, we surveyed consultants and asked them to name their top state picks in each of 10 categories that impact location and facility decisions. They shared their top picks in each category, and we weighted those scores to come up with rankings within each factor, along with overall rankings that take all of the factors into account.
South Carolina ranks second, on the strength of its incentives, business-friendly government and permitting processes, and overall cost of doing business. The tax environment gets high marks, and no wonder — the corporate income tax rate is 5 percent, and there are no state property taxes, inventory taxes, local income taxes, taxes on manufacturing equipment or materials for finished products, nor wholesale taxes.
Texas usually ranks highly on this list, and this year it’s third overall. It’s #1 in multiple factors, including access to capital, competitive labor environment, and favorable regulatory environment. There’s neither a corporate nor individual income tax in Texas, and the Tax Foundation’s latest State Business Tax Index ha0s Texas in the top 10. Its labor environment gets a boost from a full three dozen public universities and 50 community college districts, along with a Skills Development Fund that awards millions of dollars annually to upgrade worker skills.
2016 Top States for Doing Business: Georgia Back in Top Spot Again – Area Development
TOP STATES FOR DOING BUSINESS 2016
- 1. Georgia
- 2. South Carolina
- 3. Texas
- 4. Tennessee
- 5. Louisiana
- 6. Alabama
- 7. Florida
- 8. Indiana
- 9. North Carolina
- 10. Mississippi
- 11. Ohio
- 12. Nevada
- 13. California
- 14. Kentucky
- 15. Arizona
- 16. Arkansas
- 17. Oklahoma
- 18. Michigan
- 19. New York
- 20. South Dakota
Individual Categories
Overall Cost of Doing Business
- 1. Texas
- 2. South Carolina
- 3. Tennessee
- 4. Florida
- 5. Georgia
- 6. t Alabama
- 6. t North Carolina
- 7. Mississippi
- 8. Oklahoma
- 9. Indiana
Source: http://www.areadevelopment.com/Top-States-for-Doing-Business/q3-2016/survey-results-top-states-analysis-676777.shtml
Top States for Doing Business 2013: Site Consultant Survey Results
Area Development Magazine Special Presentation (Q3 / Summer 2013)
As the economy improves and states continue to vie for new investment and jobs, they also seek the attention of site consultants who help companies make their new facility and expansion decisions. With that in mind, Area Development’s fourth annual Top States for Doing Business survey of site consultants ranks the states based on their number of mentions in 17 categories (scores were weighted based on position in each category and then overall).
States were ranked on factors in the following categories: Business Environment (costs, taxes and regulations, incentives, etc.), Labor Climate (diversity, costs, development programs, etc.); and Infrastructure and Global Access (rail/highway access, shovel-ready sites, utility rates, logistics access). Following is more detailed information on the attributes of the top-10 states that provides insight into the rankings. Additionally, several site consultants who participated in the survey offer their comments.
Top States For Doing Business 2013
1.Texas
2.Georgia
2.tSouth Carolina
4.Alabama
5.North Carolina
6.Louisiana
7.Tennessee
8.Florida
9.Mississippi
10.California
Business Environment
Overall Rank
1.Texas
2.South Carolina
3.tGeorgia
3.tLouisiana
4.Alabama
5.Florida
Next Best: North Carolina, Arizona, Mississippi
Labor Climate
Overall Rank
1.Texas
2.South Carolina
3.tAlabama
3.tGeorgia
3.tNorth Carolina
4.California
5.Kentucky
Next Best: Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio
Overall Infrastructure & Global Access
Overall Rank
1.Tennessee
2.tGeorgia
2.tTexas
3.tIllinois
3.tSouth Carolina
4.Alabama
5.tIndiana
5.tNorth Carolina
Next Best: Ohio
States Most-Mentioned By Respondents
(without regard to ranking in 17 categories)
1.Texas
2.South Carolina
3.Georgia
4.Alabama
5.North Carolina
6.Tennessee
7.Louisiana
8.Florida
9.Indiana
10.Virginia
11.Mississippi
12.Ohio
13.Kentucky
14.Arkansas
15.tOklahoma
15.tMichigan
Source: http://www.areadevelopment.com/
South Carolina tops foreign investors’ list
For the last two years, South Carolina has topped the list for attracting investments from foreign companies, and Aiken County is certainly part of that equation.
According to a press release, IBM-Plant Location International released its annual Global Location Trends report, which ranks South Carolina as first in the nation for per-capita employment by foreign-owned firms in 2012. More than 1,200 operations of foreign-owned companies are in the state, and they employ 100,000 South Carolinians, the release reads.
Economic Development Partnership Director Will Williams noted that the Aiken County economy includes Japanese, German, Finnish and United Kingdom investments.
For example, Bridgestone Tire Company was founded by Shojiro Ishibashi in Japan, according to the corporate website. Bridgestone has a plant in Graniteville that’s continuing to grow and create hundreds of new jobs in the Aiken Area.
In fact, Bridgestone announced the single largest capital investment in South Carolina history to date in 2011 in Aiken County. This expansion project represents a $1.2 billion investment and is estimated to create more than 850 jobs.
Tognum, headquartered in Germany, is another example of a foreign company that’s located in Aiken County and one that continues to grow. Tognum produces off-highway engines in a variety of industries, including mining, commercial marine, rail and industrial.
In 2010, Tognum announced a $45 million investment to this area and the creation of 250 new jobs. Tognum later unveiled a new $40 million facility in Sage Mill in April and created 20 new jobs. In August, it announced a $22.5 million expansion and the creation of 10 new jobs.
“Aiken County recognizes and appreciates the global diversity of companies that make up our industrial community,” Williams said. “Our close proximity to the Port of Charleston via road or rail and having 75 percent of the U.S. population less than a 12-hour drive away are some of our selling points for future foreign-direct investment.”
Amy Banton is the County reporter for the Aiken Standard. .and has been with the publication since May 2010. She is a native of Rustburg, Va. and a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20131224/AIK0101/131229713/1002/AIK01/south-carolina-tops-foreign-investors-list
Wyatt Realty
P.O. Box 249 | 2240 Sage Valley Dr.
Graniteville, SC 29829