Orangeburg – Economic Aid to Charleston

JULY 31, 2012 — Gregg Robinson was introduced as our speaker by Rotarian Willis Cantey.  Mr. Robinson is the Executive Director of the Orangeburg County Development Commission.  Mr. Robinson immediately stepped down from the podium and out into the audience.  His presentation was focused on Orangeburg’s vision to be an economic aid to Charleston and Columbia.  
He noted that Orangeburg’s location between the two cities and its proximity to the intersection of I-95 and I-26 give it great potential to be such an economic aid in logistics.  Mr. Robinson made us aware of SC’s Global Logistics Triangle.  This is a large triangular shaped piece of land bounded by I-95, I-26 and Hwy 301 near Orangeburg, which is served by 7 industrial parks and 2 of South Carolina’s 5 certified Mega Sites.  In general, Mega Sites are served by modern utilities and have easy access to high-volume roads, rail and port infrastructure. Other important features included being as close to shovel-ready as possible and having a large enough supply of high-quality workers to serve the new facility and the key suppliers who will also likely move into the Mega Site. Orangeburg’s proximity to the rail lines of CSX and Norfolk Southern helped the county secure these certifications.  Orangeburg County has also been successful in achieving approval for a new I-95 exit at Santee.  
The audience was provided with numerous statistics in support of Orangeburg’s argument that it remains a valuable logistical player in Charleston’s future economic growth.  Orangeburg County is already host to 11 international companies with 4000 jobs and $900M in new capital development.  While the city of Orangeburg only has a population of 15,275 and Orangeburg County’s population is only 95,152, a population of 214,404 lies within a 30 mile radius of Orangeburg.  Orangeburg has 4 college/universities which include SC State University, Claflin, Southern Methodist and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College                                        

Of course, USC is only 40 miles away and Charleston Southern is only 60 miles from Orangeburg.   In summation, Mr. Robinson noted that Orangeburg County has great quality of life, excellent leadership, infrastructure for growth, a positive mindset and vision.  These valuable attributes, position Orangeburg County a key asset to Charleston.

Reported by Doug Holmes, Keyway Committee