Global Business News

The U.S Small Business Administration’s (SBA) State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) is celebrating 10 years of helping small businesses find global success. STEP assists small businesses overcome obstacles in exporting by providing grants to cover the costs associated with entering and expanding into international markets. 

As Team South Carolina seeks to build on its expanding global footprint, it’s important to companies that international customers, partners and future clients are able to connect and engage with them. A strong website and online presence are critical to the growth and success of an international business and its brand.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce’s India office recently hosted a virtual investors meeting in partnership with Tiruppur Exporters Association, a leading industry association of Indian textile exporters, and business stakeholders.

This meeting provided approximately 100 key Indian and Bangladeshi investors with valuable insights into the textile and advanced materials sectors, along with information on South Carolina’s business-friendly environment, skilled workforce, tax benefits, incentives and infrastructure assets. 

Miwon Specialty Chemical Co. USA, a specialty chemical manufacturer of raw materials, broke ground on its new facility in Southeast Richland County last week. 

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Those famous words of wisdom by Roman philosopher Seneca translate into how we do business today and illustrate the level of preparedness it takes to compete in the economic development arena.

Through the years, the month of June has marked monumental manufacturing milestones for our state. In June 1992, BMW sent shockwaves across the automotive industry when the company announced its first full manufacturing facility outside of Germany would be located in the Upstate of South Carolina. Today, 28 years later, BMW is celebrating yet another milestone. 

"It may sound strange, but many champions are made champions by setbacks." Those words by American Olympic legend Bob Richards ring true today, as Team South Carolina taps into our state's champion spirit to rebuild and reinvigorate our economy from COVID-19.

This week, 45 years ago, a manufacturing milestone took place in our state that would set South Carolina on the road to becoming a true powerhouse in the automotive industry. On March 10, 1975, the first radial passenger tire rolled off the assembly line at the new Michelin plant in Greenville. The facility, Michelin U.S. 1, was the French company's first venture into major manufacturing operations in the United States and, at the time, was the largest single foreign investment in S.C. history. 

With an estimated impact of $27 billion, South Carolina’s automotive industry is a major driver of the state’s economy. To build on that growth and continue the advancement of the industry, the South Carolina Automotive Summit, which took place last week in Greenville, brings together top minds in the industry each year.

S.C. Commerce has a long and successful track record of helping international companies establish, relocate and expand business operations in South Carolina. The department has a presence in five countries including Germany, which serves as the European Office, China, Japan, India and Korea, all working to promote South Carolina’s business-friendly environment and recruit industry to the state.