Chester County Closes Out 2023 with $1.97 Billion in Capital Investment and 641 New Jobs
2023 was a fantastic year for economic development in Chester County with 14 announcements, totaling $1.97 billion in capital investment, and creating 641 new jobs. In regard to the capital investment, it was a record year for Chester County, breaking the previous record from 2014 when Giti Tire was announced. Two of the highlights last year were the announcements from IKO Industries and Albemarle Corporation. These two projects alone represent 18 percent of South Carolina’s total $9.22 billion in announced capital investment in 2023, which is the second-highest amount ever for the state.
In February 2023 IKO Industries announced their plans to invest $363 million in capital investment and create 180 jobs. This opportunity is actually two. The codename Project Phoenix was very appropriate because the first project involves reopening the former PPG fiberglass plant that shut down in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic. This facility will provide feedstock for the second project, which will be a 325,000-sq. ft. state-of-the-art fiberglass mat plant.
In March 2023 Albemarle Corporation announced their plans to invest $1.3 billion in capital investment and create 307 jobs to build a new lithium hydroxide processing plant. All major automotive companies have announced their intention to phase out the internal combustion engine and shift to electric vehicles (EV). This has led to massive investment in EV assembly plants and the EV supply chain both nationally and in South Carolina. Lithium hydroxide is a base ingredient for lithium-ion batteries. Completion of phase 1 of their Richburg plant is targeted for 2026 and expected to produce 50,000 metric tons of battery grade lithium hydroxide a year.
Both of these projects play to the strengths of Chester County. These projects both needed certified sites with access to dual rail that could support heavy natural gas loads. We are fortunate to have great partners like Duke Energy, Chester County Natural Gas, and the L&C Railroad.
At $1.3 billion, the Albemarle project is the single largest capital investment project in a Tier 3 or Tier 4 county in the history of South Carolina. In fact, four of the top 5 projects in the state’s history are from Chester County. This include No. 2 Giti Tire, No. 4 E. & J. Gallo Winery, and No. 5 IKO Industries.
Chester County has one of the hardest working county councils in South Carolina. They really stepped up to the plate to position the county to win these projects. We have a great dynamic duo with Robert and Kris. They really outdid themselves last year. After two back-to-back announcements in the first quarter, they strived all year to reach the $2 billion mark and almost made it!