7/5/07
Leaders tour Grant Clarendon as opening nears
By Eric Goold

ERIC GOOLD/Manning Times

Construction Manager George McKinney, left, and Project Sponsor Tim Cobey, middle, conduct a tour for dignitaries at the Grant Clarendon construction site last Wednesday afternoon while Manning Mayor Kevin Johnson looks on.

The first pine trees and boards are scheduled to be processed at Grant Clarendon near the end of November, and a group of about 20 dignitaries and city and county officials received a first-hand tour of the impressive facility last Wednesday as construction nears completion.

“It’s nothing short of amazing,” said John Truluck of the Clarendon County Community Development Board. “That’s what I kept hearing from everybody on the tour. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a dozen times. People just can’t believe this is happening in Clarendon County.”

One of the main purposes of the Development Board is to attract jobs and investment in Clarendon County, so Truluck has been a part of Grant Clarendon since the project began in April two years ago. Construction on the plant began early in 2006.

“A huge part of our role was at the front end of it, in just getting them to come here,” said Truluck. “Since then we’ve become a resource for them, we’ve played a sort of go-to or liaison role for them. Anytime they need something we’ve tried to help them with that.”

Grant Clarendon is a large industrial facility that processes pine trees into board that is used for construction of homes and buildings. Such a description doesn’t really do the facility justice. It’s a half-a-million square foot, fully automated factory whose size is mind-boggling.

Driving along Hwy. 521 to and from Sumter, it’s impossible to see the facility, which is about a mile off of the highway along a gravel road. It’s completely obscured by trees so its size is the first thing new visitors often remark about: it’s hard to believe such a large industrial facility is hidden in Clarendon County.

“It is really awesome,” said Dwight Stewart, chairman of the County Council, who was on the tour and has visited the site several times. “You just don’t see that from the road. I’ve watched the project go from corn fields and pine trees to what it is now, and it sure is very impressive.”

While it’s impossible to know for sure how much of an impact Grant Clarendon will have on the economy in Clarendon County, there are some sectors that will see immediate growth once the facility is up and running.

“They’re going to employ around 120 folks from the region, and they’ll be paying high wages,” said Stewart. “That’s good. From the resource standpoint, the forest landowners, it will be an outlet for pine tress with about a 100-mile buying radius.

“Then there’s going to be a lot of spin off in jobs and industries,” added Stewart. “They told us that when they’re up and running they’ll have around 400 trucks a day moving things in and out of the area. I’m sure there will be some support-type industries that will move in.”

The construction process of the factory has already impacted the economy in Clarendon County.

“With the construction work force, it’s like a bell-shaped curve,” said Truluck. “It starts slow, then peaks, then slows down as they get closer to finishing the project. At one time, they had close to 800 workers here. That impacted every rental service, restaurant and service industry in Clarendon County, and a significant amount in Sumter County. They had whole floors of hotels booked with rooms for weeks or months at a time. Just about every rental property was under contract.

“All that will have an ongoing, positive impact, even though it’s starting to taper down some now that construction is getting close to being completed,” said Truluck.

Hiring is slated to start at Grant Clarendon in late summer or early fall, and that will attract new people to the county as well as help employ people who are here now.

Grant Clarendon is hopefully just the first of many industries that will take advantage of the resources Clarendon County has to offer.

“This is just the beginning,” said Stewart. “That site, with the availability of the rail line, natural gas and a four-lane highway, will continue to attract more industry.”