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Greenville Business Magazine

The Business Narrative: USC Rebranding

Oct 27, 2022 01:29PM ● By David Dykes

USC Streamlines Logo, Drops ‘of’ in UofSC

The University of South Carolina announced it will simplify its branding marks, focusing on its iconic tree-and-gates academic logo and introducing a USC spirit mark.

The university also will phase out the “UofSC” logo mark adopted in 2019. 

The brand update will take effect on Jan. 4, 2023, with some changes taking place immediately. Updating of previous branding will continue in a phased manner during routine sign maintenance/replacement.

“The actions announced today reflect our commitment to enhancing our iconic brand,” President Michael Amiridis said. “In my short time back at the university, alumni and other stakeholders have told me how important it is to return the USC name back to the institution." 

The updated brand standards include these guidelines:

The iconic tree-and-gates will be retained as the official academic logo. It becomes the official mark for academic branding.

The university will introduce a new block-letter USC spirit mark that embraces the university’s unrivaled spirit and includes 1801, the year of its founding. The spirit mark will provide versatility in promoting the university in non-academic settings.

The university will be referred to as the University of South Carolina, USC, South Carolina or Carolina in editorial and marketing materials.

Athletics logos, including the “Block C” logo, are not impacted.

“The Board of Trustees strongly supports this action,” Board Chairman Thad Westbrook said. “Our alumni and stakeholders have overwhelmingly stated their strong desire to return to the USC name and the USC tradition. We are excited about this change.”

Atkore Expanding Operations in Allendale County

Atkore, a leading global provider of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions, announced plans to expand operations in Allendale County.

The company’s $7.7 million investment will add 16 jobs over the next five years, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

With a network of manufacturing and distribution facilities worldwide, Atkore delivers a portfolio of integrated electrical product solutions that deploy, isolate and protect a structure’s electrical circuitry from source to outlet.

Significant product categories include metal electrical conduit and fittings; plastic pipe and conduit; electrical cable and flexible conduit; and international cable management systems, which are critical components of the electrical infrastructure for a broad array of construction projects and end-markets.

Located at 147 Airport Loop in Allendale, Atkore’s expansion includes the addition of three high-density polyethylene pipe extrusion lines used to produce high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit, primarily serving the telecommunications, utility, infrastructure and datacom markets.

The products will support increased broadband access in rural areas and the expansion of 5G networks, Commerce officials said.

The expansion is expected to be complete by the end of 2023. Those interested in joining Atkore should go to the company’s careers page.

The state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development awarded a $100,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Allendale County to assist with the costs of building improvements. 

Truliant Begins Upstate S.C. Expansion With New Regional, Branch Offices

Truliant Federal Credit Union announced it has started its South Carolina market expansion with a ribbon cutting at the Truliant Upstate Regional Office in downtown Greenville.

The expansion also includes the opening of a second freestanding branch at Cherrydale Point within the next few weeks.

Truliant purchased the historic building in 2021 and renovated the three-story, 19,000-square-foot facility at 110 W. North Street in the Historic District of downtown Greenville. Truliant’s Upstate operations will be managed from this location.

Built in 1920, the credit union’s new regional office supports commercial lending, financial advisors, Truliant at Work, community outreach, and mortgage services.

The credit union is dedicating a significant portion of the regional office to an onsite training center that can accommodate up to 18 employees. The South Carolina expansion will create more than 60 jobs over the next several years, including branch staff, ancillary services, support services and back-office roles, among others, credit union officials said.

The 70-year-old credit union has a branch on Pelham Road in Greenville, which opened in 2016 and replaced a long-standing Airport Road location. Truliant traces its history in Greenville back almost three decades to its business relationship with the JPS Textile Group. JPS partnered with Truliant in 1994.

In addition to the credit union’s existing branch location, a newly constructed branch office located at 6 State Park Road in Cherrydale Point will open in November.

Leading the regional branch expansion is Jason Swink, the Upstate market director, who has worked for the credit union’s branch operations since 2020.

The fully staffed location includes three Spanish-speaking bilingual representatives to address language barriers that present obstacles to understanding financial services, tools, and technology and how best to use them.

A second new location in Easley will open in early 2023, and a third will open in Greer later in the year. The combined locations represent more than 28,000 square feet.

In addition to serving as its business lending center for the Upstate, the regional office will provide operational support for Truliant’s branch expansion.

During the last three years, the credit union offices in North Carolina and Virginia have added additional services for mortgages, business services, insurance services, financial advisors, indirect lending and digital services.

Truliant will offer all of these services in the Upstate, and many of the adjacent South Carolina markets will benefit from the new locations, ancillary services and third-party services, credit union officials said.

The Upstate locations will form the fourth regional concentration of Truliant branches. The other regions are in the Charlotte-Metro area, the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.

At its regional office opening, the Truliant Foundation made a $10,000 donation to the Greenville Chamber Foundation to support the Chamber’s LaunchGVL program.

The initiative through a partnership between the Chamber and Greenville County Schools connects high school students with work opportunities to strengthen the workforce and to help close the skills gap in Greenville’s high-demand occupations.

Record 96 Percent of U.S. Households Were Banked in 2021

Despite unprecedented economic challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly 96 percent of U.S. households were banked in 2021, according to the latest national survey released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The FDIC’s 2021 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households also found an estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. households (representing 5.9 million households), lacked a bank or credit union account, the lowest national unbanked rate since the FDIC survey began in 2009.

According to FDIC’s latest biennial survey, approximately 1.2 million more households were banked since 2019.

Nearly half of newly banked households that received government payments said these payments contributed to their decision to open an insured bank or credit union account.

Meanwhile, 14.1 percent of households (representing 18.7 million households), were underbanked in 2021, meaning they had a bank or credit union account and used nonbank financial products and services.

Since 2009, the FDIC has asked households about their use of banking and financial products and services through the most comprehensive survey of its kind.

In 2011, 8.2 percent of households were unbanked. The improvement from that point represents 5 million additional households with banking relationships over the most recent decade.

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