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Greenville Business Magazine

The Business Narrative: Flying High

Dec 14, 2022 03:20PM ● By David Dykes

Boeing, United Airlines Finalize Aircraft Order, Including Record Purchase for 100 Dreamliners

Boeing [NYSE:BA] and United Airlines [NASDAQ:UAL] announced Dec. 13, 2022, that the carrier is investing in its future fleet with an order for 100 787 airplanes, with the option to purchase 100 more. The deal is the largest 787 Dreamliner order in Boeing history. 

All new 787s are built at Boeing South Carolina.

United is also purchasing 100 737 MAX jets, exercising 44 existing options and placing 56 new orders.

"United emerged from the pandemic as the world's leading global airline and the flag carrier of the United States," said United CEO Scott Kirby. "This order further solidifies our lead and creates new opportunities for our customers, employees and shareholders by accelerating our plan to connect more people to more places around the globe and deliver the best experience in the sky."

The airline's current orders for Boeing jets have surpassed 530, including more than 430 737 MAX airplanes.

"With this investment in its future fleet, the 737 MAX and 787 will help United accelerate its fleet modernization and global growth strategy," said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The Boeing team is honored by United's trust in our family of airplanes to connect people and transport cargo around the world for decades to come."

The 787 Dreamliner provides United with efficiency and flexibility across its extensive network of domestic and international flights, Boeing officials said. The 787 also offers a 25 percent improvement in fuel use compared with the airplanes it replaces, depending on the configuration, the officials said.

Boeing officials say the 737 MAX family is designed to offer enhanced reliability and improved fuel efficiency in the single-aisle market. They say the 737 MAX reduces fuel use and CO2 emissions by 20 percent compared to the airplanes it replaces, depending on the configuration.

United officials say the historic purchase is the next chapter in the ambitious United Next plan and will bolster the airline's leadership role in global travel for years to come.

 United expects to take delivery of the new widebody planes between 2024 and 2032 and can choose among the 787-8, 9 or 10 models, providing flexibility to support a wide range of routes.

The airline now expects to take delivery of about 700 new narrow and widebody aircraft by the end of 2032, including an average of more than two every week in 2023 and more than three every week in 2024.

Approximately 100 planes of the new widebody order are expected to replace older Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft, with all 767 aircraft removed from the United fleet by 2030, resulting in up to an expected 25 percent decrease in carbon emissions per seat for the new planes compared to the older planes they are expected to replace.

Element Designs Relocating Headquarters, Manufacturing Operations To York County

Element Designs, one of the leading North American manufacturers of custom aluminum frame glass cabinet doors, announced plans to relocate its headquarters and manufacturing operations to York County.

The company’s $5 million investment will bring approximately 100 jobs to Fort Mill over the next five years, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Charlotte, Element Designs’ product offerings have expanded to include custom glass and acrylic surfacing solutions and components.

All products are made and fabricated in the United States, with manufacturing processes that use water-based coatings and recycled materials to create products for customers across North America.

Located at 7107 Logistics Lane, Suite 101 in Fort Mill, Element Designs’ new 112,840-square-foot facility will serve as the company’s joint headquarters and manufacturing operations, allowing the company to efficiently serve its international customers, including many well-known manufacturers in the kitchen, bath and office furniture industries, Commerce officials said.

Operations are expected to be online in the second quarter of 2023. Those interested in joining Element Designs can submit resumes to the company

The state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project.

USPTO China IP Road Show coming December 15

9am - 4:30pm

Greenville Technical College (Barton Campus) Student Success Center

506 Pleasantburg Dr., Greenville, SC

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s China Intellectual Property (IP) Road Show comes to Greenville, South Carolina, with a free one-day program bringing together experts from the U.S. government, academics, IP attorneys, and local business people to share insights on China and IP issues that will benefit U.S. IP rights holders. Join us to hear from these experts about how to protect and enforce your IP rights in China and the United States. To register CLICK HERE.

Moose Logistics & Distribution Establishing Operations In Horry County

Moose Logistics & Distribution, a custom athletic sock distributor, announced plans to establish operations in Horry County.

The company’s more than $2.6 million investment will create 75 jobs over the next five years, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

Moose Logistics & Distribution, a subsidiary of UET International, creates custom logos for athletic socks, distributing to various suppliers in the United States.

The company supplies licensed socks for NFL and NCAA teams to Amazon, Costco, Sam’s Club and other major retailers, along with its recently acquired Strideline brand products.

Located at 3537 Franklin St. in Loris, Moose Logistics & Distribution’s new facility will be the company’s first operation in South Carolina. The facility will start production of sock sublimation as well as "pick and ship" for other customers. 

Operations are expected to be online by March 2023. Those interested in joining Moose Logistics & Distribution should go to SC Works.

The state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development awarded a $50,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund (RIF) grant to Horry County to assist with building improvements.

Developer Chosen For New University of South Carolina Health Sciences Campus

By C. Grant Jackson

Gilbane Building Company has been chosen as the primary developer of the new $300 million University of South Carolina health sciences campus to be developed in the BullStreet District in downtown Columbia.

The health sciences campus will be built on six acres on the northeast corner of Harden Street and Colonial Drive on land donated by Hughes Development Corp., the master developer for the BullStreet District 

Gilbane, construction and development firm, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, with offices on Columbia’s Devine Street, will serve as the primary developer and will lead planning, design, development and construction of the health sciences campus. 

Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2027 on the first two buildings, a medical education building and a multidisciplinary research building.

“We are estimating the first students would be in the building in the fall of 2027,” university spokesman Jeff Stensland said. 

State and local contractors involved in the health sciences campus, according to the university,  include development consultant and minority- and women-owned business Restoration 52 of Greenville, construction manager Cummings of Columbia, and construction manager and minority business Brownstone Construction Group, also of Columbia.

 Gilbane Building Company has developed buildings for USC over the last 17 years, with seven projects delivered on campus since 2005.

Projects include the Darla Moore School of Business;  Discovery Plaza, a 110-square-foot biomedical research building and 1,400 space parking garage in the Innovista; and USC School of Law on Senate Street.

Ranked as the nation’s No. 1 education facilities builder by Engineering News-Record in 2021, Gilbane has vast experience in health care, health sciences and higher education-affiliated projects, including hospitals and  university medical schools.

The university’s health sciences campus is expected to have a transformational impact on health science research and health care delivery in the state of South Carolina.

The campus will provide state-of-the-art space for clinical education and bring together eminent researchers to help meet South Carolina’s health challenges.

In addition to the initial two buildings, which will have an estimated 292,000 gross square feet, long-term plans for the campus include a brain center that will build on the university’s McCausland Center for Brain Imaging and offer South Carolinians more options for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, dementia and other brain-related conditions.

The students and the faculty and staff to serve them will contribute to the health science campus being “a massive catalyst for development. The amount of stuff that will spin off of that site is going to be tremendous,” said Robert Hughes III, president of Greenville-based Hughes Development Corp.

The 181-acre BullStreet District is the largest city-center development east of the Mississippi River. It is home to Segra Park and the Columbia Fireflies minor league baseball team, residential, commercial, and retail development.

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