South Carolina’s manufacturing and pharmaceutical employers continue pouring new investment into the state to capitalize on its competitive costs, logistics, and workforce.
Between 2011 and 2026, the Palmetto State announced more than 1,600 economic development projects, according to the South Carolina Departments of Commerce, with over half of that number (891) being expansions of existing firms. Overall, the state added 186,000 new jobs and nearly $80 billion in investment during the same period.
Meanwhile, recent expansions in places like Liberty, Rock Hill, and Columbia highlight the Palmetto State’s widespread appeal to manufacturers and life sciences firms, while at the same time revealing a shift in the state’s economic development strategy from focusing solely on recruiting new names to helping established companies expand.
Peabody Engineering CEO Mark Peabody called South Carolina a “manufacturing powerhouse” due to its pro-manufacturing regulations, workforce, low utility costs, and taxes.
“The state also provides great geographic access to markets from Texas to the upper Midwest, to Florida and the South, to the Mid-Atlantic and New England states, which covers over 70 percent of the nation’s gross national product,” he said. “Manufacturers here also enjoy more competitive income tax rates, fee in lieu of tax agreements that reduce property taxes, workforce development, and training programs through agencies like SCWorks, SCMEP, and SC Power Team.”
Founded in California in 1952, the company’s facility there came with 60 percent higher utility costs, 300 percent higher taxes and labor costs, prohibitive insurance fees including worker’s comp, general commercial liability, and health care, alongside significant regulatory requirements, Peabody said.
Things are getting even bigger in York County after Re:Build announced a $20 million investment in a new 130,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility at its Rock Hill location. The engineering and manufacturing firm said the expansion would require the addition of 150 skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs.
Including medical, energy, electrification, aerospace, defense, and industrials, the company now works with over 1,000 customers, said Re:Build spokesperson Katherine Kelly.
“It’s this growing work, as well as the appetite we see in the market for building important products in America, that prompted our investment in this expansion,” she said. “We love investing in communities like Rock Hill where we can work with the local leaders to further develop a strong talent pool and meet our mission to make important products, at scale, in America."
Re:Build said it is currently renovating the industrial base in more than 14 cities across the country.
In Columbia, the pharmaceutical manufacturer Ritedose recently announced plans to expand its laboratories and partner with life-sciences companies around the state and nation.
The more than $17 million investment in the new lab will significantly expand the company’s analytical chemistry and microbiology capabilities, according to the announcement, tripling their laboratory footprint while creating one of the most advanced analytical testing environments in the Southeast.
Ritedose CEO Jody Chastain called Columbia the epicenter of Blow-Fill-Seal technology.
“The company has been here for 30 years, and this is where our people and roots are,” he said. “Continuing to invest in our home makes sense, especially as life sciences become an increasingly important pillar of the state's economy, generating $25.7 billion in annual economic impact and supporting nearly 88,000 jobs."
Ritedose executives also cite lower operating costs, workforce availability, access to domestic markets, ports and supply chains, and partnerships with state and local officials as reasons to reinvest.
“We can provide the testing capabilities and expertise needed to advance the products from early development toward commercialization, helping strengthen the state's life sciences ecosystem along the way,” Chastain said.
South Carolina’s immense logistics and distribution cluster drives a $48.3 billion total economic impact across the state, with a logistics pipeline that supports 150,160 active jobs and reflects a robust 7.5 percent employment expansion since 2020, according to data compiled by the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
The state’s 41,000 miles of maintained highways and five intersecting interstates position local operations to reach 66.7 million consumers within a single-day drive. The Commerce Department said the state is also maintaining its push toward sustainable transport with the deployment of South Carolina’s first electric Class 8 cargo trucks (Peterbilt 589EV) equipped with a 150-mile operating range.
Brian Kuney, a VP with the South Carolina Extension Partnership, said companies around the state tell him it’s the combination of workforce, low operating costs, and a strong logistics infrastructure as key reasons for expansion.
“The state's logistics network is a major draw with the inland ports and Charleston,” he said. “Alongside our ever-growing supply chain and its support of multiple industry clusters, there’s even an R&D tax credit from the Department of Revenue for companies who invest in process and product innovation.”
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