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A collaborative of many entities has come together to concentrate on developing the region into a hub. This is one example of working together to build upon commonalities.
A collaborative of many entities has come together to concentrate on developing the region into a hub. This is one example of working together to build upon commonalities.
This is good news.. Columbia's problem has been it needed to find a niche. It doesnt need to compete with Greenville or Charleston.. but complement them. I have said before that SC Cities should behave like NC Cities with each of the major cities specializing in a certain sector. That doesnt mean build your entire economy around it but at the State level it becomes easier to market your communities based on these specialities rather than having them fighting like school kids for mommy's attention over the same toys...give them each a different toy and tell them to play nice together
This is good news.. Columbia's problem has been it needed to find a niche. It doesnt need to compete with Greenville or Charleston.. but complement them.
This will definitely be a plus and complement Greenville well, since Greenville is already the worldwide headquarters for Fluor's nuclear division.
I do think energy is one possible, natural sector to develop and nurture, as we have SCANA and Westinghouse's presence.
BUT, while it is worthwhile to pursue this course, we should be aware that the Upstate (with it's Fluor nuclear presence and broader, large engineer base) and Charlotte (centered around Duke Energy HQ) are also pursuing energy cluster development. So we perhaps need to be careful and be realistic in our goals - since we have nearby "competition", we need to make sure we find the right niche within this sector. We are not going to be THE energy/nuclear headquarters of the region, but we can definitely play a major role with what we have and can develop that. For example, one thing I think we can continue working diligently on is our small but prominent fuel cell cluster - this is something neither Charlotte nor the Upstate has any big role in. I know it's not nuclear, but it can fit in with a broader energy cluster here.
Where I work we have several customers in the Columbia area, and they're all doing well. One happens to do a lot of nuclear and turbine work in the area of precision-made seals, plus they support a lot of other industries.
The Midlands could use some more manufacturing, and this could be the key that unlocks some opportunities. One weak area is contract manufacturing. With more large companies to complement Akebono, FN, International/Navistar, and Harsco there would be a demand for contract firms/suppliers, which would strengthen the private sector around town.
This is good news.. Columbia's problem has been it needed to find a niche. It doesnt need to compete with Greenville or Charleston.. but complement them. I have said before that SC Cities should behave like NC Cities with each of the major cities specializing in a certain sector. That doesnt mean build your entire economy around it but at the State level it becomes easier to market your communities based on these specialities rather than having them fighting like school kids for mommy's attention over the same toys...give them each a different toy and tell them to play nice together
I think Columbia does have a niche in the insurance and banking industries, for one. But the thing is that those industries are cultivated and grown locally and you're less likely to see big economic development announcements associated with them. However, they do employ a lot of people and pay reasonably well.
I do think energy is one possible, natural sector to develop and nurture, as we have SCANA and Westinghouse's presence.
BUT, while it is worthwhile to pursue this course, we should be aware that the Upstate (with it's Fluor nuclear presence and broader, large engineer base) and Charlotte (centered around Duke Energy HQ) are also pursuing energy cluster development. So we perhaps need to be careful and be realistic in our goals - since we have nearby "competition", we need to make sure we find the right niche within this sector. We are not going to be THE energy/nuclear headquarters of the region, but we can definitely play a major role with what we have and can develop that. For example, one thing I think we can continue working diligently on is our small but prominent fuel cell cluster - this is something neither Charlotte nor the Upstate has any big role in. I know it's not nuclear, but it can fit in with a broader energy cluster here.
I think the article Columbiadata linked to does show that Columbia and the Midlands are pursuing a niche within the industry when it stated, "One focus of NuHub is supporting the deployment of small modular reactors to support national and international energy initiatives. Columbia will host an small modular reactor development and production conference this week, for which NuHub and its partners have been working to plan. This conference is anticipated to attract agencies around the world and industry players like Westinghouse, Areva and General Electric along with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Army and utilities across the nation, including TVA and SCANA."
But I agree that this, plus the fuel cell cluster you mentioned, can be a start for this area. Also, isn't a company that produces solar cells or something like that coming to Columbia? That could fit in too.
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