New Development Board director outlines plans

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New Clarendon County Economic Development Board Executive Director George Kosinski spent much of his first week with the board in mid-March visiting existing industry. “I wanted to get a sense of what the needs out there were,” Kosinski said of his first 90 days’ plan. “I want to get to know the existing industries, know the concerns they have and try to be proactive and not reactive. I want to hear their concerns on any shortages with infrastructure, water, sewer, roads or workforce development, anything of that nature.” Kosinski said while most people look at economic development and think “’getting new industries,’ we know that 80 percent of all new jobs come from existing industries.” “It’s a figure that I hate to use, but it is the truth,” he said. “If you can grow your own, already existing industries, you’re not using county resources or giving away taxpayer dollars recruiting new industries. You’re focusing on jobs here.” That’s not to say Kosinski isn’t looking to court outside manufacturing jobs. “On the contrary, one thing you can learn from your existing industries is their suppliers,” he said. “Then you can get in contact with some of these suppliers, or businesses that are like these suppliers, and call on them. Perhaps Clarendon County is a good fit for a new operation, especially if they have a lot of industries they supply to in this area.” He said his target industries, based on the county’s available workforce and size, include those in the transportation, distribution and logistics sectors as well as automotive, metalwork and building products manufacturers. “Based on our strategic location, Clarendon County can reach 66 percent of the U.S. market within a day’s travel time,” Kosinski said. “That’s a huge advantage when you’re attracting transportation, distribution and logistics industries.” Kosinski added that the county is 90 minutes away from the “most efficient port in the U.S.” “We all know we’re halfway between New York and Miami,” he said. “I see this I-95 corridor exploding in the next few years. There’s nothing really left on Interstate 85, and the labor pool is almost non-existent in Charleston due to Boeing and other large industries. I see this area growing exponentially because of these factors over the next five to 10 years.” Kosinski said he grew up in a community similar to Manning. “I grew up in a rural area in Michigan, where our population would be about 6,000 in the winter and then grow to about 20,000 in the summer due to the Great Lakes,” he said. “This area has Lake Marion, and it’s a recreational paradise.” Kosinski said he’s looking for a niche like Lake Marion to use to market Clarendon County to new industries. “We need to find that one thing that makes Clarendon stand out from Florence, Orangeburg and Sumter counties,” he said. “It could be Lake Marion. It could be our workforce. But once we find it, that’s how we market the county.” Kosinski said in courting new industries, he’s essentially a salesman. “I have about an hour with them,” he said. “And I’m there to sell something. They know I’m there to sell something. When I go away from them, I need to leave them with the idea that, ‘Hey, Clarendon County is a step above the rest in its water and sewer or its recreational opportunities or its location.’” He said his prior work as director of Existing Industry and Business Development with the Sumter Economic Development Board for eight years makes him intimately familiar with the county’s Interstate 95 Megasite. “Right now, we’re in the process of a rail study out there,” Kosinski said. “There are a lot of projects floating around South Carolina right now that need that rail service. Our study is projected to take four years. Perhaps we can cut some time off that. But if we don’t, we start going after industries that have a set-up time of 18 months to two years halfway through the study, and then they’re ready to go when we are.” Kosinski said the Megasite, one of just three in the state, has 1,440 acres with room for expansion in the eastern part of Clarendon County. “It’s only a matter of time before we have something at that site,” he said. “We don’t have that many in the state. Once we have that rail capacity, I think you’re going to see that explode out there.” Kosinski said his job doesn’t entail retail development, but that retail will inevitably follow industry. “Retail always does,” he said. “When I was in Sumter, the question I got asked all the time was, ‘When are we going to get a Target?’ or ‘When are we going to get a Starbucks?’ Well, the day Continental announced its investment and 1,700 jobs over the next five years, Starbucks broke ground on its store in Sumter.” Kosinski said he also plans to call on local business owners to aid in economic development. “It’s a journey, not a race, and it takes a team approach,” he said. “I want industries we are seeking to hear from business people that actually do business in this community. Like I said, they know what I’m there for. I’m going to tell them everything is great and wonderful and they need to come to Clarendon County as soon as possible. But what really helps is hearing from those people who do business here.” Kosinski said unemployment figures are a factor for some working in economic development, but that he mostly ignores them. “Our unemployment is at 8.6 percent, but I don’t really pay attention to those rates because they lag behind by three to six months,” he said. Instead, Kosinski will focus on per-capita income. “You look at the state and then look at Clarendon County, and you want to close that gap,” he said. “To do that, you recruit jobs that pay at or above your average manufacturing wage. That’s how you improve the quality of life for your citizens, recruiting companies that pay at or above the average manufacturing wage. And like I said, the retail industries follow, people spend their money in this community and the economy grows.”