At a Wednesday morning press conference in the Statehouse lobby, government and business leaders announced a $40.6 million investment in a recycling plant located in Graniteville, Aiken County. The plant is expected to bring 200 jobs when it opens in the summer of 2014.
The press conference was held in conjunction with Recyclonomics, an organization devoted to recycling 75 percent of municipal waste by 2030.
Recleim is a startup founded in 2012. Company CEO Ben Hirokawa said, “We are pleased to move forward with plans to open our new facility in Aiken County. This is a big step for our company. South Carolina provides us with an excellent business environment and the skilled workforce we need for our operations. We appreciate all the support we’ve received from state and local officials.”
Gov. Nikki Haley echoed Hirokawa’s sentiments saying that the announcement was a result of a long-running partnership between local, county and state governments as well as the business community in Aiken.
Sen. Shane Massey, whose district is partly in Aiken County, told Patch, “Our local leadership does a fantastic job searching for and recruiting industry and this is the fruits of their work.”
The governor added that the presence of readysc.gov and its ability to prepare workers for plant-specifc functions was important player in the process.
The announcement comes at a time when the Aiken County unemployment rate was 8.7 percent as of December 2012.
For more information on Recleim click HERE.
Courtesy of St. Andrews Patch.