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by WILL FOLKS
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Colleton County, South Carolina has reportedly lost out on a massive economic development deal involving an Arkansas-based steel company, sources close to the state’s commerce department have confirmed to FITSNews.
According to these sources, Hybar Steel – based in Osceola, Arkansas – has ruled out Colleton County as a location for a $720 million manufacturing facility that would have brought up to 130 jobs to the region.
“It would have changed the lives of the residents of Colleton County,” a source familiar with the situation told us.
Hybar was reportedly looking at sites in Colleton County and Orangeburg County as possible locations for the facility, which would have manufactured “the lowest—cost, most environmentally sustainable, tomorrow—friendly rebar.”
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Our economic development sources have not explicitly stated whether Orangeburg has been officially ruled out, however a sources familiar with the negotiations stated “it was always between Colleton and (Hybar) just building a second plant in Arkansas.”
“That was always the fallback,” the source stated.
Hybar opened a 600,000-square foot reinforcing bar mill in Osceola three-and-a-half months ago, a facility which created 200 new jobs in northeast Arkansas.
Calls to Hybar Steel were not immediately returned…
Dubbed “Project Fanatic,” Colleton County would have reportedly provided land and property tax incentives to the company as part of the agreement – while the state would have chipped in a host of other inducements.
Economic development sources pinned the blame for the company’s reported decision on tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump – which were the subject of furious negotiation ahead of Trump’s trip to Great Britain this month.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we continue to investigate the apparent demise of the project…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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3 comments
600k square feet? That’s one heck of a meth lab.
To the economic statement about tariffs:
tariffs imposed by the U.S. federal government, including those from President Trump, do not vary from state to state. Under the Constitution, tariffs must be applied uniformly across the country and states are prohibited from setting their own tariffs. Instead, tariffs vary based on the imported product and the country of origin.
The article does not state that the company will build a second plant anywhere Pam. So the tariffs might have forced the company to stop plans for the expansion altogether.