Small manufacturers: The ‘backbone’ of the community by Matthew Clark mclark@scbiznews.com
growth plan includes investing more in e-commerce technology to broaden the reach of Vapor Apparel’s brand. “We are constantly innovating,” Bernat said. “We have market places and we have market segments. Then we have product segments and all of those are places we need to innovate.”
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rowth in South Carolina’s manufacturing sector is strong, with the value of its shipments and services topping $112 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While it seems intuitive to attribute that growth — up from $73.5 billion in value in 2009 — to major companies like BMW, Boeing or Honda, Chuck Spangler says that would be an incorrect assessment. Spangler, president and CEO of the S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership, said South Carolina has 4,900 manufacturers employing 100 or fewer and, of that number, nearly 3,900 have 20 or fewer employees. All this makes smaller manufacturers a much bigger than expected player in the state’s economy. “People look at that data and just think ‘wow,’” Spangler said. The largest concentration of small manufacturers is in the Upstate, Midlands and Lowcountry. According to SCMEP data, Greenville County has 376 manufacturing companies with 20 or fewer employees. Spartanburg County has 237, while Charleston County has 220. Richland and Lexington counties have 136 and 135, respectively.
Small roots in apparel
One such manufacturer is Vapor Apparel. The North Charleston-based apparel company employs between 40 and 50 at its Lowcountry headquarters and its new production facility in Union County in the Upstate. During the summer, cofounder Chris Bernat said that number
On the high seas
An employee of Vapor Apparel sorts T-shirts in the company’s Union plant. (Photo/Jeff Blake)
jumps to about 95. In 2015, Vapor announced a $1.3 million investment to create up to 114 new jobs in Union County, a county once rooted in textiles. Bernat said the need for “Made in the USA” coupled with location was an immediate draw to Union. “Made in the USA became important and Union was a sweet spot because it’s not too far from Charleston and we can pull from the Spartanburg market,” Bernat said. “Also, it is within about 100 miles of
all our supply chain partners.” Over the last five years, Vapor has experienced 25% growth in its year-over-year gross revenue. Bernat said that growth was 26.8% in 2016. Vapor’s growth is expanding overseas. Bernat said the company has started Vapor Apparel Europe, headquartered in the Netherlands, with the expectation of replicating success found in South Carolina to create an international brand. The company’s
Steve Potts, president and CEO of Summerville-based recreational boat manufacturer Scout Boats, is in a situation similar to Bernat’s. He is a smaller manufacturer with about 340 employees and has experienced steady growth over the last several years. In fact, he said, from 2015 to 2016, his year-over-year total sales jumped over $13 million, leading the company to add a plant at its Summerville campus to build a new recreational boat. “We are growing and hiring about two employees every week,” Potts said. “This year we will add about 80 employees.” The growth of Scout Boats has not been limited to domestic sales. Potts said the company exported to 22 countries in 2015 and has received awards for its export excellence. All of that has translated into growth that prompted the company to be aggressive in its five-year plan. Potts said the growth plan is to have 690 employees by 2020. which would take Scout Boats from a small manufacturer to one of the 67 companies currently manufacturing in South Carolina with over 500 employees. “The demand we have currently on See BACKBONE, Page 14
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