SCBIZ Magazine September/October 2022

industry

DETAIL MAN

Aiken resident and owner of detail shop helping restore original Air Force One

NEW BOSS

SC Ports Authority CEO

Melvin aims to keep moving at full speed

and

the latest

meeting

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PRESERVING THE PAST

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

BACK ON TRACK

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AEROSPACE INDUSTRY IN

A View From the Window Seat

Everythingchanged for South Carolina’s aerospace industry in 2009.

That’s when Boeing selected North Charleston for its new 787 Dreamliner inal assembly and delivery line. The company broke ground on the 1.2-million-square-foot facility in November o that year, and employees there began early limited production in July 2011.

The aerospace sector continues to reach new heights in the Palmetto State, which is why it’s the theme o this issue o SCBIZ Magazine.

Today, the aerospace industry is a pillar o South Carolina’s economy, with an economic impact o more than $28 billion, according to the South Carolina Chamber o Commerce’s website.

Boeing’s Dreamliner — the 787-8, -9 and -10 — is making waves again, too. After deliveries were halted due to safety issues, the irst Dreamliner delivery since 2021 was made Aug. 10, as Ross Norton reports in his story inside these pages.

You’ll ind lots more aerospace-related content in this issue.

Pay close attention to Christina Lee Knauss’ story on Aiken resident Chris Williamson, owner o East Coast Custom Detailing in Graniteville. For the past two summers, Williamson has been part o an elite detailing team that works on the irst Air

ABOUT THE COVER

F-16 Falcon ighter jets have been training at Columbia Metropolitan Airport since April, when runway resurfacing and other improvements at McEntire Joint National Guard Base required a relocation from the ighter jets’ home base. The planes will reman at CAE until th e end o October. The F-16s belong to the S.C. Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing, also called the Swamp Foxes. The move has added around 200 personnel working on the planes daily to CAE, though both airport and Guard oficials say measures have been taken to lessen the effect on the airport and surrounding areas. A bit o an increase in jet noise, however, has come with the change, but oficials say that so far, the public hasn’t seemed to mind. (Photos by Jef Blake/JefBlakePhoto.com)

Force One plane, currently on display at the Museum o Flight in Seattle, Knauss writes.

Williamson’s story, expertly told by Knauss, goes to the core o SCBIZ Magazine’s mission: highlight interesting people making an impact on the South Carolina business community.

You’ll also ind insightful commentary from South Carolina executives, including Bob Quinn, executive director o the South Carolina Research Authority, and Mike Gula, executive director o Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

And be sure to check out the conversation with Pixie Paula Dezzutti, owner o Charleston’s Striped Pig Distillery and Local Choice Spirits and the newly minted CEO o Columbia’s Sycamore BioPharma.

Now, i you’ll excuse me, I think I have a light to catch.

Jason Thomas is executive editor of SC Biz News. Reach him via email at jthomas@scbiznews.com.

Finding the magic formula to create success

PIXIE PAULA DEZZUTTI

Serial entrepreneur

When

Pixie Paula Dezzutti was a child, her mother frequently cut her hair in the short bowl style known as a pixie cut. Decades later, someone remembered that signature hairstyle and claimed it suited Dezzutti because “You’re such a little pixie.”

The nickname stuck and she embraced it.

She readily identifies herself as Pixie Paula Dezzutti when giving interviews or speeches and includes the name in bios distributed for her many business interests, which run the gamut from financial planning and real estate development to ventures in the spirits industry as owner of Charleston’s Striped Pig Distillery and Local Choice Spirits.

Earlier this year, she also branched out into biopharmaceuticals when she became the owner and CEO of Columbia’s Sycamore BioPharma, which makes organic CBD products including pain relievers and sleep aids.

Dezzutti even owns her own recording studio and record label, Pixie Records, and also Charleston’s SKIRT magazine, which focuses on women’s interests.

Her nickname goes along with her approach of bringing a little something special to every new venture she tries.

“I think it’s important for a woman entrepreneur to pull out that pixie dust,” she said in a recent interview. “Keep your head up, move forward and make all the magic you want. It’s important for any business or any brand to be open to a little magic, to doing something different.”

Pixie Paula’s interest in business goes all the way back to those childhood days when she sported a pixie cut.

Her first earnings were nickels she got for sweeping up hair in her aunt’s beauty parlor. There, she met women who sold Avon cosmetics. That made her realize women could run their own businesses.

Dezzutti’s first step as an entrepreneur was selling Avon, and she never looked back.

Her first career was in financial planning, and from there she moved into real estate and other ventures which included running a gourmet cafe in her native Connecticut.

At one point, because her cafe sold gourmet chocolate, she even had a contract to make chocolate dog bones as a promotion for the University of Connecticut Huskies, her alma mater.

Dezzutti’s path brought her to Charleston back in 2008, and in 2010 she founded Local Choice, an interesting choice as she herself doesn’t drink.

However, she realized the growth potential in the spirits industry and also the role it could play both in bringing people together and in local philanthropy.

She is always interested in the next big thing, which is why she has gotten involved in the booming CBD industry and has become an outspoken advocate of cryptocurrency.

Dezzutti’s role as a distillery owner in an industry dominated by men also has made her an ardent advocate of women-owned businesses and financial literacy for wom-

en. “Women need to realize whatever they do has measurable impact through commerce, and I want them to scream their impact from the rooftops,” she said.

“We as women need a larger collective voice so we can get involved with more big financial deals and move our businesses ahead.”

While she was building her businesses, Dezzutti also raised nine children as a single mom.

She embraced the challenges wholeheartedly and now many of her children are involved in business with her, including six who work alongside her at Striped Pig.

She encourages women not to look at motherhood as an obstacle to starting a business but a motivation.

“Starting your own business can be your saving grace because you will have more control over your own endeavors and you’ll be in charge of putting a roof over your child’s head,” she said.

“The resources are out there as long as you’re not afraid to try.

“Why not be your own board of directors?”

VANTAGE POINT

SC Hotel Revenue June 2022

BY THE NUMBERS

Columbia

Occupancy: 61.92%

Average daily rates: $108.59

Revenue per available room: $66.52

Greenville-Spartanburg

Occupancy: 71%

Average daily rates: $101.37

Revenue per available room: $72.26 Charleston

Occupancy: 79.19%

Average daily rates: $176.15

Revenue per available room: $139.88

The Vista’s Cambria Hotel opened in June.

Lee

Hilton Head/Beaufort

Occupancy: 75.7%

Average daily rates: $286.13

Revenue per available room: $216.60

Myrtle Beach

Occupancy: 77.6%

Average daily rates: $228.61

Revenue per available room: $177.38

Source: Colliers South Carolina

BOUNCING BACK

Airports showing resiliency, facing ongoing challenges in wake of pandemic

As I sit here today and reflect on the last two years, I can honestly say it has been a mixture of emotions. Like many, I have experienced uncertainty and panic, confusion, and doubt, but then also hope and optimism. The pan demic completely changed how the world operates, interacts, functions, and runs and I, like my peers, are still adjust ing to this new normal.

The aviation industry took a direct hit in March of 2020.

With air travel all but coming to a com plete halt, we were immediately unsure of when the airport hustle and bustle as we knew it would resume, when passengers would return or how long flights would be canceled.

While we are still in recovery mode and not fully back to pre-pandemic pas senger traffic numbers, Columbia Met ropolitan Airport has been intentionally focused on regaining traction in every area across the airport campus — with a single goal of coming back even stronger than before.

CAE sees strong passenger traffic, terminal enhancements

The summer months here at CAE have historically been a season of high passen ger traffic — and this year is no different. It has been refreshing and reassuring to see travelers return to the skies.

In June of this year, CAE saw a month ly increase of roughly 23.14% in passen ger traffic over June of 2021 with nearly 102,000 passengers through the airport. The Transportation Security Administra tion reported that on June 30 of this year, 2.4 million passengers went through airport security checkpoints across the globe.

That same day in 2021, that number

was 2.1 million; in 2020 it was 718,000, and in 2019 it was 2.1 million.

As passengers return to CAE, they will be met with a few large-scale projects that we are looking forward to complet ing in the coming months. Our in-line baggage system is slated to be complete this November, allowing for a less con gested and easier experience for our pas sengers.

This system, which moves the screen ing conveyor belts behind ticket agents and eliminates the need for passengers to walk their bags over to screeners, will help streamline the check-in process and make getting to the gate that much faster.

In addition, we are continuously mak ing improvements that will directly and positively impact our passengers.

In the parking garage, we now have a parking guidance system that illuminates red or green lights over parking spaces. This feature, coupled with online prebooking capabilities, has received rave reviews from our passengers.

Airport needs ongoing support from local commuity

In order to keep momentum like this going, it is imperative that this commu nity supports this airport by utilizing its services.

Currently, CAE loses roughly 48% of potential passenger traffic to Charlotte and Atlanta.

48%.

This staggering number has a sobering effect when you consider all the potential flight opportunity this airport could have if this percentage was significantly less.

We push and promote the need to fly local for a reason, and it’s one that we will continue to endorse.

Flying local means more routes, more airlines, more options for our passengers

and community.

If you’re thinking about flying to your next destination — may it be business or pleasure — we simply ask that you con sider CAE.

Look here before taking dollars out of the state to another airport.

If CAE cannot accommodate your travel needs, then may I please ask that you look at another South Carolina air port.

Taking your business to one of our peer airports is a better option than any option outside of South Carolina.

Airport eager to move forward with new projects in 2022

As we head into the back half of 2022, CAE sits poised and ready to continue moving forward, meeting and exceeding goals.

From various economic development projects underway and promising con versations with low-cost carriers, to community partnerships like our cur rent relationship with South Carolina Air National Guard and updated technology throughout the terminal, our future not only looks bright, but it is also just be ginning.

Mike Gula is executive director of Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

SC’S TECHNOLOGY-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THRIVES ON PARTNERSHIPS

Over

the last several years, the U.S. economy has been under going a dramatic transforma tion as the nation moves to an economy driven by technology and innova tion through the creation of new industries and the application of technology in tradi tional industries.

Competing in a global economy, regions must have an economic base composed of firms that constantly innovate and maxi mize the use of technology in the workplace. Technology-based economic development (TBED) is the approach used to help cre ate a climate where this economic base can thrive. Many South Carolina-based compa nies have embraced this trend by achieving TBED through a wide array of partnerships.

Partnerships with universities

The Clemson Composites Center (CCC) is truly distinctive, combining expertise in composite materials, design and manu facturing. CCC has partnered with Honda R&D Americas and JTEKT to design ultralightweight, 100% recyclable parts such as production auto doors and polymeric cages for bearings.

Unlike many pure research facilities, CCC has the capability to produce proto type quantities of commercial parts. Ex perts can develop the right manufacturing strategy as well as perform comparative processing studies to find the best solution for a company’s product. These services are complemented with an onsite, fully equipped test and inspection laboratory and certified personnel.

The Medical University of S.C. partners with industry leaders to advance the future of research, health care delivery and educa tion for their patients and students, as well as serving a crucial role in the development of the modern S.C. business ecosystem. The overarching goals of their strategic partner ships with MedTech giants like Siemens and Medtronic, as well as S.C.-based companies

like Rhythmlink, are to foster innovation, ensure positive impact and promote trans formation within the larger U.S. health sys tem for the benefit of all.

The University of South Carolina’s part nership with Siemens, IBM, and Yaskawa has enabled groundbreaking research in manufacturing in the Future Factories Lab at the McNair Aerospace Center. This part nership has resulted in a state-of-the-art Manufacturing Testbed that showcases the capabilities of manufacturing in the future. The Future Factories Lab was kickstarted by the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) through a grant enabling research on creating a Factory-to-Factory network. This research aims at the cohesive collabo ration of multiple factory locations through advancements in techniques such as Se mantics. Other research aims at integrating artificial intelligence to introduce autono my into manufacturing, thereby enabling equipment to create decisions to optimize the manufacturing process.

Partnerships with startups

Manufacturers must race to innovate to stay competitive and select the right dis ruptive technologies that drive improved performance and meet their return-oninvestment goals. SCRA and the SC Manu facturing Extension Partnership often col laborate to de-risk technology adoption through pilot projects that can be scaled across multiple machines and plants. For example, Trane Technologies chose IoTco as a technology partner and subject mat ter expert with unique domain capabilities in Predictive Maintenance and Predictive Quality. Trane used their Center of Excel lence approach with a cross-functional team to train internal resources to scale quickly across their manufacturing footprint

Partnerships with industry

Manufacturers on the digital transfor mation journey pursue Industry 4.0 tech

nologies and implement scalable solutions to improve their global competitiveness.

Responding to industry requests, SCRA initiated the Corporate Innovation Forum to share Industry 4.0 best practices and to benchmark technologies, use cases, vendor choices, adoption challenges, and more. A common ergonomic issue led to the SCRA Exoskeleton Demo at the SC Manufactur ing Conference, offering manufacturers a real-world user experience involving mul tiple vendors.

The Demo led to a pilot project at JTEKT, which is now sharing the results with other Forum members.

S.C.-based companies are increasingly recognizing that the “go it alone” approach to technology/product development has limited utility.

Fortunately, there is a wealth of resources into which they can tap within the state. These partnerships are win-win scenarios, providing new solutions for the industry partners while resulting in multiple benefits for the other partners such as an increase in their capability base and job creation.

Bob Quinn is the executive director of the South Carolina Research Authority. Find it online at scra.org, and on social media: Twitter: @SCRAInnovation; Facebook: face book.com/SCRAInnovation; LinkedIn: www. linkedin.com/company/scra/.

WHAT’S NEW ON

SCBIZtv, the statewide YouTube channel for SC Biz News, is South Carolina’s premier source for business video. SCBIZtv currently has more than 200 business-related videos archived. Use the QR codes below to check out what’s new on the channel.

Below are six companies that have benefited from SCRA’s assistance. Click on the QR code to watch a short video about each.

The South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) advances academic research and development and supports entrepreneurs and start-ups through funding and mentorship. SCRA, a public non-profit corporation connects these new companies to industry where they can provide technological solutions for those industrial partners and enables these companies to overcome obstacles, create collaborations and locate resources.

The company delivers an eco-friendly cushioning wrap that’s versatile and super effective Heartbeat Technologies

They produce a ballistic gel best known for its quality, durability and reusability in synthetic medical gelatins.

They created a remote patient monitoring platform that connects patients and better manages pulmonary health.

The company implemented predictive maintenance AI technologies on critical assets and components.

They focus on the utilization of patented capillary-channeled polymer fibres to isolate exosomes from body fluids.

The company is dedicated to improving cardiac arrest outcomes and developed a device called ‘The SAVER’

AEROSPACE

industry is a vital one to South Carolina and the nation. With international indicators pointing to growing demand in the state’s commercial aerospace sector and Boeing resuming delivery of its Dreamliner aircraft for the rst time since 2021, momentum is building. Read more about the varied aspects of the industry, including the employment opportunities it produces and the people who perform them, in the following pages.

Flights of Freedom: F-16s relocate to Columbia Metroplitan Airport during repairs....................................... 13

Preserving the Past: Aiken man helping restore original Air Force One

Fueling Demand: Commercial aviation industry primed to hit accelerator

Class in the Clouds: Charleston Southern o ering four-year aeronautics degree

22

Small but Mighty: Regional airports provide boost for state’s economy

24

Back on Track: After delay, Boeing resumes delivery of Dreamliners

26

FLIGHTS OF FREEDOM

CAE playing host to F-16s from McEntire Joint National Guard Base

Thedramatic roar of military jet engines has become a familiar daily sound for residents around the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

Since April, F-16 Falcon fighter jets from McEntire Joint National Guard Base have been stationed at CAE while runway resurfacing and other improvements go on at the 2,400-acre base located in Eastover in southeastern Richland County. The planes will be at CAE until the end of October, according to officials from the Guard.

The F-16s belong to the S.C. Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing, also called the Swamp Foxes. In the past, the Wing has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and most recently was in Saudi Arabia for three months in 2021.

The decision to move the planes and personnel to CAE was the most cost-effective

option out of several that were considered, said Col. Michael Ferrario, commander of the 169th operations group.

“Some people asked why we just didn’t move to another base like Shaw in Sumter or bases in Charleston or Savannah, but those moves would have had high costs and other logistical concerns,” Ferrario said. “Coming to CAE was really the most costeffective option, plus it offered the presence of a tower that is manned 24-7.”

The process of planning for the move took about 18 months, said Mike Gula, CAE executive director.

“We had the ramp space and the facilities available for the planes, and this has turned out to be a great partnership between CAE and the Guard,” Gula said. “We here at CAE are all very supportive of the military and so is the surrounding community, so this has really overall been a cool experience.”

The relocation means pilots and personnel who work on the planes also had to make the move, with about 200 men and women working at the Guard site on a daily basis. The figure rises to 300 on drill weekends, which take place once a month.

Ferrario said the biggest adjustment for some personnel has been travel to the airport and adjusting to working in a smaller space than at McEntire.

“We’ve got a lot of airplanes condensed in a much smaller area, so we’ve had to focus on the safety concerns of operating these planes in close proximity to each other,” Ferrario said. “Maintenance has been the biggest challenge because we’ve had to learn how to do all of our same procedures safely in a smaller space.”

The F-16s and support personnel share a space with FedEx near CAE’s West Hangar. Some maintenance staff and equipment are

transported to CAE from the base when needed because of space constraints.

Daily commercial flights at CAE have not been affected by the Guard’s presence, officials said. The Guard submits its daily flight schedules to the FAA to avoid any conflict with FedEx and other flights.

Noise was obviously a concern, but the Guard has done what it can to make sure the twice-daily training flights don’t bother nearby residents, Ferrario said. Changes to training protocols have included minimiz ing the use of afterburners and scaling back nighttime flights as much as possible while still meeting training requirements.

“These machines, because of what they are, obviously cause a lot of noise, but we take noise complaints seriously and have done everything we can to mitigate the impact the noise has on the surrounding area,” he said. “Overall, however, we’ve also generally had a positive engagement with the public so far and haven’t heard too many complaints. It seems that a lot of people appreciate the sound of freedom.”

Both airport officials and the Guard know that the F-16s are a big draw for the public, but they have to balance safety and security. That’s why the general public isn’t allowed access to the area where the planes are kept. Flight schedules also aren’t pub lished for security reasons.

Currently, officials encourage those who want to watch the planes take off to use the airport’s cell phone waiting lot as a viewing spot. Initial plans to build a special obser vation area fell through in late summer, according to a CAE spokesperson.

The move to CAE has presented chal lenges, but things have become easier as the months have passed, said First Lt. Alyssa Hunting, director of operations for the 169th Fighter Wing.

“There were obvious challenges with learning a new routine, but actually the location has been pretty great for me. I live in Lexington, so this has really cut down my commute,” Hunting said. “As for the rest of the move, this is kind of what we do — we’re used to picking up and going where we need to.”

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PRESERVING THE PAST

Aiken man part of team detailing first Air Force One

WhenAiken resident Chris Williams started his own detailing business in 2019, he never suspected that he soon would apply his talents to an airplane that once flew U.S. presidents around the world.

Williams owns East Coast Custom Detailing in Graniteville and spends most of his time taking his mobile setup to work on cars, trucks and private planes.

For the past two summers, however, he has been part of an elite detailing team that works on the first Air Force One plane, currently on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Wash.

How did Williams go from detailing cars in South Carolina to working on one of the world’s most famous airplanes?

His talents gained the attention of nationally renowned detailer Renny

Doyle, who runs detail training facility Detailing Success in California and has worked on numerous historic vehicles and airplanes around the world. Doyle has been in charge of detailing the Air Force One in Seattle for 19 years, and each year selects a pool of highly skilled detailers from around the world to accompany him on the trip out West.

Williams got his first crack at Air Force One in 2021, and this year he was selected to make the trip again in July.

“Chris is just a born leader,” Doyle said in a recent interview. “This year he was selected to go on what we call the finishing team, which is a really important part of the work. There are only six of these men and women, and they are hand-selected because they work exclusively on the aluminum coating of the airplane, which is very delicate.”

The crew works a minimum of 12 hours a day Monday through Saturday while in Seattle, and this year’s job was more challenging than 2021 because their workload also included several other historic planes in addition to Air Force One. This year, Doyle was able to bring a full team of 30 workers to the museum instead of the stripped-down unit of 20 he sent last year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The Air Force One plane in Seattle is a specially built Boeing 707-143 that was delivered in 1959 as the first jet-powered presidential aircraft and served Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. It was active in the presidential fleet until 1996.

Officials at the museum first called on Doyle back in 2003 to lend his skills to bringing the plane back to its former glory. Years of sitting on

a tarmac at the museum and being exposed to the elements had dulled its gleaming aluminum shell and left it a ghost of its former self.

Doyle decided the Air Force One project would be a good way for the detailers he was training to learn on the job and also gain some perspective on history, so he started bringing them with him each year to Seattle. The ongoing project has received praise from aviation historians and an emotional response from the plane’s original pilot.

“He had tears in his eyes he told us the plane didn’t look that good when he flew it the first time,” Doyle said.

As part of the finishing team, Williams and the other team members worked with what is called a flexforced action polisher set to a specific rotation designed to bring out the shine in the aluminum without damaging its surface.

“This is more preservation of history than just detailing, so you have to switch your mindset up,” Williams said. “You are dealing with shiny aluminum that is almost 67 years old and can be very finicky. You have to understand the technical process, the techniques to make the aluminum shine and to make everything blend together. There are certain techniques and pads we have to use to make this work, so we don’t even slightly mess up, because these are priceless pieces of history.”

The detailers work exclusively on the outside of the planes and do not touch the insides. Williams said the museum remains open while they do their work, so they get to meet and discuss their work with a steady stream of visitors.

Public service was Williams’ first passion before he got into detailing.

He was born in Saluda County, but his family moved to Aiken when he was 10 and he has lived there most of his life.

His first career was in law enforce-

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ment and public safety, including jobs with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and Savannah River Site and a stint as a firefighter with the Aiken Department of Public Safety. During those years, he developed a reputation as an officer who always kept vehicles assigned to him sparkling.

“I always kept up my vehicles, and that’s what led me to do doing this,” Williams said. “Detailing was initially a break from reality and let me focus on something else for a while, a way to forget about what we dealt with every day on the job.”

After 15 years in law enforcement, Williams went to work for a few years in production for Bridgestone Americas while also pursuing formal training in detailing. He opened East Coast Custom Detailing in 2019, and his talents soon attracted Doyle’s attention.

Williams and the rest of the detailing team worked on four other historic planes besides Air Force One:

• Boeing B-29 Superfortress “TSquare 54,” which flew at least 37 combat missions over the Pacific during World War II with the 875th Bomb Squadron, 498th Bomb Group.

• Concorde G-BOAG “Alpha Golf,” the eighth British-built Concorde which first flew in 1978 and on its retirement flight in 2003 set a speed record for New York City to Seattle of three hours, 55 minutes and two seconds.

• Boeing 727 “Serial No. 001,” the first 727 ever produced. The production era for this classic airliner ran from 1963 to 1984, with more than 1,800 planes flown by 100-plus airlines worldwide.

• Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation “Connie,” a plane formed from requirements developed in 1939 by Howard Hughes and retired in 1965.

FUELING DEMAND

Commercial aerospace industry seems primed for takeoff and delivery

Whilestaffing shortages complicate industry wins, intensified flight demand ushers in bullish forecasts for the state’s commercial aerospace sector

The year brought with it ongoing workforce challenges and interest in sustainability, according to S.C. Aerospace Director Stephen Astemborski. But many of 2022’s industry trends are an outpouring of the aerospace rebound experienced in late 2021, he said.

A member of a South Carolina delegation at the Farnborough International Airshow, Astemborski was heartened by the announcements he overheard at the July event, which is held in the United Kingdom.

Boeing and Airbus announced a total of 277 confirmed aircraft orders and 81 orders in the wings worth a total of $4.5 billion, according to coordinators of the airshow.

For North Charleston’s 787 manufacturing facility, that meant two orders of 787-9 jets from Ireland-based AerCap

Holdings and Azerbaijan Airlines.

Delivery of the Dreamliner was frozen in 2021 as the company worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to satisfy production issues after tiny cracks were found in the plane.

The FAA indicated deliveries could resume on Aug. 8, and Boeing delivered a 787-8 to American Airlines on Aug. 10.

The Dublin company, Boeing’s largest 787 customer, added five jets to its 120-Dreamliner fleet, according to a prior report, while the Central Asian carrier put in an order for four jets.

The company had a backlog of 407 Dreamliner aircraft at time at the beginning of August.

When delivery was halted, production continued at a slower pace as Boeing and the FAA worked together. Boeing said it would return to a five jet per month production rate after the FAA greenlights production, but did not say how long it would take to ramp up.

“It was really exciting to hear about the new Boeing orders and just get the

general industry trends, updates, chatter while we were there,” he said. “I think it does seem like all things are pointing up now which is good and important for the state, for our whole supply chain, that that continues. Which is kind of what we expected too as we continue to get further away from the initial shutdown that happened on March 2020.”

Win some, lose some

Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook for the next 20 years, also broadcasted at the Farnborough Airshow, projects demand for more than 41,000 new airplanes worth $47.2 trillion as current models age out in favor of more fuel efficient and sustainable jets.

The company’s global services, including workforce training programs and converting passenger planes to freighters, are expected to reach $3.6 trillion by 2021.

Sanctions against Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine nixed 2021’s projections for the purchase of 1,500 jets, according to the report.

“Despite the unprecedented disrup tion over the past two years, the aviation industry has shown incredible resilience adapting to the challenge,” Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing, said in the announcement. “The 2022 CMO draws upon our expertise forecasting market trends to demonstrate the strong demand for new airplanes and related services in the coming decades, provid ing a waypoint as the industry continues to navigate its recovery.”

Single-aisle jets, such as the Boeing 737, continue to represent the largest number of deliveries at 30,880: 75% of all new deliveries. Large to mediumsize single aisles dominate the market, according to the report, due to low unit costs and higher customer service of ferings.

Far and wide-bodied

The delivery of widebody jets, like the Boeing 787 made in North Charleston or the Boeing 777 freighter, have dipped

by 11% the past 20 years.

However, wide-bodied aircraft are expected to maintain their current popularity in both the cargo and pas senger markets, constituting 18% of all deliveries in both 2019 and projected to reach 8,360 by 2041.

Smaller twin-engine widebody jets, like the 787 Dreamliner, are now at the top of the wish list for long-haul airline routes as opposed to their larger, fourengine widebody cousins, according to the report. Their share now makes up two-thirds of the widebody passenger market.

The estimated passenger widebody delivery count for the next two decades has fallen since last year by 440, but new widebody passenger jets are expected to grow the market.

The next 20 years are expected to boost the widebody freighter fleet by 75% or 1,495, including both new and converted planes.

After a summer of international can cellations caused in part due to staffing shortages, widebody passenger carriers present the chance to transport more people per pilot or crewmember.

“You’re seeing larger, wide-body aircraft on routes that used be just the narrow body planes and regional jets, which is great for us, because not only does it increase people, but it is also increasing the amount of folks that can fly here or leave here without necessar ily adding a bunch more flights,” Eliot Summey, CEO of the Charleston Inter national Airport, told SC Biz News.

“It’s the opportunity to kind of do more with less and use the infrastruc ture we have to try to maximize it.”

Summey and his team convinced Delta to switch its Charleston-Atlanta craft from a regional jet to a larger single aisle like the Boeing 737 about eight months ago.

The airline was so happy with the result, he said, they plan on switching to an even larger Boeing 757.

CLASS IN THE CLOUDS

Harrison

Hunt’s classwork at Charleston Southern University includes assignments few students ever get the chance to experience.

Four days a week, he climbs into the cockpit of an airplane and takes to the skies over Charleston.

Hunt, a junior from Summerville, is a member of the inaugural class of CSU’s four-year degree program in aeronautics, which is one of the university’s newest programs and falls under the School of Science and Mathematics.

The aeronautics program is the only one of its kind in South Carolina and offers three different tracks. The largest is the professional pilot’s degree, which Hunt is pursuing.

The program allows students to get their pilot’s certification while also studying other topics related to aviation.

By the time they graduate, students will have enough hours to pursue jobs with commercial airlines, freight companies and other sectors where pilots are needed.

The aeronautics program also includes two other degrees. Aerospace management, which begins this fall, is designed to prepare students for careers in the business side of aeronautics, such as airport management.

Aviation maintenance management, meanwhile, is a program that allows students who already have an associate degree in aircraft maintenance to prepare

for leadership roles in the aerospace manufacturing and maintenance sector.

All of the programs are designed to help students with a passion for aviation find their place in a field that is both growing in South Carolina and facing staffing challenges nationwide, according to Christopher J. Will, former chair of CSU’s Department of Aeronautics and an affiliate professor at the school.

“A number of factors led to us starting the program,” Will said. “One was the overwhelming need for pilots nation ally both in the military and commercial ranks, and the other is our growing aviation and aerospace business sector in South Carolina.

“We worked with the S.C. Aviation Association to get information about the economic impact Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other companies are having on the state, and learned that we’re an outstanding center of gravity nationally for aviation and aerospace.”

Lloyd Richardson, current chair of the Aeronautics Department, said interest in the degrees so far is exceeding student capacity, but the goal is to build the pro gram over time.

“Our mission is to provide a leadingedge collegiate aviation program that produces graduates who are dedicated to safety and quality,” Richardson said.

Hunt said he has always been interest ed in becoming a pilot and was initially

Harrison Hunt of Summerville, a member of CSU’s inaugural four-year aerospace degree class, has always been interested in being a pilot. (Photo/Charleston Southern University)

going to major in mechanical engineer ing at CSU, then take flying lessons later. Instead, he was able to enroll in the aero nautics program and is now hoping to get a job with a commercial airline when he graduates.

“I couldn’t imagine where I would be right now if that program hadn’t opened

when it did,” Hunt said. “It worked out perfectly because I was already commit ted to the school, and I was able to make the switch to aeronautics seamlessly. It’s also exciting to be part of the first class building what is already a great aeronau tics program.

“It’s an amazing opportunity.”

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SMALL BUT MIGHTY

Regional airports provide boost for state’s economy

Thehum of an engine overhead causes us to look up. It’s more than just a motor powering a small airplane over treetops. It’s an economic engine that is powering the southern South Carolina region.

South Carolina has 57 airports, six of which are commercial service airports while the rest are considered general aviation airports. Those 57 airports generate $16.3 billion annually in economic activity in the state, according to a 2018 study commissioned by the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission.

In the SouthernCarolina Alliance region (which includes the counties of Allendale, Barnwell, Bamberg, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper), more than $220 million in economic activity is revved up annually as a result of the one commercial and seven general aviation airports located there.

In 2018, these eight airports accounted for 1,739 jobs with a payroll of over $60.6 million. The vast majority of the jobs were created by Hilton Head Island Airport, but 453 jobs were generated at the general aviation airports, according to the SCAC study.

While those economic impact numbers are significant, area airport managers say the numbers have grown dramatically since the report was generated. The COVID-19 pandemic was actually a boon, they say, because county airports had less restrictions and offered greater ability for people to travel in small groups.

The airports record operations — takeoffs and landings — and estimate passengers. They consider visitors as those who are coming from more than 50 miles away. Additionally, there are pilots who base their aircraft at the airports, renting space and using the runways frequently.

The seven smaller airports attract more than 33,878 visitors, and Hilton Head’s airport adds another 30,000 visitors annually, according to the 2018 study. Travelers come here for business, pleasure or a combination of both. Some flights are just passing through, using the airports as fueling stations and taking advantage of their facilities for bathrooms, food and information.

Most of the airports offer quiet areas where pilots can take a nap, have a shower, get a snack or use computers available on site. They are open to pilots 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

While all but one of the airports in the SCA region sell 100LL (low lead) fuel for the smaller prop planes, several also offer Jet A fuel for small jet-engine planes. (That one airport is expecting to have both types of fuel for sale in the near future.)

Fuel sales are a major source

of income for these airports, and they compete to offer the lowest pricing. Pilots can look online for pricing while making their flight plans, check inflight or be surprised upon landing and inquiring.

Income for the airports is also derived from renting space for short-term park ing or in buildings called T-hangars, or box hangars, where planes can be stored for longer periods of time. Many don’t charge tie-down fees for short visits, enticing pilots to use their facilities. Other revenue is generated from repair facilities, flight schools or other aviationrelated businesses that rent space at the airports.

The smaller airports offer less hassle and more anonymity for visitors, some of whom are on economic development missions for their companies. Having an airport nearby often is one important item on a checklist for companies seeking locations to build or expand.

Funding from the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration has been a

critical key to helping local governments maintain and upgrade their airport’s runways and facilities.

The majority of the airports in the SCA region were created in the 1930s and 40s and are steeped in history. That history is also a draw to visitors to the airports and nearby parks.

Marco Cavazzoni, representing District 6 on the S.C. Aeronautics Commis sion, said at a recent aviation event that regional airports’ impact can be transfor

Experience Better Business Banking

us take care of

big-bank expertise with

service, United’s

long-term

are here

mative. Cavazzoni remembered a 2009 flight into the Bamberg County Airport “in the dark of night on Halloween, incognito” on a mission for his former employer, Boeing, to consider placing a plant in North Charleston. The result was a historic decision when Boeing located the plant in the area.

“Magical stories often happen around aviation,” Cavazzoni said.

Laura J. McKenzie is coordinator of the SCA Regional Development Alliance.

At United, the little things make a big difference.

The CEO of the first company to receive a 787 since early in 2021, American Airlines, said he expects to receive eight more this year.

BACK ON TRACK Boeing makes first 787 delivery since 2021

No

one can accuse Boeing’s North Charleston crew of not being ready.

Even as deliveries of the Dreamliner — the 787-8, -9 and -10 — slowed in 2020 and came to a halt in 2021, production never stopped. But the planes couldn’t go anywhere until the company satisfied itself and the Federal Aviation Administration that safety issues had been fixed.

And when that day came, Boeing wasted no time. Just two days after the FAA issued a statement saying deliveries of the North Charleston 787s could resume “in the coming days,” and a day after Boeing remained mum on a specific schedule, that long-awaited first delivery was made. American Airlines received a 787-8, according to a Boeing statement and a message to employees from Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, on Aug. 10.

“We have resumed 787 deliveries, following our thorough engineering

analysis, verification and rework activities to ensure all airplanes conform to Boeing’s exacting specifications and regulatory requirements,” the company statement said. “We remain committed to maintaining transparent discussions with our regulators, customers and suppliers to ensure we continue to deliver airplanes that meet all regulatory requirements and Boeing’s highest quality standards.”

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen met with FAA safety inspectors in South Carolina on Aug. 4 to hear whether those inspectors were satisfied with the actions Boeing has taken. Nolen specifically wanted to hear about steps to improve manufacturing quality and to guarantee the autonomy of workers who ensure regulatory compliance on Boeing’s assembly lines. At issue were tiny gaps, about the width of a human hair, found between sections of the fuselage.

The FAA greenlight was announced four days later, Aug. 8.

“Today we resumed 787 deliveries as

American Airlines received a 787-8,” Deal said in his message to employees on Aug. 10. “This milestone would not be possible without the hard work, dedication and perseverance of so many of you. Thank you for how you’ve demonstrated our shared values throughout this process.”

The process was longer that anyone seemed to expect, based on statements made at the beginning. Deliveries had paused for five months when they resumed briefly in March 2021, with deliveries made to Air Lease Corp., All Nippon Airways Co., American Airlines, Atlantis Aviation Corp., Japan Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines and Uzbekistan Airways before being stopped again later that year. At that time, Boeing reported a backlog for 420 Dreamliners.

A spokesperson for the company did not expect deliveries to resume in time to be reported in this edition of SCBIZ Magazine when contacted in July.

In the statement, Deal told his em-

The 787-10 Dreamliner is the largest in the company’s family of 787s. (Photo/Boeing) ployees to remember that every action they make should build trust in Boeing products.

“Let’s reflect on our values and com mitments to our customers, regulator and the flying public. Every action and decision influences our customers’ trust in Boeing — we build trust one airplane at a time,” he said in the message. “We’ll continue to take the time needed to ensure each one meets our highest qual ity standards. You have the unmatched ability, knowledge and passion to delight our customers. Resuming deliveries is a beginning. I look forward to many more as we continue to focus on safety, quality and stability.”

The company has maintained that the issues were not an immediate safety-offlight concern for the in-service fleet, and Boeing’s customers stuck with the 787 Dreamliner. The 787 was the mostutilized widebody through the pandemic because of its fuel efficiency and versatil ity, the company said. Several airlines used the 787 for cargo-only flights. Its customers continue to express their desire for the plane through purchase orders.

Robert Isom, CEO and chief recruit ment officer at American Airlines, ac knowledged receipt of the plane Aug. 10 on his Instagram account, saying it was the first 787-8 received since April 2021

but the first of nine the airline expects to receive this year.

Despite the delivery challenges, it’s been an ascending summer for Boe ing. Industry experts declared them the winner at the Farnborough International Airshow, where aviation deals are an nounced each year.

Boeing announced new sales across its product line, including two orders for Dreamliners.

After announcing on July 18 the sale of five 787-9s, Boeing on July 19 signed a memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan Airlines for four additional 787-8s.

Aerospace industry publications also reported that Boeing suppliers were

ramping up, indicating growing confi dence in a return of Dreamliner deliver ies. In October 2009, Boeing selected its North Charleston site for its new 787 Dreamliner final assembly and delivery line, according to the company history. Boeing broke ground on the 1.2-millionsquare-foot facility in November 2009, and employees there began early limited production in July 2011.

The first airplane rolled out of final assembly on April 27, 2012, took its first flight on May 23, 2012, and was delivered to Air India on Oct. 5, 2012.

The company's North Charleston campus also includes a paint shop and delivery center.

Reach Ross Norton at 864-720-1222.

‘Keeping our eye on the long game’

New SC Ports CEO Barbara Melvin will focus on infrastructure improvements, building relationships in the maritime community

Barbara Melvin took over as SC Ports President and CEO on July 1, capping her 24-year career with the ports with a promotion from the chief operating officer to the top position.

She’s the first woman to lead a top10 U.S. operating container port and the sixth leader in the history of SC Ports.

She succeeds Jim Newsome, who served as president and CEO of SC Ports for the past 13 years.

The Fort Valley, Ga. native first came to Charleston in 1996 because she was drawn to the coast.

“Now, all I do is pay attention to the coast,” Melvin said.

Her goal is to build upon the port’s success, not only energizing the nearly 1,000-person SC Ports team but making business easier for the port’s ancillary industries to keep freight moving through the Port of Charleston, Inland Port Greer and Inland Port Dillon.

“When we talk about the maritime community, it’s not just SC Ports. It is our partners in the International Longshoremen’s Association. It is our partners in the motor carrier com-

munity. It’s our partners in the stevedoring and Charleston pilot community. It’s our partners in the tugboat community,” Melvin said.

“It’s our shippers, it’s our ocean carriers. It’s important that the highlights and spotlights be on our entire support structure in the supply chain, and people will think about all of us when they talk about our maritime success.

“It’s my job to make sure that I am

in touch with the entire maritime community that is part of the successful supply chain that South Carolina has built.”

SC Ports saw a 12% uptick in cargo in its 2022 fiscal year, with more than 164,000 additional containers moving through the Port of Charleston than the year prior.

Sustained consumer demand drove this growth. Imports were up 22% year-over-year.

In an effort to keep imports and exports flowing, SC Ports has ex tended Sunday gate hours through at least September, given berth priority to vessels taking out more cargo, im proved rail dray dwell times, leased more than 1,000 chassis out of its SMART Pool chassis fleet and hired 150 people in operations.

“We’ve been able to work as a team to alleviate a lot of the congestion that we saw during the pandemic. We have been sitting now at a zero-ves sel queue for more than a couple of months,” Melvin said. “We have been knocking down our long-dwell im ports that stayed on terminal, both from the rail side and from the de livery to the retail customer side. We are picking up an initiative to start to energize exports again, and we’re working with our ocean carriers and our exporting community to have more reliability on when they can bring containers to the port. We're delivering a chassis pool this year that has allowed us to mitigate some of the challenges that other ports are still facing.

“While Charleston had some of those same challenges, we’ve been able to work our way out of that, and that took an entire team effort.”

Melvin said SC Ports’ investment in infrastructure ahead of demand proved crucial. SC Ports has invest ed more than $2 billion into port in frastructure to handle record cargo volumes.

The modernized Wando Welch Terminal will soon boast 15 shipto-shore cranes with 155 feet of lift height, while the new Leatherman Terminal adds a much-needed East Coast berth.

SC Ports is now developing the fu ture Navy Base Intermodal Facility, a rail-served, near-dock cargo facility designed to efficiently move goods to and from the Port of Charleston via rail.

The Charleston Harbor Deepen ing Project is also on track for com pletion this fall, making Charleston the East Coast’s deepest harbor at 52 feet.

“I want to make sure that we get the results we promised when we de liver that infrastructure — those are the types of things I would like to be known for,” Melvin said. “My job, along with our board, is to provide the ability for our team, our mari time community and our motor car riers, to be able to do what they do better than any other port team in the country — to deliver operational excellence.”

She added: “We need to be making sure that we are not distracted by day-to-day trends and (instead) fo cus on long-term goals. You can get distracted just as much by a success as you can a challenge if you get too comfortable when you’re doing well. I think keeping our eye on the long game is the challenge we all face.”

While honored to break the glass ceiling as the first woman in a role such as hers, Melvin doesn’t feel that distinction defines her as a leader.

“The impact that this has for other women is not lost on me, but I don’t let that be at the forefront of my mind. It's about being a good lead er and ultimately about leaving the door open behind me,” she said.

She recognizes the competitiveness in the industry and says SC Ports is rising to the top.

“If you think about it, all ports have the same equipment. We all have cranes and ships and trucks and trains, but nobody else has this mari

time community and nobody else has this SC Ports workforce. If I were sit ting on the outside, I’d be so jealous,” Melvin said.

“When you have the faith in your team and in your maritime commu nity that I have, you don't have wor risome days; you simply are keeping all the plates spinning so that the tal ent that exists here in the Charleston maritime community can continue to do what they do.”

RICHLAND COUNTY

Where business and lifestyle meet

In Richland County — the geographic center of the state — a diverse population thrives among students at the state’s largest university, employees in state and federal government at the state capital in Columbia, and a mix of businesses that tap into a skilled workforce.

Residents enjoy three major rivers, walking and cycling trails and greenspaces, and a melting pot of culture and community in a county so named for its “rich land” when it was incorporated in 1799.

Today, more than 418,000 residents call Richland County home, with nearly 7,000 more residents projected to move in this year. With a median age of 35, downtown Columbia is thriving and changing to reflect a rich arts, dining and nightlife culture.

Residents can live on sprawling rural acres or in historic renovated buildings in the trendy Main Street downtown.

Niche industries include health care, with Lexington Medical Center, Prisma

Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina headquartered in the county. The county also attracts businesses in industries including advanced manufacturing, automotive, warehouse and distribution, food and beverage, office and IT, finance and insurance.

“Over the past five years, we have seen historic capital investment in Richland County,” Richland County Council Chairman Overture Walker said. “Between 2020 and 2021, there were 2,800 jobs added. We have seen $1 billion in capital investment in Richland County over the past two years.”

Affordable housing

With a pipeline of qualified workers graduating from area universities, Richland County has no shortage of qualified employees who want to live, work and play in the area.

A major plus in keeping graduates in the area, as well as drawing new workforce, is the lower cost of living than

nearby counties, with home prices median home sales prices 25% to 30% lower than the national average and lower than other major cities in South Carolina.

“If a business were to look at Richland County and say, ‘I’d like to bring my warehouse here and hire 137 workers,’ they want to make sure the workers have places to live,” Walker said.

Jeff Ruble, director at Richland County Economic Development, said affordable workforce housing is a major asset in recruiting businesses to the county.

“Housing is a major constraining item for workforce, and that hasn’t been as big an issue for our market,” Ruble said. “It’s hard to replicate the value you get here for the money.”

Skilled workforce

There are more than 50,000 higher education students enrolled in Richland County.

Ben Rex, president of Cyberwoven, a digital agency in Columbia that specializ-

es in web design, web development, SEO, branding, and marketing, said this available and qualified workforce has helped his company grow to 50 employees working out of the heart of downtown.

“There are huge resources for both early career talent and for retraining and ‘upskilling’ mid- and late-career talent,” said Rex.

Anchor training institutions include Midlands Technical College and the University of South Carolina, which enrolls more than 32,000 students annually and has over 60 ranked programs, including a robust business school and law school.

Additional universities and colleges in the county include Columbia College, Columbia International University, Benedict College and Allen University. Strong partnerships with statewide programs like readySC and Apprenticeship Carolina translate into success for students and for businesses.

The area has a strong middle class, with tens of thousands of state govern-

ment and federal workers and thousands of health care workers. Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army’s main production center for basic combat training located in Colum bia, adds numerous recruits, military members and civilian employees.

Business incentives

Ruble said the county’s commitment to buying industrial properties and obtain ing permits has resulted in businesses re locating to these move-in ready sites.

One such success story is Mark An thony Brewing, the fourth-largest beer brewer in the United States, which chose a move-in ready site in Columbia’s Pinev iew Industrial Park for its warehouse. The company manufactures White Claw Hard Seltzers and employs 325 people.

Other available sites with sought-after

industrial retail space include Carolina Pines Industrial Park, and Blythewood Industrial Park, both in the northwest portion of the county.

Business incentives include a low cor porate income tax, a range of sales tax exemptions, no inventory tax and prop erty tax incentives, as well as fast-track permitting.

Business incentives specific to Rich land County include savings on utilities.

“The city is the largest water and sewer provider for our area and the largest sys tem in the state. They support economic development through competitive rates,” Ruble said.

The economic development depart ment is actively recruiting more manu facturing and advanced manufacturing companies that would bring higher-pay ing, higher-skilled jobs to the county, Ruble said.

However, Walker said the county also comes up with creative incentives for small businesses owners and entrepre neurs to foster a diverse slate of busi nesses.

“We have incentive tools that help move the needle,” Walker said. “We tell people all the time that Richland County

Quality of place

Richland also has no shortage of cul tural entertainment options. It is home to numerous museums, including the S.C. State Museum and EdVenture Children’s Museum, and markets, including Soda City Market, which draws thousands to downtown Columbia each Saturday.

The Columbia Fireflies minor league baseball team calls the county home, as do the Palmetto Opera, the S.C. Philhar monic and the Columbia Museum of Art.

Residents can enjoy a sunset view from one of the many rooftop and bars dotting

the city skyline, and the revitalization that came to Main Street a decade ago is now spreading to North Main and beyond.

“Housing options includes milliondollar mansions on the lake, country club living and both city and suburban down town residential areas,” Ruble said.

The arts scene is a big draw in recruit ing creative Cyberwoven employees, Rex said.

“The arts are vehicles for Columbia’s talent to develop and for Columbia’s culture to strengthen,” Rex said. “Every year, Columbia becomes a better, more thoughtful place to live, work and play.”

Banks - Statewide

Ranked by

Company

Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

177 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29401

Bank of America N.A.

75 Port City Landing

Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Truist Bank

174 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29401

Deposits

Top

Charles W Scharf 1852

Mark Munn 1904

Kelly S. King 1872

First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

152 E. Bay St. Charleston, SC 29401

South State Bank

2440 Mall Drive North Charleston, SC 29406

TD Bank N.A.

40 Calhoun St., Suite 100 Charleston, SC 29401

Synovus

158 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29401

United Community Bank 875 Lowcountr y Blvd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Southern First Bank 480 E. Bay St., Suite F Charleston, SC 29403

Pinnacle Bank 530 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. Charleston, SC 29464

First Community Bank 45 Farrs Bridge Road Greenville, SC 29617

United Bank 288 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29401

Bank of Travelers Rest

Reeves Skeen 1898

Jack Goettee, Bill Medich 1934

Greg Braca 1852

Reid Boehm, C.W. "Chuck" W Garnett 1905

Lynn Harton, Rich Bradshaw, Dixon Woodward 1950

R. Arthur Seaver 2000

Mar y Garcia, Rick Callicutt 2000

Mike Crapps 1995

J. Huggins, Ryan Benton 1839

42 Plaza Drive Travelers Rest, SC 29690 1946

Grandsouth Bank

219 E. Bay St. Charleston, SC 29401

843-727-2969 www.wellsfargo.com

843-459-4778 www.bankofamerica.com

843-720-5168 www.truist.com

843-577-8534 www.firstcitizens.com

843-529-5592 www.southstatebank.com amy.cox@southstatebank.com

843-727-8400 www.tdbank.com

843-724-7023 www.synovus.com info@synovus.com

843-388-8433 www.ucbi.com

843-725-5099 www.southernfirst.com contactus@southernfirst.com

843-884-0504 www.pnfp.com joe.bass@pnfp.com

864-294-9711 www.firstcommunitysc.com

843-973-6929 www.bankwithunited.com customerser vice@bankwithunited.com

864-834-9031 www.bankoftravelersrest.com

Market

$15,694,492 18.76% 78

$15,552,524 18.59% 54

$11,385,862 13.61% 81

$7,019,469 8.39% 77

$6,405,743 7.66% 54

$4,446,512 5.32% 37

$3,463,143 4.14% 27

$1,976,137 2.36% 27

$1,967,242 2.35% 8

$1,343,269 1.61% 16

$1,114,727 1.33% 17

$1,102,190 1.32% 15

$1,055,078 1.26% 10

published in the print edition. Although every effort

space constraints,

made

Mason Y Garrett 1998

Arthur State Bank 100 E. Main St. Union, SC 29379 1933

ensure

843-990-7900 www.grandsouth.com

to research@scbiznews.com.

$1,025,136 1.23% 8

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

market share

864-427-1213 www.arthurstatebank.com info@arthurstatebank.com

June 30, 2021

available at time of publication). Researched by Paige Wills

$610,356 0.73%

the full banking list,

to see other

Regions Bank 170 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29401 1928 843-937-8979 www.regions.com

the

code to the

$602,475

Countybank

419 Main St. Greenwood, SC 29646 R. Thornwell Dunlap III 1933 864-942-1500 www.ecountybank.com customerser vice@ecountybank.com

$554,511

BUILDING FOR THE LONG TERM

Southern First Bank unveils new HQ in Greenville with the community — and the future — in mind

Southern

First Bank’s original building — a triple-wide trailer off Haywood Road in Greenville — would fit in the corridors of their latest.

The bank officially opened its new fivestory building on Verdae Boulevard at Laurens Road in late June. The building pulls off the rare feat of outperforming artist renderings, towering over the lowslung architecture of its neighbors.

The 107,000 square foot building on seven acres houses the bank’s flagship re tail banking office, featuring collaboration areas and modern meeting spaces, mod ern technology, modern interactive teller machines and a board room suitable for a movie set — a modern one.

For Southern First CEO Art Seaver, the opportunity — or really, the imperative — to build something new gave the bank a chance to show the world and community that it’s here to stay.

“So in 2020 we found ourselves operat ing right next door,” Seaver said, gesturing toward his old headquarters on Verdae. “We found ourselves headed into a CO VID environment, we found ourselves running out of space and our lease was expiring, so we thought we’ve got to do something.”

Seaver said he didn’t want traditional bank architecutre.

“When you come in I want it to be dif ferent — as in warm, welcoming, unin timidating,” he said. “I want it to feel like home, to feel progressive rather than feel ing like the past.”

In one sense, Southern First’s past is really not that long ago. The company opened the doors to its trailer with 14 employees on Jan. 10, 2000. In another

sense, it’s been a long time because the bank thrived and survived through a dif ferent era. The state had 94 banks in 2000 — 44 now — and it was pretty easy to start a new one. And many of the new ones seemed to be starting with a stockholder goal of being acquired.

Southern First Bank was different from the beginning, according to Seaver, who was “35, with two kids and no money” when he led the start.

“I wanted to start a bank because I love the privilege of being a banker,” he said. “I love serving, I love caring and I love mak ing a difference.”

He wanted that bank to be committed to the community. And he wanted it to be a bank that stayed.

“I think mergers for the most part are tragic. Tragic for the clients, tragic for the team, tragic for the culture that’s been built,” he said. “So if we can be one of the fastest growing banks and one of the highest performing, why would we sell? It would be the worst thing our shareholders could ever ask us to do.”

The Southern First shareholders have fared well. Their collective investment of $11.5 million is worth more than $350 million today, Seaver said.

The 14 employees have grown to 300 and Southern First became the largest bank headquartered in the state until United Community Bank recently moved its headquarters from Georgia to Green ville. Now operating in eight markets, Southern First is the fifth largest in the Greenville market, behind only the giants such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

“Most banks grow by buying banks and cutting costs,” Seaver said, “but we grow organically one client at a time. We’ve never bought another bank.”

The purpose of the new building, he said, is to create a great space for em ployees to work and clients to visit while providing room for the community. And there is a lot of room for community events.

“The purpose of this building, abso lutely it will welcome our clients, but the purpose is as much about the culture of our team,” Seaver said. “It’s certainly a statement to the community, but the other thing is it’s going to help me recruit the next hundred bankers because I think people want to work for a company that seems progressive and doesn’t seem to be stuck in the past.”

SOUTH CAROLINA UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Check out this round-up of some of the most important projects in the state. In the spotlight, you’ll find general contractors and architectural and engineering firms and the work they are doing. Just scan the QR code for the details.

Project: The Office at Morrison Yard

Located on land previously owned by the SC State Ports Authority, the Office at Morrison Yard embraces a contemporary architectural design aesthetic reflecting Charleston’s shipping history. The 2-story, 148,000 SF office tower also offers retail, restaurant, and event space. SW+ is providing master planning, civil engineering and landscape architecture services.

Construction Firm: SeamonWhiteside

SeamonWhiteside (SW+) is a full-service site design firm with offices and projects throughout the Carolinas.

Project: Oak at Park

Oak at Park began construction in 2020 of 19, two to three story semi-custom residences, nestled along Oakwood Avenue in the nearby Park Circle neighborhood. Providing an opportunity for up-scale new construction homes in the revamp of North Charleston. Five homes are moved in, three near completion, and eight on the way.

Construction Firm: Architecture Plus Architecture Plus is a multidisciplinary residential and commercial architecture firm servicing the Charleston and greater Carolina area for 10 years with over 60 years combined experience.

SOUTH CAROLINA UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Construction, engineering and architectural firms are working hard around the state.

Below are but a handful of the projects in progress.

Charleston Trade Center—Tract 4B

574 Trade Center Pkwy, Summerville

Developer/owner: The Keith Corporation, Charlotte

Architect(s): McMillan Pazdan Smith

General contractor: Frampton Construction Company, Ladson

Engineer(s): Alliance Consulting Engineers (civil)

Estimated completion date: May 2022

Project description: This 430,920-square-foot cross-docked facility is constructed of concrete tilt walls and a structural steel frame. It features a 36-foot clear height with 50 dock doors and two drive-in doors, along with 105 trailer parking spaces and 243 car parking spaces on site. The building joins five other industrial facilities on the campus and completes the Charleston Trade Center’s 2.5-million-square-foot development.

Columbia Craft Brewery Expansion: Rooftop

520 Greene Street

Developer/owner: Smoky Properties

Architect(s): Sherer & Associates

Project Manager: Smoky Properties

General contractor: Pyramid Contracting, Irmo Engineers(s): ETi Engineering, Vista Engineering, Derrick Structural Engineering,

Estimated completion date: August 2022

This rooftop venue consists of steel columns and beams with

wood roof joists. The building has an eight-foot–diameter spiral stairway and a wheelchair lift for customer access. The open space includes a custom handrail, fans for air circulation, and motorized retractable screens for inclement weather. The design ties into the current front canopy and original renovation for the brewery.

Memorial Stadium Renovations at Clemson University

1 Avenue of Champions

Clemson

Developer/owner: Clemson University

Architects: LS3P Associates, Charlotte

Project manager: Brasfield & Gorrie, Greenville

General contractor: Brasfield & Gorrie, Greenville

Engineers: Land Planning Associates (civil), Jonathan CECI (landscape architecture), AECOM (structural) and RMF (mechanical, electrical and fire protection)

Completion date: August

Estimated total cost of project: $32,272,812

Description: The Memorial Stadium Renovation at Clemson University is a 41,000-square-foot renovation of the existing football stadium on Clemson’s main campus. It includes an addition of premium seating and club spaces, fan experience upgrades, a new videoboard, renovation to the home team locker room, ADA accessibility and seating and a new parking lot.

ACCOUNTING

Accountants

long ago shed the stereotypes of “bean counters” and “numbers crunchers.”

Probably the green visor, too.

Today’s professionals are up to speed on the latest technology and innovations that continue to shape the industry.

Cloud-based accounting. Arti cial intelligence. Block chain. Accounting has evolved rapidly, much of which was brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and a virtual work environment.

e executives on the following pages that make up our 2022 Accounting Power List know this all too well. It’s adapt or be le behind. As you can tell from their pro les, they’re thriving.

I want to note that the Accounting Power List is purely subjective, and not in any way scienti c. SCBIZ Magazine sta (mainly myself) researched our list of South Carolina’s largest accounting rms, and searched the web, to nd the best candidates. I feel like this is a well-rounded list.

You might notice that some pro les are shorter than others. Due to space constraints, we had to make some trims. Pro les in their entirety will appear on the online version on SC Biz News’ website.

We’ll be doing plenty more Power Lists in various industries in future editions of SCBIZ Magazine. Feel free to contact me if you know someone doing big things in their profession, and in their community.

As always, thanks for reading.

Jason omas is executive editor of SC Biz News. Reach him via email at jthomas@scbiznews.com.

Brannon

BRANNON POE

Title: Founder

Company: Poe Group Advisors and Accounting Practice Academy

Years in the accounting industry: 30 years in the accounting industry, 19 years in accounting practice brokerage.

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

We live our values.  ey show up in everything we do from hiring to client service. Our values are:

1. High-Trust

2. Collaborative and Candid

3. Results Oriented

4. Fun & Balanced

5. Play the long game — generous with our clients

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

I’m most proud of our thought leadership in the CPA profession.  We have a highly followed blog and podcast and get a lot of positive feedback from CPAs on a regular basis for our work

CHRISTOPHER ROSSIE

Title: CEO

Company: Ceterus

Years in the accounting industry: 7

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

I believe in the power of the team to succeed. Success in any business is the direct result of a team of people working together to develop and deliver solutions that clients need and want. Building, developing, and working with high performing teams is what makes me successful.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

I was part of a founding team of a business started from scratch in 2003 that continues successfully today. We created jobs, shareholder value, and built solutions that continue to save business lots of money.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

I was in the so ware industry for over 30 years when I entered the accounting industry. I would probably be doing something related to data analytics.

STEPHEN C. STOKES, CPA

Title: President

Company: Stokes & Co. CPAs, PC

Years in the accounting industry: 24

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

As a business leader and CPA being solutions driven helps me be successful with our team and clients.

Finding a way to solve a problem or come up with a tax strategy many times requires thinking outside the box and refusing to give up. I have found that there is usually a way to nd the solution if you keep digging and try many di erent angles to open up more options.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

If I was not in the accounting industry I would probably be in the legal industry. I studied criminal justice in college and have always enjoyed the investigative nature of the legal profession. I also enjoy the research and work that goes into building a case or defending one.

MARK T. HOBBS, CPA, CFF, CGMA

Title: Managing Shareholder and President

Company: The Hobbs Group, PA

Years in the accounting industry: 43 +

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

Since founding e Hobbs Group in 1986, I have always kept commitment at the forefront. Commitment to sta : Many sta members have been employed by e Hobbs Group, PA for decades. I have always been committed to establishing and promoting a positive, team-oriented, working environment emphasizing employee involvement, continued growth and professional development.

e rm exceeds expectations with a client-focused approach by putting our clients’ objectives, goals and needs rst. e Hobbs Group also prides itself on discretion, representing a wide range of clients, including those with substantial assets and complex business interests.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

e opportunity to continue to serve clients and develop talent for the good of our clients and our employees.

JESSICA DONAN

Title: Off ice Managing Partner

Company: EY

Years in the accounting industry: 23

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

At EY our mission is to Build a Better Working World, which is multi-faceted. In 2020, I was asked to serve on the Racial Equity and Economic Mobility (REEM) Commission, which was formed to convene around matters of racial inequities, social justice, and disparities in key areas that negatively impact the Black community in Greenville County. In my role as a Commissioner, I served as a Co-Chair for the Income and Wealth subcommittee; where I had the opportunity to ground myself in the mission by engaging in learning opportunities, convening with subject matter experts, and community focus groups. is work culminated in the development of strategies and partnerships which are now being implemented by an Executive Director at United Way.

While I may not see the end result of the work for many years to come, my expectation is that over time these strategies and partnerships will lead to eradicating race-based disparities and inequities impacting our community.

JENARA NOEL, CPA, MBA

Title: Partner

Company: Veris – The Proactive CPA

Years in the accounting industry: 16 Years

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

One of my top professional career successes is making partner at my current rm. It’s an amazing feeling to experience reciprocity at place where you love what you do and the people you work with. Not everyone is as blessed or fortunate in a professional arena to experience this, so I de nitely don’t take for granted being able to excel at something I enjoy with people I work with.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

I am an organizer, a planner and have vision for things and am willing to get involved and execute. I love structure and to inspire, so maybe something helping guide young high school or college age people or owning a business that o ers consulting or guidance to businesses. I remember being younger and reading “Cheaper by the Dozen.” e dad was an e ciency expert as his profession. at was always fascinating to me, analyzing things, wanting them to be better and gaining satisfaction from thoughtful execution.

ELIZABETH C. INABINET, CPA

Title: Managing Partner

Company: McGregor & Company LLP

Years in the accounting industry: 34

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

I believe that one characteristic for my success is my ability to be exible and open to change. In public accounting, we have a diverse mix of clients. I feel that my willingness to adapt to each client and meet them where they are most comfortable has served me well. Changes in technology, tax laws, auditing standards, and even unique needs of sta all require exibility and the acknowledgement that change is constant.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

I consider it a top professional career success when I have done something that has been especially helpful to a client. I have saved personal notes over the years from clients expressing appreciation for guiding them through various di cult periods in their lives, such as the death of a spouse or planning for retirement, and these are the successes that mean the most to me.

PAUL B. ROBINS

Title: Managing Shareholder

Company: Barb & Company, PA

Years in the accounting industry: 26 years

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

Patience. I believe that you need a lot of patience in a high stress job as a CPA. ere are numerous deadlines, training new sta (if you can nd them) and the ever growing problems with the IRS.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

Becoming managing shareholder at the age of 40.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

Growing up, I had two career goals. Major league baseball player or a CPA. I couldn’t think of anything else I would want to be.

PETER C. TIFFANY, CPA/ABV, CFF

Title: Managing Partner Company: Bradshaw Gordon & Clinkscales LLC

Years in the accounting industry: 27

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

I couldn’t get it down to just one. I have two though I am honest and plain speaking. I don’t hide behind a bunch of jargon and our industry is full of jargon.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

Tough question. I have been doing this so long I really can’t imagine doing anything else. I think the time passed a long time ago for me to consider switching careers. Besides, I love what I do.

AMY F. URQUHART

Title: Managing Partner / CEO

Company: WebsterRogers LLP

Years in the accounting industry: 20 years

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

As a woman in the accounting industry, a signi cant amount of time and discipline has gone into maintaining a demanding career and ful lling personal life. I consistently showed up in many roles, even when my children were very young and it was di cult.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

I always thought that I would be a veterinarian, but fortunately my career has granted me the opportunity to care for many animals.  My family currently has two cats, two dogs, two turtles, and two horses with another on the way.

BGC

Congratulations Pete!

Peter C. Tiffany

Accountant

HANSON BORDERS, CPA

Title: Managing Partner Company: Mauldin & Jenkins LLC Years in the accounting industry: 33

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why?

Collaboration is a must. I have always believed that it is important to draw on your collective strengths as a leadership group and not try to do it all yourself. By creating an open forum for others to bring their ideas to the table, we have been able to realize our ultimate goal of Firm growth and pro tability. New ideas improve and elevate client service, which ultimately leads to growth and the long-term sustainability of the rm.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

I would be a National Park Ranger. I have always loved the outdoors and believe a career protecting the cultural and environmental resources of parks would be extremely rewarding. Additionally, I would enjoy studying and protecting wildlife and our natural resources in general thereby ensuring a positive experience for visitors for generations to come.

RUSSELL BAUKNIGHT

Title: Managing Shareholder

Company: Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, PA Years in the accounting industry: over 40 years.

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why:

Our success has been built because of our dedication to our people and our clients. We stress that our people come rst here at BPS and we make every e ort to live that way. Because of our people- rst culture, our clients have an exciting group of highly successful people working with them to solve their challenges.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

One of the most important things to a ect my career is to have been introduced to the eld of Fiduciary Administrator. Because of our expertise in this eld, I was asked to be the personal representative and trustee of the James Brown Estate and Trust as well as for many clients and their families.

TERRENCE K. SCHMOYER JR.

Title: Managing Partner

Company: Schmoyer and Co. LLC

Years in the accounting industry: 27

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

Empathy. e ability to assist people with solving problems that are important to them and not technical ability alone can make a professional successful.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

Hiring employees that care about other people will make the work team successful.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

I would be a community volunteer helping South Carolina be a better place to live and work. We need to provide children with the opportunity to be successful in school and in life.

MATHEW J. HULTQUIST

Title: President

Company: The Hultquist Firm Years in the accounting industry: 26 years

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

I consider it an absolute honor to be able to employ people and contribute to their livelihoods. Starting a business is a struggle, but when you are able to employ people, I take that as a tremendous responsibility to ensure that they are taken care of, both personally and professionally. ey contribute to the success of the rm, and I am blown away each and every day that this place can provide for a part of their wellbeing.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

I started out in college in architecture believe it or not. I quickly realized that architecture was not my passion. I have recently found that farming is my passion. Being able to work the land and grow crops is amazing to me. I currently have a farm and enjoy every single minute of being out in the dirt, guring out how I can organically grow various fruits and vegetables.

JOHN F. GONELLA III

Title: Regional Market Leader

Company: Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC

Years in the accounting industry: 26 years

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

One of the largest keys to the success of the Carolinas region, and the Greenville o ce in particular, is the strength of diversity in skills exhibited by the people serving clients in the region. Our people’s individual focus on building industry expertise in the areas of manufacturing and distribution, real estate and construction and not-for-pro t allows us to better partner with clients to provide exemplary service. Additional resources focusing on related areas such as mergers and acquisitions/valuation ... allow the Greenville o ce to provide a full suite of bene ts to our clients.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

My passion outside of work revolves around spending time outside backpacking and canoeing with my children. I think if I weren’t in my current role I would do something drastically di erent working with an outdoor program similar to Outward Bound.

VARADA A. OGALE

Title: Partner

Company: Argo and Associates LLP

Years in the accounting industry:  26 years.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

I would place being promoted to partner at Argo and Associates LLP at the top of my list. Other successes that paved the way to becoming partner include passing my uniform CPA exams and earning my Master of Professional Accountancy.

ere have also been incidental successes from being a partner: I have been able to contribute towards promoting a rm culture that is conducive to learning and professional growth; I have been able to witness my team members reach professional milestones; and I have also been able to serve charitable causes with my professional skills.

To add perspective, I happen to be the only woman partner at our rm. According to a 2019 AICPA Gender survey, about 48% to 59% (depending on size of rm) of new professionals in a U.S. CPA rm are women but only 23% of total partners in U.S. CPA rms are women.

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why.

We wouldn’t be successful without our people. ey amaze me day in and day out, especially during the last two-plus years of dealing with COVID. Public accounting is an interesting and challenging profession because things are always changing. You really have to be diligent to keep up with it all, while providing your clients with excellent service at the same time.

I think that persistence, determination, hard work, and a lot of integrity are keys to success in our business. I’m not only speaking for myself — these attributes are important to the people in our rm and should be with everyone in the public accounting profession.

WILLIAM A. RUSSELL III, CPA

Title: Partner

Company: Jarrard, Nowell & Russell LLCCertified Public Accountants

Years in the accounting industry: 25

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

One of my top professional career successes is passing the rigorous CPA exam, which opened the door to many higherlevel career opportunities. Another professional success would be serving in the Army Reserves, which helped me develop a set of skills beyond my formal college education that I wouldn’t have otherwise developed — or at least that early in life.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

If I wasn’t an accountant, hands down I would be a pilot. From the ages of 12 to 15, I lived on a naval base in the Philippines.

e thrill of ying a plane was fascinating as a teenager, and I quickly decided that when I grew up, I wanted to become an aeronautical engineer to build and y planes. Once I got to college, I excelled in math and gured out that was my thing. is realization led me to pursue a career in accounting.

JOHN B. BEAUSTON

Title: Managing Partner

Company: Moore Beauston & Woodham LLP

Years in the accounting industry:  41 Years

Name one characteristic that makes you successful in your eld, and why:

Determination to serve; listening and understanding each client’s need along with providing clients strategic knowledgeable timely advice and services, and providing co-workers coaching and mentoring to excel in the public accounting profession.

What do you consider one of your top professional career successes?

Founding member in 1992 of Moore Beauston & Woodham LLP and celebrating the rm’s 30th anniversary in 2022.

If you weren’t in the accounting industry, what would you be doing as a career?

An independent business entrepreneur of some type a ording me the opportunity to interact with the public/consumer.

BEST PLACES TO WORK IN SC PRESENTING THE 2022

SCBiz News has named 119 companies ranging from contractors to credit unions to its 2022 list of Best Places to Work in South Carolina.

e companies were chosen in partnership with the publishers of SC Biz News and the Best Companies Group for the 17th consecutive year. Rankings were revealed during an Aug. 18 gala at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, and companies are listed in order of those rankings here.

Companies which choose to participate are surveyed by Best Companies Group, an independent research company. A two-part process includes an employer questionnaire about policies and procedures, among other information, as well as an employee survey with eight focus areas. Overall rankings re ect a combination of the questionnaire and the survey data.

LARGE COMPANIES

1THE SPINX CO. MAKES COMMITMENT TO WORK ENVIRONMENT

Thelargest privately held retailer headquartered in the state is also the Best Place to Work in the large business category.

The Spinx Co. was founded in 1972 in Greenville, by Stewart Spinks who thought at the time he may want to have several stores around Greenville. Now with more than 80 convenience retail stores in the Carolinas, the company continues to evolve and change as the industry evolves and changes. That includes its commitment to making life easier for customers and making work life better for employees.

The founder, who remains chairman of the company 50 years later, established core values of teamwork, accountability, commitment to quality, customer focus, passion and a focus on community, according to the company.

“We are committed to providing the best benefits and work environment for our more than 1,600 team members,” the company stated. “In addition, we are committed to a world-class training and development program for teammates.”

In 2017, the company implemented its Teammate

DPR CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Zach Pannier, Charlotte-Greenville Business Unit Leader

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? DPR Construction is a privately held, employee-owned company that has grown to a multi-billion-dollar organization with off ices around the country, making it one of the largest general contractors in the nation and a great story of entrepreneurial success. It ranked on FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for five consecutive years. A flat organization, DPR employees do not have titles and work in an open-off ice environment, where everyone including company co-founders and regional managers sit in wall-less cubicles; title-less business cards to allow individuals to take on multiple roles and levels of responsibility and wine bars in every off ice used as a central gathering place for employee celebrations. Employees enjoy Best-in-class health benefits and a customized wellness program is offered for all employees that includes a fitness reimbursement. Employees enjoy flexible hours, game rooms and areas and wine bars in every off ice.

Assistance Fund designed to help employees in need.

Since the fund’s inception, the company has given teammates more than $250,000 and 31 vacation days. Employees contribute to the fund, and the company matches dollar for dollar.

The company’s Spinx Ready Program promotes internal growth and development, promoting more than 120 employees to leadership positions in 2021. In 2018, Spinx implemented Spinx Leadership Excellence,

PULTE GROUP

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Matt Raines, Division President

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) is one of America’s largest homebuilding companies with operations in more than 40 markets throughout the country. Through its brand portfolio that includes Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods and American West, the company is one of the industry’s most versatile homebuilders. Locally, we build under our best-known brands in the industry: Pulte Homes, Centex, John Wieland and Del Webb. PulteGroup’s vision is to be considered the most respected homebuilder in America. We know this wouldn’t be possible without inspired and engaged employees. Our single most important thing is our people. Our commitment to our employees includes work that moves you, trust that empowers you, a company that brings you pride and opportunities to grow. Pulte prides itself on our culture that is welcoming to existing and new employees. We do this through employee development and growth opportunities, caring about our people and their careers, promoting from within, giving back to the community and encouraging employee feedback as well as an array of perks and benefits.

a training and development program to help assess and develop managers for future stores.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company required masks for the safety of customers and employees at all sites, and provided additional pay for essential workers. The company also implemented a policy to pay employees who had to quarantine after contracting COVID and implemented a remote work policy where feasible.

BRASFIELD & GORRIE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Ben Barfield, Vice President/Division Manager

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Brasfield & Gorrie, a construction company, has a culture that sets us apart. It’s a culture that values people and stresses solid core values. Beginning with Mr. Gorrie in 1964, our culture has consistently focused on building exceptional people, trusting relationships, great projects, and strong communities. Our growth over the decades has been organic, never through acquisition of other companies, and with a fervent effort to protect and maintain the values of our founders. Thanks to this culture, many employees have spent their entire careers with Brasfield & Gorrie. As of 2021, we’ve recognized 403 employees for 20 or more years of service. Brasfield & Gorrie’s employees exhibit strong team spirit and a sense of pride that is usually found only in small companies. Care and respect are cornerstones of our culture. Modeled by our leadership, these values are reflected in every layer of the company. Our history is filled with landmark projects, but ultimately our culture and our people continue to define our success. We want employees to know that they’re part of the family and are valued.

SENTAR

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: April Nadeau, Senior Vice President

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Sentar truly embod ies a win/win atmosphere. As a defense company, we work hard to support the warfighter but we make sure to play hard too with activities like scavenger hunts, pizza Friday, and our monthly all hands lunch. We recognize that everyone has a life outside of work and understand the importance of loving what you do while maintaining a balance. Sentar offers a flexible schedule to help maintain this balance. Employees are encouraged to head up to the office rooftop to enjoy a view of the Cooper River. Employees are respected, engaged, and empowered to make decisions. Employees consistently mention how the leadership team invests in getting to know everyone on a personal and professional level, creating a transparent environment and a true open door policy; that is the foun dation of our culture. Leaders provide an atmosphere that is flexible, fun and rewarding. There is strong precedence that individuals who want opportunities to grow within the company may do so. Free tickets to sporting events bring employees together.

SOUTH CAROLINA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: R. Scott Woods, President / CEO

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? At South Carolina Federal Union, our employees’ best interest is always at the pulse of our strategic decisions. We embrace and encourage a genuine open-door policy and authentic relationships between employees and their managers, so that everyone can feel safe, heard, and valued. We practice an innovative performance management model, in which managers deliver consistent, timely feedback to employees to help them grow and advance in their careers. We also equip employees with the tools that are necessary for high levels of productivity through world-class training programs, and we provide unique opportunities for employees to live their best lives through our wellness program. There are opportunities to be finan cially fit, including a huge mortgage loan rate discount, a dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of employees’ salaries, financial education, savings challenges, and more. Employees receive superior training and unique opportunities to live their best lives through a comprehen sive wellness program, and they serve their communities through a Foundation, which partners regularly with local nonprofits.

BURNS & MCDONNELL

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Trevor Jones, Project Manager General

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched

team of 10,000 engineers, construction and craft profes sionals, architects, and more to design and build our critical infrastructure. Less than 4% of firms nationwide are 100% employee-owned, and even fewer have enjoyed that status for more than 30 years. Our turnover rate is one of the lowest in the industry at 5%, and that’s because our people have a real stake in the company. Our culture of ownership leads us to care for one another’s success in ways that go beyond comprehensive award programs or courses for career growth. It’s an attitude that perme ates every project and relationship, a genuine interest in helping one another make deadlines, meet opportunities and find fulfillment. When the hard work is done for the day, we celebrate. Our close-knit family atmosphere leads to activities outside our walls, competing in intramurals or rolling up our sleeves on a Saturday to serve others in our community.

HALL BOOTH SMITH

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jack Gresh, Partner

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? Hall Booth Smith law firm was founded on the ideals of valuing the unique wisdom, talents and perspective that each employee contributes, and we continue to cultivate an inclusive and respectful culture that celebrates our employees. We make HBS a place where every employee feels valued and appreciated. We are not a firm with employees, we are a firm building a work family. We offer a flexible hybrid work schedule and monthly lunch staff meetings. The Pathway to Promotion Program has the ability for growth within the firm. There are employee events like The Hunger walk, Step by Step walking outing along with a family outing in the summer and holiday celebrations in the office. Other benefits include a $3,000 contribution into employees’ Health Savings Accounts and quarterly bonuses for paralegals.

EDWARD JONES

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Nicole

Hupfer, Financial Advisor

Location: Florence

Why are you a best place to work? Edward Jones employees find flexible, family-friendly workplaces near their own homes with satisfying work and lots of support by their regions and home-office personnel. Community involvement is encouraged. Talented financial advisors can volunteer for leadership roles, get development coaching and earn opportunities for permanent leader ship roles in their region or at home offices. Opportunities and potential compensation are limitless. Success helping clients results in financial advisors and branch office administrators earning trimester bonuses, annual profit sharing – 55% of operating income – and the opportunity to own a piece of the firm through limited partnership. Edward Jones is a partnership owned by 23,405 limited partners, all associates or retirees. Every associate has an opportunity to own part of the firm. Partnership is a unique reward that few companies offer. Any associate in good standing with three years of service can be offered

partnership. Nearly 50% of associates are owners. All income after expenses is paid out to associates through bonuses, profit sharing and partnership earnings.

SOUTHERN DIVERSIFIED DISTRIBUTORS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Maybank Hagood, CEO

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? The Southern Diversified Distributors family of companies are valuesbased, strategic, and innovative industry leaders in floor covering distribution and supplies, warehousing, logistics and transportation. Our company is rooted in a 150-year history of delivering outstanding products and services, providing profitable solutions, and building strong relationships. Southern Diversified Distributors is based in Charleston, SC with our family of companies proudly serv ing thousands of customers throughout the Southeast. This family of companies allows their employees to sup port each other. They reward performance, have a culture of accountability and celebrate the wins. Their number one Core Value is We Care About Each Other and they attempt to live this every day. Leadership truly wants each associate to reach their highest potential while allowing an effective work/life balance. Remote work has now become an associate preference and the company has responded with the supporting technology. Associates feel they can talk to anyone in management, including the CEO, and most already have existing, strong relationships.

MARSH MCLENNAN AGENCY

- GREENVILLE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Daniel Einstein, Division Leader, Business Insurance

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? At Marsh McLennan Agency Mid Atlantic, our Greenville office is proud to provide our clients with best-in- class business insur ance, employee health and benefits, private client and retirement services that meet their growing needs. If you ask our colleagues what makes this a great place to work, they will resoundingly say that it’s a place where you enjoy going to work and are truly supported by the company. We strive to create a workplace where our values—integrity, collaboration, passion, innovation, and accountability—come to life. Colleague appreciation and engagement is embedded within our culture. We strive every day for colleagues to feel respected, heard and valued. We truly live our mission to make a difference in the moments that matter for our colleagues, clients and communities. Working at MMA means joining a team of diverse professionals, dedicated to helping clients manage challenging and complex risks, focusing on world class service with a local touch.

No cost to you Invaluable to Employees

Businesses across the state know the importance of attracting and keeping quality employees. And like the companies honored as 2022 Best Places to Work, Future Scholar is in tune with the benefits employees say they’re looking for.

The Future Scholar Employee Benefits Program helps you meet a valued employee priority — financial planning — by offering payroll contribution options that are free to add and easy for employees to use.

JE DUNN CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Janet Bates, Client Solutions Manager

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Established in 1924, JE Dunn Construction is a family and employee-owned commercial general contractor with expertise in construc tion management, program management and design/ build projects. We are ranked as the 13th largest domestic building contractor in the nation by Engineering NewsRecord. JE Dunn Construction is proud to be a locallyowned and employee-owned company (ESOP). Our team members naturally take pride and personal responsibility in not only the work we perform, but also the Charleston community in which we live and helping to shape our community. Since 2015, JE Dunn has donated more than $400,000 and thousands of volunteer hours back into the Lowcountry community. We are proud of our commitment to donate over 10% of pre-tax earnings to local organiza tions. We have a network of 25 offices stretching coastto-coast but we all feel connected and are for each other like a family. After surveying employees, we decided that certain roles allowed for remote work on certain days of the week. Working for a company that understands work/ life balance is paramount to our success as employees.

HENRY J. LEE DISTRIBUTORS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Patrick Guerin, President, Lee Distributors

Location: Summerville

Why are you a best place to work? Henry J. Lee Distributors is proud to be a family-oriented company that is a part of the Reyes Beer Division, whose ambition is to be the elite beverage distributor in the United States. Henry J. Lee Distributors is made up of two companies: Lee Distributors, located in Summerville and Beaufort and Greenco Distributing, located in Greenville. We proudly sell and distribute the widest variety of imported, craft and domestic beers, delivering over 7.8 million cases annually to over 4,000 customers throughout the Lowcountry and northwestern part of South Carolina. We take pride in the culture and environment we provide for our employees so they, in turn, take pride in their work at Henry J. Lee Distributors. Our commitment to our people is reflected in our recognition as a Best Place to Work in South Carolina. We have employee events like burgers and beers for summer holidays, BBQ dinners and pizzas and free beer during all holidays. A robust discount program includes tech products, entertainment, memberships, phone plans, car insurance and more.

WESTON & SAMPSON ENGINEERS INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Robert Horner, PE, Vice-President

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? The work at Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. starts from our CEO and percolates through the leadership where everyone is

supportive of your personal and professional life. We have faced enormous challenges in the past two years, but not having to deal with the stress from your employer kept us going through this difficult period. Every leader empha sizes fostering a healthy work-life balance. That offloads the work-related stress because we know our bosses understand the importance of having a work life balance. We work as a team in its truest sense. We stand next to each other through thick and thin and cheer everybody’s success. We celebrate personal and professional goals and motivate each other to do better. We encourage, we compliment, we focus on strengths, and we thrive to do better as a team. There’s an empathic, inclusive, flexible, innovative, collaborative and nurturing culture. Our people support each other and the communities in which they live, work and play.

LIFE CYCLE ENGINEERING

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Bob Fei, President and CEO

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? For more than 40 years, Life Cycle Engineering has provided engineering solutions that deliver lasting results for private industry, public entities, government organizations and the military. Our vision is to create a work environment where employees develop personally and professionally, and where employees have fun, develop advocate clients, and create profit for the company. Our policies and practices are focused on employee success and work/life balance. We like to have fun, which creates a positive atmosphere for innovation and creativity. Our flexible workday schedule helps balance work with family. Our values of honesty, integrity, and mutual respect create a work environment that is supportive and team oriented. We use LaunchPath, a third-party web-based software that allows all of our employees access to training and tools to learn how to become an innovator. It allows the company to utilize employees’ unique ideas to further goals and allows employees to learn a new skill and contribute to the company in new and meaningful ways. This program has been compared to a miniature MBA and is available to everyone.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Chris Van Metre, President & CEO

Location: Summerville

Why are you a best place to work? ATI goes the distance to provide our associates with great benefits, competitive compensation and a healthy working environment. Advanced Technology International (ATI), a nonprofit subsidiary of Analytic Services Inc. (ANSER) lessens the burden of government by coordinating and managing our nation’s most innovative research initia tives. Industry and academia have long sought to support the warfighter through innovation – they just needed a better way to do it. We offer an exceptional culture of

lifelong relationships, where purpose-driven work makes a difference in our world. We are dedicated to helping all associates achieve their highest potential. The balance between approachable and hard-working, know-how and fun. We are achievers with diverse personalities and we stand for each other and for delivering excellent service to our customers. Building relationships to create a mean ingful culture is what makes our organization unique. Volunteerism is encouraged at ATI; our employees are offered paid time off to serve hands-on with an organiza tion of their choosing.

SCANSOURCE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Michael L. Baur, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? ScanSource is a leading hybrid distributor connecting devices to the cloud and accelerating growth for partners across hardware, software, connectivity and cloud. ScanSource enables partners to deliver solutions for their customers to address changing end-user buying and consumption patterns. ScanSource sells through multiple, specialized routes-to-market with hardware, software, connectivity and cloud services offerings from the world’s leading suppliers of point-of-sale (POS), payments, barcode, physi cal security, unified communications and collaboration, telecom and cloud services. Headquartered in Greenville, the company has approximately 2,200 team members across the US, Canada, Brazil and the UK. Candidates choose ScanSource because our culture is known throughout the communities in which we have offices. Employees are working seamlessly from home and the company continues to implement even more tools for fully capable remote operations. For employees who choose to come into the office, ScanSource provides lunch, ping pong, a putting green, ample comfortable space for collaborating, basketball goals, an on-site gym and other opportunities for employees to engage. ScanSource also provides telemedicine services and ample mental health resources.

INFRASTRUCTURE

CONSULTING & ENGINEERING

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Elham Farzam, President / CEO

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering (ICE) was founded on a corporate culture based on integrity, dedication, and professionalism—one that is focused on a strong work ethic, employee health and safety, professional develop ment, client satisfaction and superior achievements. Our mission is to provide innovative and efficient transporta tion engineering solutions with personal client service that exceed expectations for accessibility and responsiveness in a work environment that encourages safety, health and a balanced life. The firm offers higher than average compensation rates, flexible working arrangements, tuition reimbursement, employer paid medical insurance,

generous paid time off, free employee assistance program for personal growth and life challenges, incentive bonuses, on-site gyms with no membership fees, cash incentive wellness programs, state of the art technology and equipment and company vehicles for business travel and unexpected emergencies. There’s an open door policy for effective communication, office camaraderie; participation in webinars, conferences and membership in business associations to forge relationships with industry leaders and the firm encourages employees to take time off for family vacations and limits work weeks to 40 hours whenever possible.

PRIVILEGE UNDERWRITERS

INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Matthew Ripke, VP, Regional Executive

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) insurance company is committed to building an inclusive supportive community where employees feel safe and are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. Our goal is to have an environment where employees can successfully find a balance between working hard and truly enjoying the company of their colleagues every single day. When you’re in the office, you can see the diligent work that promotes employees to think creatively, work collaboratively and approach their work with passion to better

serve our unique membership. While we support the environment so our employees thrive, we also provide resources for them to live their fullest lives. We provide in-office meditation, student loan repayment assistance and fertility assistance for their growing families. Understanding the transition back to work, we provide parents access to backup childcare and offer parental transition coaching. We also provide unlimited time off. We want our employees to know we care about them and value their personal needs. Employees embody our four core principles; intellectual curiosity, passion, empathy and being a team player.

COLONIAL LIFE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tim Arnold, CEO and President, Colonial Life Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? For more than 80 years, Colonial Life has called Columbia home. Our purpose to protect employees and their families against unexpected moments in life is at the heart of what we do, and we partner with over 87,000 businesses and protect over 4 million customers through life, accidental and disability insurance. Our workforce of nearly 1,000 employees is known for its Caring Spirit, a corporate value. Company-wide, we host volunteer service projects, fundraising campaigns and recognize outstanding community advocates with the CEO Community Award. We know the success of our business and surrounding community begins when our employees and their families

thrive. That’s why we ensure our employee benefits package is competitive with offerings such as flexible work-life balance, generous paid time off, up to 9.5% contribution to an employee 401(k), a new Emergency Savings Program, paternity and caregiver leave, a Student Debt Relief Program, up to $25,000 adoption benefit and more.

THOMAS & HUTTON

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tony Woody, Vice President

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? We know that our success of 75 years is all dependent upon having a stellar workforce. At Thomas & Hutton engineering, our people are our first priority. Our people are more than just “employees.” The people who walk through our doors every morning are part of a bigger family. Thomas & Hutton does everything we can to motivate and inspire our staff to be the best. Beyond an excellent insurance plan and benefits, we seek to ignite their passion for the work they do, as well as promote giving back to the communities in which we live. We do what we can to break out the mold of a traditional engineering firm by making the workplace fun. We seek to continue our traditions of providing opportunities for development for staff and giving back to the communities where we live and work. Unique employee benefits includes a Health by Design Wellness program, where employees can earn over $800 in incentives including a $500 bonus and four hours of paid time off by tracking healthy activities.

CAMERON ASHLEY BUILDING PRODUCTS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Donny DeMarie, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We have a small company feel with a big company footprint. Our leadership team is engaged at all levels of the organization and is willing to find creative solutions to any problem outside the company, including fundraising for employee’s personal causes. We are constantly communicating with entire company through townhall meetings hosting by our CEO. It’s an open forum where you can ask questions and make comments. We also have an additional town hall for site managers, warehouse managers and safety. We love surprising our employees, from shamrock shakes for St. Patrick’s Day, to Boo Buckets for Halloween. We host themed Fun Friday events every Friday with different food trucks, fun, and games during the summer months. We rolled out a new social recognition platform where employees can recognize other employees for birthdays, anniversaries, and general recognition. It’s available to all employees at all levels of the organization. Our MVP (Mission, Vision, Purpose) Award is a peer-nominated award to and employee who go above and beyond and exemplify our core values.

AMAROK

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Mark Wesley, CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work?

AMAROK, the ultimate perimeter security, is the market leader in electric security fences and perimeter security in the country. AMAROK relentlessly protects commercial and industrial locations across the U.S., providing a safer work environment for employees while reducing total security costs. We feel strongly about maintaining a culture where people can have fun while they reach high levels of performance. We encourage employee participation in company-sponsored events to help bring employees from other departments together for a bonding experience— whether that be, our annual Christmas party, dressing up for Halloween, participating on our company-sponsored kickball team or the various charity events that we partake in. We truly want employees to look forward to come to work and enjoy what they do and who they work with.

ATLAS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Brian Miller, Chief Executive Officer

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? Atlas was started 24 years ago with the task of establishing internet connectivity on Navy ships. Today, we provide multiple technology services to the Navy and Coast Guard to improve the lives of the warfighter. We deployed 100% telework in March 2020 with no slowdown in our activity. A healthy integration of work/life is constantly emphasized, and we encourage taking time for ourselves. Our structure is open communication among team members, supervisors, and executive leadership with weekly meetings and quarterly one-on-one meetings. Executive leadership is transparent to all team members and individual quarterly goals for the directors and revenue measurements are posted for all team members. At every level of the company, we have weekly meetings where issues are identified, discussed, and solved. Messages are cascaded up and down throughout the company. This keeps the entire company informed about those things that impact our business. We have chartered committees for morale and charitable giving/activity. Every year, we are top financial sponsors to the local food banks, homeless shelters, Special Olympics, and other charities.

What’s

SELECT HEALTH OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Courtnay Thompson, Market President

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Associate engagement, satisfaction and safety are top priorities at healthcare insurance and services company. We view associates as our most important, valuable and powerful resource and make it a point to emphasize that with them at every opportunity. Despite the challenges of working remotely since March 2020, and having only begun a phased return to off ice/ community, we offer monthly e-communications to all associates from the market president, monthly leadership talking points, share timely and relevant information and a monthly associate newsletter highlights associates/teams and milestones. There are quarterly town halls and small group meetings for greater commnication. Our Associate Engagement Leadership Workgroup meets monthly to discuss and plan engagement initiatives, like virtual social Zooms, a company cookbook project, virtual lunch and learns, spirit weeks, and random giveaways. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Off ice offers robust programs and learning for associates. Our company recently completed a generous, multi-year donation to the International African American Museum. We have a mission-driven, people-first culture and long-standing commitment to associates.

MCANGUS GOUDELOCK & COURIE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jay Courie, Managing Member

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? At MGC, we like to say that we are not your typical law firm. We’re different - and proud to be different. MGC was founded 27 years ago by three lawyers that wanted to build a law firm focused on excellent client service, while also designing an environment where employees enjoyed coming to work every day. We have grown since 1995, yet the small-firm feel has remained. From an innovative environment, where new ideas are celebrated, to a diverse workforce knowing that we are ultimately better when we have people from different backgrounds and experiences at the table, our firm is committed to an inclusive culture. We are not focused on hierarchy, but rather on communication, transparency and a strong open-door policy. We bring these qualities to our relationships with clients and to the communities where we live and work. This past summer, we brought together our up-and-coming leaders with our seasoned leaders and employees for an in-person retreat, with the intent of reimagining how we can continue to enhance and grow our unparalleled workplace culture.

NHE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Taylor Davis, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? NHE provides professional association management, conventional and affordable apartment management, and service coordination to communities across the Southeast and currently represents more than 17,000 homes, apartments and condominiums in more than 15 states. NHE’s clients benefit from our expertise, experience and leading-edge technology delivered by a dedicated staff offering diverse services to assure premium performance and value. We are actively engaged with national and state industry trade associations and government regulatory bodies, NHE holds the prestigious AMO (Accredited Management Organization) designation through the Institute of Real Estate Management. Most importantly, we recognize that our team is our key to success and are committed to treating them as individuals and partners in all aspects of our operations. NHE has an annual employee conference to celebrate, motivate and recognize our employees.

TOTAL QUALITY LOGISTICS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Austin Gillian, Group Sales Manager

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Total Quality Logistics is a service-based sales organization that believes in doing things right. We arrange the pick-up and delivery for business-to-business freight across North America, coordinating the movement of 3 million shipments in 2022. With 56 offices in 26 states and thousands of well-trained professionals available 24/7/365, each customer and prospect is only a phone call away from best-in-class service through a single point of contact. At TQL, you are given all the training, tools, and technology you need to succeed. You need only bring your strong work ethic, your desire to learn, and your commitment to unlimited potential. A favorite employee perk is our tradition of company-wide “Beer Drops.” Everyone is given a beer while the CEO leads us in a companywide toast to celebrate milestones and broken records. TQL Pets Club reimburses employees who adopt a new furry friend. Through TQL Cares, the company’s charitable giving program, employ ees support over 2,000 nonprofit organizations nationwide. With TQL’s match, millions of dollars and thousands of hours of work are poured into our communities.

SONEPAR MANAGEMENT GROUP

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Rob Taylor, President North America

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Sonepar Management Group US Inc. provides shared services for Sonepar USA, a family of brands across the US. Sonepar USA is an independent, family-owned business with global market leadership in the B2B dis tribution of electrical, industrial and safety products and services. We’re a great place to work because of our camaraderie, inclusivity and compassionate leadership. Many associates aren’t just colleagues, but friends who meet in their free time. These connections stem from a positive work atmosphere and inclusive policies. People are our most important asset and that is reflected in our family-oriented culture that is engrained at every level of the organization. We love to spotlight new hires and associates’ achievements and contributions to the community on our intranet, Yammer groups and social media. These posts are always met with overwhelming enthusiasm. The company president consulted our women’s employee resource group to learn how the pandemic was dis proportionately affecting women. When it was made clear that flexibility was critical, a hybrid remote/ in-person policy was instituted for salaried associates and is now standard.

TD SYNNEX

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Peter Larocque, President, North America

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? As a global leader in technology solutions and IT distribution, TD SYNNEX understands the value we can bring to our stakeholders, globally and locally. With more than 22,000 co-workers, 1,500+ vendor partners and 150,000+ customers serving in more than 100 countries, we have the power to make a difference. With the recent merger of two leading technol ogy solutions companies, we are raising the bar, recognizing our best practices and co-workers are collaborating more than ever to be the best. Working in a fast-paced and an ever-changing environment, we understand how we can help our business partners navigate the technology complexities and deliver successful business outcomes. TD SYNNEX genuinely cares for its coworkers, business partners and communities. The company believes diversity, equity and inclusion are critical and important focuses. We have BRGs (business resource groups) to unite and celebrate our differences, a community relations team to build our giving programs locally and we are taking the lead to help make the world a better place with plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emis sions in global operations by 2045.

A STRONG CAREER REQUIRES

A SOLID FOUNDATION.

INDUS TECHNOLOGY INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Mr. Jared Mathey, Vice President

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? We strongly believe that our people are our strongest assets. We aim to provide every employee a positive and empowering employment experience and have set goals to become the employer of choice as we continue to grow. We believe in developing our talent and offering training and development programs that can help them stay within the organization instead of falling prey to the inevitable turnover that comes with being a defense contractor. Employees are eligible for health benefits on the first day of hire. Our CEO is engaged and charismatic, hosting many events that he personally travels to in order to get facetime with all of our employees in various locations. The culture gives way to growth and gives employees a sense of purpose and value. Employee “kudos” are distributed in our company-wide newsletter.

KOOPS INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jeff VanUffelen, Director of Finance

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Koops, Inc., a manufacturing company that provides factory automation and systems and automated assembly. It is committed to living the values it has set as its guiding principles. This is evidenced by how members are treated, vendors are treated and customers are treated. We are committed to growth, specifically as means to grow personally through challenge and present individuals’ growth and career opportunities. We are committed to development of people and pursuing people’s strengths. The result is an awesome team and culture to work in and a work environment that’s easy to enjoy. We also just do exciting and diverse work, with challenging and cutting-edge technology, diverse customers needing vastly different solutions; it’s a problem solver’s dream. We keep an open door to feedback at all levels. Retirement benefits are composed of Employee stock ownership and 401K match, company bonus for all, gym membership, new high end smart phones, etc. The “Guess ESOP value” annual award is an anticipated event where closest three estimates split a check for one share worth of value.

INGRAM MICRO

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jeff Yelton, VP of Advanced Solutions

Location: Greer

Why are you a best place to work? Ingram Micro technology company encourages associates to bring their best self each and every day. While we are a high performing sales organization, we pride ourselves on diversity, inclusion and collaboration. We offer multiple avenues for associates to get involved in philanthropic opportunities and to even join Employee Resource Groups. Top-down updates and communication occurs frequently, and we offer multiple opportunities for bottom-up communication through pulse surveys and focus groups with the objective: to make all voices heard. Our associates are awarded trust, empathy, appreciation and encouragement to think innovatively and creatively. Our people are our secret sauce and they make Ingram a “best” place to work. Our commitment to quality is apparent in what we do on a day-to-day basis and the work done is valued.

TERMINIX SERVICE INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Marion A. Knox, Jr., CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Terminix Service Inc. is individually owned and the larg est franchise of Terminix International. We are continually recognized among the top 10 pest control companies in the country. Our senior leadership is third and fourth generation and our employees are like family. We invest in the people and communities where our employees live and work. We coach little league; teach Sunday school and volunteer in our communities. Most recently, our employees built Habitat for Humanity homes and collected food and water donations for local nonprofits. As a family business, we know suc cess comes from our people. Nearly half of our employees have worked with us for more than five years and 100 percent of our branch and region managers were hired from within the company. We believe in promoting from within whenever a motivated and hardworking employee indicates interest in an open opportunity. We provide train ing to help employees do their current job better and be prepared to take on the challenges of the new position.

TRAVEL NURSE ACROSS AMERICA

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tim McKenzie, President & CEO

Location: Nationwide

Why are you a best place to work? TNAA, a staffing agency for healthcare industries, focuses on four core values that the company takes to heart. We have monthly core values nominations from employees, with monthly awards being given out. We also have Employee of the Month and yearly awards for the company and departments. We take the time to hire the right person for the culture, because it is important to us to make sure our team is supportive and successful. We hold yearly Rally Days, where everyone comes into the corporate office and gets to spend time together. Our employee engagement committee regularly hosts parties, contests and sends out companywide gifts. The majority of our workforce is remote. The great part is it really comes in handy when we hit a global pandemic. We have a great system built for video calls and connecting with coworkers. The company offers pet benefits, hotel discounts nationwide and a corporate chaplain.

INGEVITY

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: John Fortson, CEO and president

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? We all play a part in ensuring a more sustainable future, and Ingevity employees take great pride in working together to purify, protect and enhance our world. As a provider of bio-based specialty chemicals, Ingevity manufactures solutions that help make the world more sustainable. While based in North Charleston, our team includes over 1,800 globally diverse employees operating in 25 countries, all working toward the shared goal of creating a better world. We strive to be an employer where all employees are heard, respected and empow ered to grow to their fullest potential. The work of our IngeviCares philanthropy program focuses our giving and volunteerism, including working with students to learn about stewardship of our earth, and rallying around community events. We have a formal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team, welcomed our first Chief DEI Officer in 2021. Together we rally around our purpose, recognizing that we work for a company unique in its ability to positively impact everyday life through our products and technologies and in its unshakable drive to make the world a better place.

ENABLING A BETTER FUTURE

At Ingevity, fulfilling our purpose to purify, protect and enhance the world is more than a business proposition. It defines who we are, why we’re here and how we operate. It begins inside our company with the values we live by, the actions we take, the standards we hold ourselves accountable to and – ultimately - the culture we create.

"Ingevity's commitment to creativity and innovation is at the core of our success. We are empowered to explore fresh ways of bringing our people, products and processes together to solve problems, big and small. The impact of our work is felt in our local communities and around the world."

Tevin Proctor DEI Program Manager

“I am proud to work for Ingevity because of the company's clear mission and vision. I appreciate the flexibility and autonomy that our leadership enables, and especially the camaraderie among the team.”

Lynn Robinson Director, Data Strategy and Governance

SAMET CORP.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Carson Knizevski, Regional Vice President

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Samet Corporation, a construction company, is built on a foundation of customer service and recognizes that in order to remain a solid industry leader, we must invest in our most valuable resource—our people. When you join Samet, you become a part of our family; a team who not only cares about the work you do but about who you are. We want the best employees and the best for our employees so we can deliver the best experiences to our clients. Samet provides continuing education opportunities, a robust healthcare program, 401(k), and opportunities for professional and personal growth. Employee camaraderie extends far beyond the office in the form of community service, outreach events, company outings and holiday parties. Samet sponsors many events within our community that associates can volunteer at or attend. Each associate has eight hours of paid time to use for volunteering. A unique free health benefit offered to employees is KisX, which covers over 400+ surgeries and procedures at no cost to the employee.

LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tod Augsburger, CEO

Location: West Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? The Culture at Lexington Medical Center is one of caring and compassion. The Hospital’s Mission to provide quality care to our communities extend beyond our patients and customers and to our employees. We have a unique environment where we take care of each other. Through our value system, we hold ourselves and each other accountable to Quality, Compassion, Integrity and Teamwork. Our over 7,000 employees and volunteers are genuinely happy and committed to Lexington Medical Center. Our employees are loyal to the Lexington brand and it shows in the quality care that they provide, their engagement with our patients and our patient satisfaction. One of our most important strategic priorities have always been to recruit and retain the best people. This is evident in the Lexington Medical Center culture every day.

T-MOBILE USA INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Gary Miller, Senior Director

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? T-Mobile is an advanced 4G LTE and transformative nationwide 5G network. At the heart of everything we do is strengthening connections, in more ways than one. To our network, to our brand, to our customers—but most importantly, to each other. We’re a team of bridges, not silos. A team of allies, not heroes. A team that works left-right, not topdown. Together we are a part of something bigger than ourselves—and only together will we deliver something bigger and better. We are one team, together, we celebrate each other, listen to and empower each other and include each other. We value what each person brings. We are guided by a belief that people come first and that diversity, equity and inclusion for all of us is at the heart of how we do business and how we treat each other. Our employees enjoy the people they work with, our flexible, fun, values-based culture, and our results-oriented environment where they have the opportunity to take on new challenges and drive them to success.

Proud to be Named One of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina

HIRE DYNAMICS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Kim Wallace, Chief Growth Officer / Regional Vice President

Location: Atlanta

Why are you a best place to work? Hire Dynamics, a EmployBridge company, is proud to be the largest U.S. based staffing company with SC locations in Greenville, Anderson, Greer, Gaffney, Spartanburg, Newberry, Columbia, Charleston and Rock Hill.  Hire Dynamics provides contract staffing, contract to hire and direct hire positions at a wide variety of companies that specialize in manufacturing, distribution, call center and office positions.  Providing workforce solutions to our clients with continuous improvement allows Hire Dynamics to partner with the best companies in the state of SC as we all grow the SC economy together. Hire Dynamics has a passion for people including our colleagues within the company, associates that we are honored to place in career opportunities and serving our clients with customized programs. We feel that “What We Do Matters” so the drive that makes the company so special is the teamwork together for a common goal which is serving others.

SOUTHSTATE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Greg Lapointe, Chief Banking Officer

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We are dedicated banking professionals that help customer and our own team members through financial decisions.We treat our team members like family and want them to grow their personal life as much as they grow their professional life. We offer the ability to work across multiple states in the Southeast, allowing many of our support team members to live in the city they want and work the job they love. Our customer-facing team members love serving the people in the community they live in. We help our team members grow their careers with our many development opportunities. Our team members love the work life balance that SouthState encourages. We have a generous paid time off plan that includes 11 holidays, minimum of 20, and up to 30 PTO days, 8 weeks of paid critical care time for self or family members and four days of volunteer time each year. An employee stock purchase plan allows our team members to invest in the company at a discounted rate every quarter.

CHARLESTON WATER SYSTEM

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: F. Kin Hill, Jr., CEO

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Our mission is to protect public health and protect the environment, a vision that every one of our associates is proud and honored to be a part of. Every year, we volunteer thousands of man hours to helping our community. We host plant tours for local schools so students can learn how clean drinking water is made as well as how wastewater is treated and clean water returned to the environment. We give talks and presentations to local community groups. Our associates love to give back by raising money and by giving their energy to many local community groups. Our associates understand that the services we provide are a lifeline for our customers in a time of need. We go above and beyond in natural disasters to ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water and sanitation services. We help other communities across the county who need help when disaster strikes. We get pride and satisfaction knowing that we are working for a higher cause—working for our community and our friends and neighbors.

BERKELEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Mike Fuller, President & CEO

Location: Moncks Corner

Why are you a best place to work? We are a best place to work because we live out an important purpose—providing an essential service to the community while enjoying the process as much as we can. The nature of our business requires that we look out for our community and each other. It is truly special. We extend the community- and service-oriented mindset to our employees, building a unique employee experience. Last year, employees who retired had collectively 550 years of experience with the co-op; people who come to the co-op stay with us. Employee appreciation events include fishing and golf tournaments, outdoor family movie nights and oyster roasts. We fully-fund pensions, a Health Savings Account, a life insurance policy worth five times an employee’s salary, along with health, vision and dental, all without asking the employee for a penny from their paycheck. We offer tuition reimbursement so employees can continue their education; we also have an in-house training team that coordinates robust training programs like leadership development. We pay 40 percent of the costs of gym memberships for employees.

PALMETTO CITIZENS

FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Nick Wodogaza, CEO/President

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, an Equal Opportunity Employer, is committed to our philosophy of helping people achieve their potential. At Palmetto Citizens, our focus is on providing quality solutions and guidance to help our members reach their financial goals. Our staff are dedicated to off ering exceptional service and proactive solutions to our members’ financial issues, safeguarding their confidential information and working within a team. We are committed to diversity, inclusion and providing an atmosphere where all staff are respected, supported, recognized for their good work and rewarded based on their professional achievement and contribution. We have partnered with many diverse organizations in order to share our career opportunities, as well as provide career counseling. We educate staff on wise financial practices and our credit union’s philosophy through training opportunities specific to each staff member’s needs and goals. We have a strong relationship with our membership and community. Our staff members feel that through Palmetto Citizens they can experience both personal and professional growth and be a success through assisting other people.

NATURCHEM INC. DBA OPTERRA SOLUTIONS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Nick Hook, CEO

Location: Lexington

Why are you a best place to work? Our company is a vegetation management services organization; we provide our services to government and commercial clients as part of infrastructure and safety needs. We are often confused for landscaping or grounds maintenance services. However, our services are narrowed into industrial vegetation management needs that include weed control, turfgrass maintenance, stormwater system intervention and other highly specialized services. This means we exist in a narrow niche in the marketplace. It allows us to create our own ideas of best practices rather than an industry status quo. We draw from our employees’ experience and training to transform. We encourage all our employees, from the CEO to the entry-level technician, to dream up solutions and innovations for our company. Our workgroups use experiential knowledge and training as a foundation, but each operates like its own training ground. They develop and filter new thoughts up the organizational chart, rather than everything being handed down from the top. We pride ourselves on creating our own leaders who worked their way up the ranks and displayed our core values.

Being

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COMPANIES

1FLOYD LEE LOCUMS WORKS TO MATCH DOCTORS TO THE LIFE THEY WANT

Staff ing challenges in health care existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Locum was one of the solutions: locums tenens, those health care professionals who step in to fill the shoes of highly trained health care workers on a temporary basis. An organization that helps place health care professionals in facilities nationwide was chosen Best Place to Work among medium-sized companies in South Carolina. Floyd Lee Locums of Charleston earned the honor.

“We believe in serving those who serve others,” the company states on its website.

The company calls itself a “concierge health care staff ing firm focused on physicians and other health care. Partnering with clinicians looking for a diff erent way of working, we off er greater career freedom and flexibility, while delivering personalized amenities and support.”

Natasha Lee has served as CEO for the last five years.

Benefits of working for Floyd Lee Locums include the insurance plan. The company pays for 100% of medical, dental and vision insurance for employees and their families. The package includes zero-dollar copays for telehealth, a $25,000 life insurance benefit, 401k matching, and 100% company-paid long-term disability insurance.

“Maybe most importantly, we’re listening to our employees,” the company said upon being nominated as one of the Best Places to Work 2022. “We understand the critical role they all play in our joint success — and we want to honor their commitment and contributions in kind by making their work-life as fulfilling as possible.”

CF EVANS CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: John P. Evans, CEO/Chairman of the Board

Location: Orangeburg

Why are you a best place to work? In 2021, CF Evans completed the transition to its third generation of ownership. Since our inception in 1948, we have achieved our highest revenue and net earnings over the past three years, with each year being larger than the previous year. That means more hiring, training and eff orts to retain employees that we are fortunate enough to have on our team. Our Core Values permeate everything that we do, every business decision that we make, every team member whom we consider a family member. Construction is a diff icult and very competitive industry, yet we have grown extensively as a company and have still been able to maintain that “family” culture that is so vital to what makes us a best place to work. Employee feedback drives many of the decisions. The company has improved our ability to help develop and grow careers by greatly expanding our training capabilities, creating work mentoring/shadowing programs, identifying high potential employees and creating action plans to help them achieve their professional goals.

FRAMPTON CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Chad Frampton, President & CEO

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? We have the close-knit culture of a small family company. Team members are not only encouraged, but expected to “challenge the status quo.” If there is a better way of doing something, we want to know about it. All our team members have a direct line to company leadership and a real ability to eff ect change within the organization. One way we encourage this is by holding workshops for employee groups that serve as an open forum to engage directly with one another and with management to air any challenges, questions, new ideas or best practices that they may have. We built a brand-new training center/flex space this year to serve as a dedicated space for our team to interact, learn and have fun. Employee health insurance dental and vision is 100% employer paid and gym memberships are reimbursed up to $100/month. Break rooms are stocked with healthy snacks and beverages. We plan family-friendly events like beach days, baseball games, and the annual Christmas party as well as ongoing ping-pong rivalries, paintball outings and fantasy football.

YORK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: E. Paul Basha, President & CEO

Location: York

Why are you a best place to work? York Electric Cooperative (YEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned utility and one of 20 electric cooperatives in South Carolina. Founded in 1941, we now serve over 65,000 members in York, Lancaster, Chester and Cherokee counties. It is our philosophy, spirit, and commitment to provide dependable, aff ordable power services to our members. In order to succeed in doing so, we understand the need to have skilled, well-trained employees who are empowered and motivated to do what it takes to ensure our member-owners receive exceptional service. Taking care of employees first, through an excellent compensation package and opportunities for training, education and advancement, is important to us. We recognize that the way we work together, treat one another and strive to continue learning and improving each day matters. These considerations have allowed us to form a strong culture at YEC, which we believe is defined by four pillars: humility, hunger, relational wisdom and family. For 81 years, we have set the bar high, helped grow employees to meet their full potential.

PHISHLABS BY

HELPSYSTEMS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Billy Smith, Managing Director

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? PhishLabs by HelpSystems is a leading provider of curated threat intelligence and mitigation services for open web, social media and advanced business email threats. We strive to provide our employees with an engaging and fulfilling work culture by combining an agile work environment with our company’s mission of protecting our clients from various digital risks. We place a high value on open communication and transparency for all employees and managers. This open-door culture allows employees at all levels to share their feedback to improve our work environment and our service off erings. Timely and specific feedback from managers helps to provide our employees with the insight and knowledge they need to complete their responsibilities with autonomy. We are proud to off er tuition reimbursement for our employees. Our headquarters in Charleston off ers employees a modern, stylish off ice space with abundant natural lighting, weekly catered meals, on-campus restaurants and many other options for employee engagement and team building activities. Employees can work a flexible schedule, work from home and utilize unlimited PTO policy to balance work and life.

SPINSYS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Wes Watkins, Director of Strategic Health Insights

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Technology and software company SpinSys wins for having the most amazing employees. At SpinSys, we are constantly growing and learning from each other. We have people from all over the country and all types of backgrounds that make this such a fun place to work at. Employees enjoy unlimited PTO, gift cards and wellness giveaways, fun trivia and fun facts throughout the year to celebrate days like “national doughnut day.” There are regular lunch outings, catered lunches for off ice meetings, a Fitness Challenge in the summer, employee recognition, wellness giveaways and monthly yoga sessions. There’s a nap room and an onsite gym at the Charleston headquarters along with a video game room.

LANGSTON CONSTRUCTION

CO. OF PIEDMONT LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jim Roberts, Principal Location: Piedmont

Why are you a best place to work? In the 50+ years of business, Langston Construction’s geographic coverage has expanded and our project jobsites span across multiple states. Even with the geographic distance between project teams and off ice teams, Langston has made it a priority to maintain the essence of the “Langston Family.” In many construction companies, it is very diff icult to preserve close bonds when teams are dispersed, but Langston has discovered ways to show appreciation and gratefulness to all employees. In addition to the formal programs and extensive benefits, what makes Langston a great place to work is its people and collaboration and teamwork occurs is standard. We help each other out when workloads are overwhelming. Langston’s leadership has been intentional about the level and quality of professionalism of each individual. Langston has prioritized employee learning and development as part of the overall strategic business plan. We have developed several programs to empower individual professional development and technical skill advancements. Specific learning objectives have been developed to support advancements in skill level, certification opportunities, and leadership enhancement.

TREHEL CORP.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Will W. Huss, Jr., CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Trehel has a unique company culture. When Trehel was founded more than 39 years ago, Neal Workman created a construction company based on the philosophy of caring for our employees, clients, and communities. Fostering relationships became our motto and the guiding force both in our business and community endeavors. Over the years, we have continued to develop our culture through employee engagement initiatives, team-building exercises, enhancing our benefit packages and community outreach. There are quarterly team member breakfasts, an annual Christmas dinner and Christmas gifts for every team member and their families, free tickets for sporting and theatrical events, leadership training and opportunities to volunteer. Trehel has an extensive history of supporting arts, community development, education, environment, health, and human service needs. Over the past 10 years, Trehel has donated more than $1 million to improve the communities we serve. The majority of our team members volunteer for or serve on governing or advisory boards for nonprofit and civic organizations. The Trehel Community and Family Night at Fluor Field highlights partnerships with select non-profit organizations in the region.

FIND GREAT PEOPLE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: John Uprichard, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? In 2021, despite growing our company by nearly 30% and fully adopting a hybrid work model, FGP—staff ing, search and consulting—has intentionally maintained a great culture that is focused on growth, gratitude, and great people. FGP defined the “3 G’s” as our organizational values, and they are rooted in everything we do. We are focused on growth - personally and professionally. In 2021, we created a Talent and Training Manager role, and this person is responsible for providing company-wide, division, team, and individual training and development opportunities. We provide workshops on tools, processes and industry best practices. These are paired with quarterly round table discussions and workshops focused on health and wellness, personal finances and working parents. Gratitude is a unique value for FGP. We have a culture of showing appreciation, recognition and gratitude for employees at all levels. Diversity and Inclusion have been at the forefront of our recruiting eff orts. Our CEO is the face of our culture, and he is intentional to be engaged at the individual, team, division, and company-wide levels.

BAUKNIGHT PIETRAS & STORMER, P.A.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Russell Bauknight, Managing Shareholder

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Bauknight Pietras & Stormer is the largest privately held certified public accounting firm in South Carolina and among the largest in the region. By attracting good people, treating each person as family, providing them with opportunities to learn and grow professionally while respecting work-life balance has led to a team that feels appreciated, respected and is focused on exceptional customer service. Last year, BPS relocated our off ice to Columbia’s Main Street with a modern and spacious space with an onsite gym that all employees can use for free. Employees also get free parking. They can walk to restaurants, shops, museum, and activities along Main Street. BPS invests in our people’s ongoing professional education and leadership training, sending individuals to courses across the country. We also pair newer team members with experienced staff as mentors. Recognizing how demanding our profession is during busy season, we off er employees a choice of taking additional paid time off or getting their overtime as a cash bonus. We also off er flexible work schedules to accommodate family, health and other responsibilities.

PREMIER NATIONWIDE

LENDING

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Sonya Pitt, Branch Manager

Location: Goose Creek

Why are you a best place to work? With more than 10,000 reviews and a 4.94-star rating out of a possible 5.0-star rating, Premier Nationwide Lending is proud to be the local lender in the 14 states we serve. Our mission statement is something each of our employees lives by when assisting borrowers through the loan process: We are a dynamic team of professionals dedicated to providing an extraordinary mortgage experience by exceeding client expectations one loan at a time. Our company feels like family—many people have worked here for 10+ years. Management has an open-door policy and they are supportive and responsive. At Premier Nationwide Lending, our singular mission is to enthusiastically and gratefully assist people to fulfill the American dream of home ownership. We achieve this by focusing on a culture based upon a strong work ethic and respect for the borrowers whom we are entrusted to serve. This company philosophy along with our family and service values are the foundations upon which Premier is built and is woven into our everyday home lending practices.

KOPIS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Andrew Kurtz, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Kopis leadership treats us like adults and expects us to act as such. Kopis is a team of incredibly talented software engineers, database gurus, sales professions and leadership with a culture of camaraderie and collaboration and a flexible, balanced atmosphere. It’s the perfect mix of drive and flexibility, talent and personality, creativity and processes that pushes our team to do the best work of their lives, serve our customers well, and have fun doing it. There is no micro-management and no one looking over your shoulder. Kopis hires people that you want to work with and that raise your game. It’s easy to elevate your skills and be better in your role when all the people around you are driven and talented. Kopis gives you the flexibility to not only succeed at your job, but succeed at your life. Time for family, extracurricular passions and true work/life balance is encouraged and celebrated. The company off ers a $150 wellness benefit for employees to spend on any way that makes them healthier and has a robust community engagement committee.

TPM INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Chris Fay, President

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? TPM is proud of its reputation for providing cutting-edge solutions to the engineering and design community for almost 50 years. Integrity is the foundation of our company. Being a family business with strong values, TPM employs and develops the best people in the business, and we strive to do the right thing on every design, printing job, project and contract. Our team embraces change, provides the highest expertise in the field, and provides our customers with exceptional leadership in the design and print industry. Our company is built by professional thinkers that never stop learning or embracing change. Our team is our most important quality, and we personally and professionally develop every single person to be leaders at work, at home, and in their communities. We do more than keep “open door” policies. Our leaders walk teammates through the door and foster open and honest communication. TPM is a place in which every employee’s voice is heard. Employees are given the tools and the feedback to distinguish themselves and sustain success for the long term.

NCEES

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: B. David Cox, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Survey ing (NCEES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public. In the United States, engineers and surveyors are licensed at the state and territory level. NCEES was created in 1920 to improve unifor mity of laws and to promote mobility of licensure. Since its founding, NCEES has focused on providing services to advance licensure and facilitate mobility among the licensing jurisdictions in all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NCEES develops best-practice models for state licensure laws and regulations. It develops, administers and scores the exams used for engineering and surveying licensure and also provides services to help licensed engineers and surveyors practice their professions in other states and territories. For more than 100 years, NCEES staff members have taken pride in know ing their day-to-day work contributes to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of their fellow South Carolinians and beyond.

MANKIEWICZ COATINGS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Fabian Grimm, Managing Director

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Mankiewicz Coatings is different manufacturing company; our entire management team recognizes that our employ ees are the key to the company’s success. Employee recognition, development, retention and training are topics in which the management team collaborates on throughout the year to ensure all employees are offered the same opportunities. This teamwork has led to Mankiewicz Coatings having an outstanding employee culture which can be described by our 5F’s: Focus, Fast, Flexible, Friendly and Fun. It’s common to hear a new employee say that they feel excited in the mornings to come to work because they enjoy the work they’re doing, the team they work with and the environment they work in. This open and inviting environment allows employees the opportunity for open communication, sharing of ideas and more meaningful problem solving. Managers have open and honest communication with their employees, encouraging their employees to share their ideas and improvement suggestions as well as providing oppor tunities for employees to build their internal network in distinctive ways such as cooking classes, ziplining, bowling and paintball.

CUI

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Scott Groves, Owner

Location: Simpsonville

Why are you a best place to work? CUI, a distribu tion services company, makes its employees their top priority. We believe that happy employees make happy customers. To make sure we are being suc cessful in this endeavor, we take an annual employee survey and we schedule annual employee reviews which gives employees specific opportunities to give management feedback. We use this feedback to make improvements where needed. CUI also makes sure that employees know that their family and health come first. Employees know they can have time off to take care of family situations or personal issues without fear of being looked down on. We also have fun at CUI! The company has an annual Dollywood trip in which we provide a park pass and lunch for each employee and their immediate family. We have 5th Thursday events in which we provide breakfast or lunch as well as competitions for prizes and gift cards. All of this leads to high employee satisfaction, very low turnover and an amazing culture.

SPERO FINANCIAL

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Brian McKay, President and CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Spero Financial Federal Credit Union was chartered in 1935 as a notfor-profit financial cooperative with one mission: to improve financial lives. As one of the Palmetto State’s largest credit unions, today, it has more than 50,000 members and $559 million in assets. Headquartered in Greenville, SC, the credit union’s footprint spans the Upstate and Midlands with 10 locations. At Spero, we’re more than a credit union—we are a team of financial coaches, resolution-seekers and thought leaders. As a mission-driven organization, our teammates come to work each day committed to enhancing the financial lives of the members we serve. Our family-centric culture encourages each team member to bring their entire, authentic self to work each day and celebrates the unity that can be found in diversity. We approach every decision with our core values as our guide: the spirit of a warrior, the heart of a servant and the mind of a champion. We exemplify a down-to-earth approach. Teammates enjoy annual events like Family Day, holiday parties, Spero Shuff leboard Madness and getting active in our communities.

CENTRAL ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Robert C Hochstetler, President and CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. off ers a comprehensive benefits package that includes both a defined benefit pension plan and a 401k retirement plan, rich medical benefits, life insurance, tuition and health club reimbursements and AAA membership. We promote continuous learning and encourage employees to increase not just their professional skills but also to develop personally. We off er in-house classes on financial wellness, healthy living, and professional skills development. Central pays all the costs of training and reimburses 90% of tuition toward undergraduate and advanced degrees. We hold supply drives for local schools, sponsor area cleanup days, volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels and provide funding to several homeless shelters. Central’s modern new off ice building is a certified Midlands Green Business and includes a beautiful view of a 2-acre pond with a walking trail. Employees enjoy flexible work schedules and a casual dress code. There are quarterly company outings throughout and frequent wellness competitions. Open and ongoing communication ensures employees are kept informed, including monthly meetings with senior staff, and a bi-monthly employee newsletter.

RECRUITING SOLUTIONS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Ms. Debbie Varner, CEO/Chairman

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Recruiting Solutions was established in 1992 as a local, independent, staff ing and recruiting company. The key to our success has been building quality, long-term partnerships for both our client companies and field associates. Through our specialized divisions and dedicated staff ing professionals, we’re able to connect our client companies with the very best talent. Some of the many aspects that set Recruiting Solutions apart are its collaborative company culture, unique employee perks, and opportunities for professional development and growth within the company. The culture at Recruiting Solutions is highly collaborative with an open-door policy amongst both peers and leadership. Employees are encouraged to share ideas and help cultivate new processes. Management continuously provides incentives and friendly competitions to meet company and individual goals. Leadership is transparent with company numbers and changes so that each individual can see the positive impact that they have on our business. “Lunch and Learns” are hosted regularly along with “Social Fridays” and an annual company meeting and party. Employees are off ered tuition reimbursement, comprehensive benefits, gym membership reimbursement and generous paid time off.

NEW SOUTH CONSTRUCTION

SUPPLY LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jim Sobeck, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We are a dis tributor of building products across the southern U.S. as well as other states and abroad. We practice open book management and we share our financial state ments with all associates. We provide paid maternity and paternity leave and have a full array of benefits including medical, dental and vision care. We have a 401(k) plan and we also have a hardship program where we make cash awards to our associates who have had unforeseen expenses put them in a cash bind. We have an internship program as well as a manager in training program where we hire recent college graduates and within 12-18 months they are running their own branch. We have an annual company kickoff meeting at a coastal resort where we bring all associates and their spouse/partner for an all-expense paid weekend.

CAROLINA TRUST FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tim Carlisle, President and CEO

Location: Myrtle Beach

Why are you a best place to work? Carolina Trust is the “best” place to work because we value a trusted relationship with our employees and encourage them to cultivate and nurture trusted relationships with their families, coworker, clients, and communities. We emphasize to each employee that our handshake and word mean something to someone, including their managers and workers; therefore, expectations for Carolina Trust are high. Our employees and members expect us to follow up, follow through, and lead the way in cultivating a culture of inclusivity, diversity, openness, and positivity. We value the hard work of our employees and invest in them by offering oppor tunities for professional and personal growth, through our internal promotions and benefits packages. We focus on putting people ahead of profits, including members and employees. We believe that by creating a “people first” atmosphere in all of our branches, we will establish a work environment built upon a foundation of unity, service and respect.

KEYMARK

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jim Wanner, CEO

Location: Liberty

Why are you a best place to work? Coming into KeyMark technology firm every day presents an opportunity to collaborate with both customers and co-workers. Everything begins with our CEO, Jim Wanner, and his energetic personality. He’s animated, approachable and motivating to KeyMark employees. Jim sets the tone for KeyMark being a fun place to work through his engagement with and love for his employees. Many aspects of work have changed since the onset of COVID-19—like hybrid work schedules—yet the KeyMark culture has remained strong. Employees still treat each other with kindness and respect, and doors, including virtual chat rooms, are always open for questions, help and collabora tion. KeyMark is a best place to work because of the people; people who work hard, who know how to have fun and who celebrate the successes of all their fellow employees.

RHYTHMLINK

INTERNATIONAL LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Shawn Regan, CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Rhythmlink International medical manufacturing company not only cares about our customers but our employees as well. Our mission, improving patient care by connecting patients to machines, is instilled in each and every one of our employees’ work ethic. When looking to hire a new employee, we seek to find someone who not only fits the bill on paper, but someone who will work well with our company culture. Here at Rhythmlink, we want work to be a fun, family atmosphere, but we also put our customer’s needs first by providing superior customer service year after year. The open-door policy we provide at Rhythmlink not only improves communication but helps increase workflow and team support. Unique benefits includes HealthPerx membership, a voluntary program that includes Telahealth, pet care, roadside assistance, dental care, imaging and CT scan discounts and drug savings services for a low monthly subscription. Identity theft protection is paid by the company for all employees who sign up.

CAROLINAPOWER INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Chris Moore, President and CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We are an employee-owned company that embraces the principles of Servant Leadership. Our people are empowered to grow and are encouraged to continually strive to enhance their careers and personal lives. Employees are quick to praise the company culture and genuine respect for people that transcends all levels of the organization. Safety, quality, workforce development, diversity and education tie closely to our core values and are indicative of how our employee-owners engage with clients. We are an employee-owned company. Management shares the company vision and makes the employees feel like we are part of that vision. Our leadership supports diversity and has charged all employees with building the best teams possible, based on merit. The Women’s Employee Resource Group is leading a mentoring pilot program and validates the company’s commitment to engaging all women in the workplace—in the off ice and the field—and improve the employee experience for all.

JEAR LOGISTICS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Mark Neumeyer, CEO

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? Our success begins with our people. Their level of eff ort and total commitment to working together to serve our customers and carriers alike. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is the core of our team-focused culture. This, along with our commitment to technology, enables us to provide eff icient, eff ective means of truck and transportation to those we serve. We refer to our core values and principles as the “JEAR Way:” Exceeding industry standards for work ethic and service; all work as one, together as one; unmatched integrity and accounting. Getting together outside of the off ice with co-workers is normal for JEAR employees. Our owners have cultivated a work environment dedicated to teamwork, transparency and integrity. JEAR gives back to the community through community service eff orts with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Second Harvest Food Bank. JEAR provides a work environment that empowers our employees to grow professionally, personally, and as a member of the community. As we grow, we have made a commitment to hold true to ourselves and to our culture.

SOFTDOCS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Adam Park, CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Softdocs is a unique education technology firm founded in 1998, with many business pivots along the way. In 2021, the team was backed with private equity funding from Ridgemont Equity Partners. This investment solidified for the team a sense of encouragement, having investors believe in the work you’re doing is an impactful way to feel seen as an industry leader. The team at Softdocs has benefited from this with additional benefits, flexible time off, more holidays and a leadership team who is people-first in their approach to work and growth of the company. Softdocs may be an established company, but we’re doing new and fun programs to help us find, grow and retain amazing talent. We maintain a “small” business feel with big business perks. Our People team focuses heavily on ways to bring a sense of purpose to the work our team performs, flexing in autonomy for people to do their best work.

J.M. COPE CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Andrew M Cope, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? While construction and program management are what we do, it is who we are and how we work that makes J.M. Cope one of the region’s best places to work. We are not merely employees, but a dynamic construction company that embraces the values of Team First; Challenging Ourselves; Striving for Relentless Improvement; Being Proactive; and Having Humility and employs them in everything we do. We recently polled our employees on how to improve our benefits package. Incorporating the feedback we received, our benefits committee updated our insurance program as well as 401K, health savings account and adoption assistance to provide the best benefits to our team members and their families. J.M. Cope values the importance of having the best team members to enable us to deliver on our promise of leadership and excellence in construction and in our community. A recent philanthropic endeavors includes the BELL XPrize, which strives to re-establish a strong and diverse small business community by offering individuals the opportunity to compete for capital to start their own business.

FIRST RELIANCE BANK

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Frederick (Rick) Saunders Jr., CEO

Location: Florence

Why are you a best place to work? Our CEO started this bank out of his house with the goals in this order: to have a great place to work, great place to bank and a great place to invest. This has been accomplished be creating a culture that supports our purpose, “To make the lives of our customers better.” He created an associate promise for the following: committed caring leadership, opportunity to do your best work and rewards and recognition to make your life better. Associates take care of each other as evidenced by contributing to an Employee Assistance Fund where an associate can receive financial help if they become in need. Associates receive paid time off when participating in community events and get the day off on their birthday. FRB believes that success starts with great Associates. With that said, FRB knows its responsibility in providing a great place to work.

PALMETTO RURAL TELEPHONE COOPERATIVE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jason Dandridge, MBA, CEO

Location: Walterboro

Why are you a best place to work? PRTC is a member-owned cooperative providing a complete telecommunications solution to the homes and businesses in the Lowcountry and the surrounding areas since 1951. We pride ourselves on providing quality service utilizing the latest technologies to our local residents, businesses, and communities. Whether you are looking for residential or business telecommunications, we have the services to meet your needs. We think local, and support our local residents, businesses, and communities. At PRTC, success is measured by the progress of the communities it serves. We provide high-quality telecommunication services that make rural communities great places in which to live and do business. Employees can say with pride that they work for an organization that supports many non-profit fundraisers, community festivals and events. PRTC participates in grant funding, scholarships and working with area youth programs. With a firm foundation, rooted in family, PRTC provides a work environment that allows employees a balance between family and work life and allows them to provide their families with excellent health insurance and other benefits.

PALMETTO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: A. Berl Davis Jr., President and CEO

Location: Hardeeville

Why are you a best place to work? Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc. is an electric utility providing service to more than 75,000 members in southern Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties. For more than 80 years, it has been PECI’s honor to provide superior service to our members, while at the same time maintaining competitive rates and playing an active role in our community. PECI is led by a team of outstanding employees who demonstrate daily our cooperative’s values and principles. PECI is always thinking of ways to better the lives of both our members and employees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognized the need for reliable high-speed internet in the rural areas of our service territory. We strive to make a difference in the lives of our customers and employees. We offer an exceptional benefits package. We hold monthly safety meetings and extensive training for our linemen and office personnel. An annual Employee Appreciation dinner is held to thank employees for their years of service and a Family Fun Day allows employees and their families to socialize.

MOUNT PLEASANT WATERWORKS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Allan Clum, General Manager

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? Mount Pleasant Waterworks is a public utility that provides water and wastewater service to the Town of Mt. Pleasant 24/7, 365 days per year. We are proud of our environmental stewardship and the work we do to ensure our customers never lose water and wastewater service. What makes us the best place to work is our dedicated, hardworking, smart, immensely talented group of people who love our company and the community we serve. We have a strong culture of close-knit camaraderie and teamwork. Our average tenure is 15 years and our turnover is less than 1 percent. MPW hosts various employee appreciation events such as superhero or red carpet themed events, food truck Fridays, ice cream socials, crockpot cooking classes, wellness week and wellness points program with cash prizes and extra vacation days for healthy lifestyle choices, casino night and various contests. Formal compensation and benefits are evaluated often to ensure we remain competitive in our industry and our region. MPW provides college tuition reimbursement and employee development through our Waterworks University Program.

THE BRANDON AGENCY

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tyler Easterling, President

Location: Myrtle Beach

Why are you a best place to work? The Brandon Agency is digital-centric, integrated advertising agency. We are who we are because of the people who work here. Their talents and commitments to their jobs inspire the leadership team every day. Honesty, empathy, communication and transparency are the keys to the agency. We are committed to providing a fun, challenging and rewarding work environment that attracts, develops and retains the very best people. We offer regular lunch and learns, where one of our in-house experts provides training on a topic of interest, including the latest business trends. A Fun Committee and a Diversity and Inclusion Committee focuses on engaging everyone. The offices closes early on Fridays and offers a flexible work schedule with a work from home option. On our list of company core values is Joy. At one of our most recent company-wide meetings, Scott Brandon, our CEO/ Owner said, if you are no longer having fun, then I need to know—please reach out to me personally.” Leadership will never stop striving to make this agency a better place work.

COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

SOUTH CAROLINA INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: John W. Folsom, President and CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Colliers International South Carolina Inc. is one of the oldest and largest commercial real estate company in the Southeast. Colliers is involved in all phases of commercial, industrial, office, retail, healthcare and investment real estate, including sales, leasing, property management and consulting. We foster an environment of respect and courtesy. Each staff member displays sound judgement, strong moral character, unwavering professionalism and is committed to the Company’s Vision, Mission and Core Values of Integrity, Service, Collaboration, Community, Expertise and Fun. The company provides a generous vacation leave policy and every Friday is a shortened work day. Overtime is kept to a minimum for quality of life. There are free fitness facilities on site and free telehealth benefits. Company events include community service events, an annual awards banquet and ugly Christmas sweater party.

HUDSON MANAGEMENT GROUP

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: David Hudson, CEO

Location : Daniel Island

Why are you a best place to work? Hudson Management Group provides administrative and operational support and training for Hudson Automotive Group, an automotive group consisting of 38 dealerships. We put emphasis we put on employee training, growth and leadership. We are committed to promoting internally as much as possible and have promoted up at least five employees from the dealership level over the last year. Our goal is to support the stores with everything we do as we continually grow and learn. The company offers a generous work/life balance, competitive pay and encourages employee growth and development. The Women of Hudson was created to promote growth and learning and create community for all women across the organization. Employee gatherings include Office Olympics and regular holiday celebrations.

MCCRORY CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Allen Amsler, CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Simply put, McCrory Construction is big on family. To be in business for over 100 years, you have to have great people and take good care of them. We have had people spend entire careers with us, with literally dozens of our team members working here for 20, 30, 40, and even 50 years. That is unheard of in the industry, yet it is the “norm” at McCrory. When people come here, they come here to stay. They care about us individually and for our families. They offer training and support for both personal and professional growth. McCrory has excellent comprehensive benefits including identity theft protection. We schedule interoffice activities often, keeping morale and camaraderie high among the entire staff. The company encourages and supports individual participation in local charitable causes. Treating people the right way, doing the right thing, and continually looking to improve. That’s how this “family” operates with servant leadership.

BUNNELL LAMMONS ENGINEERING

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Tom Lammons, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? At BLE, we are passionate about our craft and our people. Employees work alongside some of the best engineers and consultants in the industry. We have built a culture of excellence, integrity and fun. A number of events bring employees together both in an out of the office include monthly birthday celebrations and outings that have included axe throwing and bowling. The company provides mentorship and growth with an on-site workshops that discuss personal development and stress management, time management and financial education. Free or discounted tickets are offered to employees to attend local family entertainment and sporting events. Employees have flexible hours to accommodate school events and other family obligations. Services awards are recognized for each employee that celebrates five years with the company. There are a number of corporate events and raffles, employee appreciation luncheons.

CPM FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: James Gergen, CEO

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? We believe it is important to empower our member and our community with opportunities for a brighter financial future. This can also be said for our employees with our shared values empowerment, professionalism, integrity, compassion, community and unity. We are all one team, and we care about our employees and their well-being as a whole person at work and outside of work. We offer the opportunity to work from home. CPM offers a great benefits package along with an additional CPM “Perks Package,” made up of 28 additional benefits such as loan rate discounts. CPM is a great organization because of our employees. One of our Core Values it to have FUN our North Start Team sends our fun activities on a monthly basis along with a yearly employee day and family day.

WASSERMAN

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Laura Bryant, Director, University Relations

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? A member of the Wasserman family of businesses, Riddle and Bloom advertising/PR/marketing firm in Columbia is growing and doing amazing work. We have exciting clients like Amazon, HBO Max, Comcast Xfinity, Venmo, Madewell and Hulu. We love that we’re providing college students with resume building opportunities and have been their

stepping stone to their first full-time positions. We have an office in the heart of the The Vista, which offers many lunch, happy hour, and dinner options within walking distance. We’re on an indefinite hybrid schedule where we work from home on Mondays and Fridays. We offer standing desks, a beer fridge, water, coffee, snacks and fresh fruit to our employees to take as they please. We are a family-friendly workplace and offers flexibility. We travel to Boston once a year for a company retreat. Monthly initiatives include happy hours, team outings, networking opportunities, employee coffee chats, philanthropy and wellness and more. We offer unlimited PTO and encourage staff to use it and encourage employees taking at least five consecutive days off annually.

AMBAC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Robert Isherwood, CEO/ Chairman of the Board

Location: Elgin

Why are you a best place to work? We like to consider ourselves the “oldest startup” company. At 110 years young, we have a history of successful relationships and quality auto parts products, but what truly makes us successful are our people. Anytime someone enters our plant, whether family, vendor or employee, our CEO greets them with “Welcome home!” What bonds us is our shared experience in overcoming obstacles. Each week, we meet as a company, from shop floor workers to the CFO, to discuss the company’s financials and goals. As a team, we go through what happened that week, both good and bad, and what we can do to improve for the

next week. As an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), we care about the financial health of our company so much that we opted, as employee-owners, to forego bonuses to purchase new equipment in hopes of raising profits.

INFINITY MARKETING

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Anthony Williams, CEO/President Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Infinity Marketing is a fully integrated marketing agency in the Upstate passionately focused on bringing fresh ideas and flawless execution to our clients’ integrated marketing needs. Infinity believes in the power of relationships and truly cares about its people and partnerships. We believe in treating each other fairly, and understand that health and family come first, especially in the past year as we moved to a remote work environment. We expect our team to give us their best every day, and in return, we want them to have a personal life. Our work environment is professional, but flexible where people can choose to start early or later and leave early or later, work part-time and from home if needed or desired. Infinity also provides employees with many professional development opportunities to further their knowledge and career. We strive to create a culture of openness where communication is transparent, ideas are encouraged, collaboration is constructive, and opportunities are limitless. At Infinity, your input is valued, your future is what you make it, and the possibilities are endless.

LIMRIC PLUMBING HEATING AND AIR

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: David Miles, Owner

Location: Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? We offer encouragement and appreciation for our employees. Plumbing and HVAC trades are labor-intensive jobs, and LimRic makes a concerted effort to ensure that employees are appreciated for their hard work. LimRic provides constant employee appreciation parties, events, gifts and bonuses. LimRic listens to its employees and provides team members with one-on-one support to ensure they are on the road to. Through paid apprenticeships, LimRic provides team members with the tools for success to learn new career skills while on the job and pays for employees to continue their education in their respective fields. LimRic provides sign-on bonuses and salary increases, and competitive bonus and commission structures. LimRic provides positions for morning and mid shifts, and flexible schedules to accommodate life’s priorities outside of work. LimRic prides itself on a respectful and inclusive work environment. LimRic has put additional focus on its DEI efforts, especially inspiring women to join the trades a recruitment campaign. LimRic is proud to employ female plumbers, comfort specialists and customer service representatives. Fortysix percent of our management team are women.

GREENVILLE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Paul F Hughes, President and CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Greenville Federal Credit Union is a community-chartered credit union with deep roots in Greenville, SC. Having been established over 50 years ago as the credit union for Greenville County school teachers and employees, we have created a family-friendly culture that promotes employee work-life balance and community involvement. We strive to provide all employees with opportunities to grow individually and professionally through career opportunities, project participation, and community service roles. Employee feedback is solicited on areas in which we can improve. Teamwork is essential to achieving the service level we desire for our members and community and is recognized and rewarded. Greenville Federal Credit Union is a ‘best’ place to work because we care for each other and our community.

CONNECTIVITY POINT DESIGN & INSTALLATION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: James Cyr, Director of Sales, Marketing and Estimating

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Connectivity Point Design & Installation specializes in the infrastructure for voice, data, video and

security applications. Our company focus is family and making sure our employees are happy and can have exceptional work/life balance. We offer a very flexible schedule and great benefits., Technology changes every day, but one thing that will never change is our dedication to our employees. Our employees provide top notch service and solutions to our customers to help keep them connected. They are experts in their field and each of them is an integral part of our company’s fiber. The company hosts birthday lunches, spontaneous recognitions accompanied by notes and gift cards and has held office massages. Remote work is offered as well as flexibility for needed time off. The company offers free or discounted tickets to local family entertainment or sporting events, which extends to family members.

SARGENT METAL

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Timothy Hayden, CEO/President Location: Anderson

Why are you a best place to work? Sargent Metal is a metal fabrication manufacturer in Anderson that started in 1975. Donnie Sargent founded Sargent Metal, and passed the business down to his stepson, Tim Hayden, in 2011. Sargent Metal has successfully transformed this “mom and pop shop,” into a truly innovative contract manufacturer that provides precision metal fabrication solutions. This innovative transformation would not have been possible without an outstanding team of employees all pulling in the same direction. Our organization embraces a family atmosphere that encourages and promotes our team members to always lend a helping hand. Through our purpose statement,

core values and family atmosphere, we have developed a strong, trustworthy, fun and engaged culture. Our purpose statement is, “We exist to provide opportunities for our team to thrive personally and professionally and join in helping our community.” We added an additional eight-hour paid volunteer day every year for our team members to volunteer in the community. Sargent Metal plans fun activities including family day, Christmas party meal and raffle a Christmas choir and wellness days with a dentist on-site.

ERS INC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: J. Frank Chisholm, III, CEO

Location: Florence

Why are you a best place to work? ERS is federally contracted for Social Security’s Ticket To Work program, assisting SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to reach their goals. ERS is here to coach and assist beneficiaries with finding employment, housing, transportation and more. If you talk to any of the employees at ERS, they will tell you, this place is like “Home Away from Home!” It is such a comfortable and welcoming environment. We celebrate birthdays, employee milestones and any other special occasion that might pop up. Our CEO loves to say, “Ok, now let’s go have some fun!” Our leadership is constantly evolving and coming up with new ideas to make this a great and better workplace. We do raffles for a half-day Friday or gift cards to a local restaurant. Our leadership believes in family. They understand that things happen and you never feel uncomfortable when you have to talk to them about a situation that may take you away from work for a little while. There is a clear and concise chain of command which makes communication easy.

SMALL COMPANIES

1THS CONSTRUCTORS FOUNDER WANTED EMPLOYEES TO OWN IT. LITERALLY

Alot

of business operators want their employees to take ownership of their responsibilities.

THS Constructors founder T. Howard Suitt had a way to make it happen: by giving employees a chance not only to own their jobs, but to own the company, too. All employees were offered a chance to buy Class C shares in the company, and now THS Constructors is 100% employee owned.

Suitt “had a clear mission for the company to be an employee-owned, relationship-focused construction services company committed to its clients, partners and suppliers,” the company said in a questionnaire.

“THS is intentional about providing employees with benefits and career growth opportunities. We work together as a team and motivate each other for continuous growth. We have a very family-oriented culture. When we look for others to join our team, we look to find the right personnel who want to grow with us.”

The company, which offers half-day Fridays for employ-

ees, says it was built by attracting the right people — those willing to work together as one, united by common values and goals.

The firm uses “The THS Blueprint,” which was created to ensure that its actions align with its values, including a list of “Our Fundamentals” and “Guiding Principals” stated on its website.

“Transparency and addressing issues early are a keystone for THS,” the company stated. “THS is intentional about providing employees with benefits and career growth opportunities. We work together as a team and motivate each other for continuous growth. ... When we look for others to join our team, we look to find the right personnel who want to grow with us.”

THE BRAND LEADER

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Geoff Wasserman, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? The Brand Leader advertising, PR and marketing firm prides itself on a people-first culture, enhancing the lives of our staff, contributing to the local community, and developing strong men and women of character. For over 23 years The Brand Leader has been generating exceptional work for its clients. However, in the last 12 months, the business has nearly quadrupled in size, while maintaining its integrity, purpose, and adherence to its core values. New employees have quickly adopted the radical thinking of being a “people-first” business, and it shows in their camaraderie, enthusiasm, and continued success in the advertising, branding, and design world. To that end, we pride ourselves on the benefits and flexibility we offer to employees including unlimited vacation, parental leave (both mothers, fathers, adoptive families, and same-sex couples), flexible time, and generous bonus programs. But more than that, we value the relationships we have built while doing the best work in which we’re able. There are office bikes for employee use and a policy of meeting-free Mondays.”

CLAYTON CONSTRUCTION CO. INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: William Harry Clayton, CEO

Location: Spartanburg

Why are you a best place to work? By building a strong and dedicated team, each employee at Clayton Construction Co. leads by example and lives by our company vision: Plan. Build. Finish Strong. Follow Up. Have Fun. Our mission statement is simple, intentional, and by design so that every employee can understand and live by it every day. CCC has remained family owned and operated since incorporation and has built a team comprised of more than just coworkers; we are family. By instilling and encouraging this sense of community in our employees, we have held high employee retention and some of our team members have been a part of the Clayton family for decades. From new hires to veteran team members, every CCC employee has a voice and their opinion matters. CCC’s average employee tenure is over 10 years. Our hiring has remained intentional, and we have established a standard to ensure each employee has the necessary tools to perform their job effectively. Happy employees naturally lead to a positive work environment and in turn, happy clients.

WORTHWHILE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Dan Rundle, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We design, build, and operate industry-leading software and data platforms and products for our clients. We get to perform some important and impactful work in transforming our clients through better software. Our vision is to create the world’s most valuable software. While we are headquartered in South Carolina, our team is distributed nationwide and a destination for top talent across the United States. We have done the long slow work of clearly defining and cultivating our values and now we are experiencing the fun of sustainable and scalable growth. Worthwhile is a culture-first organization. This means we value the alignment, health, safety, and fulfillment of our people above all else. This results in organizational health that runs far deeper than great benefits or impactful clients. It means we truly care about one another in a way that makes us a destination for top talent. We offer professional development and employees feel that the company and leaders are invested in their growth.

Only somewhat funny.

There’s a reason people in our industry love awards: we’re terrible people and we really love ourselves. Well that’s not entirely true—only most of us are horrible.

In over 23 years of advertising and branding, we’ve won our fair share of awards. Some are better

than others (we still can’t find Geoff’s award-winning banana bread recipe from 2002. Man, that was good.) But we never thought we’d win this award. We suppose we have to break out the brown bananas again.

CELEBRATING

YEARS

PARRISH & PARTNERS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Ed Parrish, PE, President

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Parrish & Partners is a civil engineering firm providing consulting services on transportation infrastructure projects. Our clients include various airports, municipalities and state departments of transportation. Our work environment has a friendly and family-like atmosphere. We ensure our employees have what they need to do their best work and grow professionally, while recognizing they have families and a life away from work. There’s a summer work hours schedule that encourages employees to take vacation. We genuinely care about our employees and treat them as we want them to treat our clients—with respect and care. We like to create high-quality work, provide excellent customer service and have fun while doing so. The company offers work from home capabilities, including providing equipment to be used at home. Exceptional service to clients sets Parrish & Partners apart from other firms in the industry and our success starts with extraordinary people.

YOUNG OFFICE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Thomas R Young, IV, President and CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Young Office has been family-owned and operated since 1953. In 69 years of providing individual interiors for businesses of every kind, we’ve built strong, longlasting relationships with our clients, architects and designers. Simply put, people trust us to bring the best to every project and to create amazing spaces that reflect and enhance the core values of their brand. We look at space differently and we translate the needs of our clients into interior solutions that drive performance and we create workspaces that inspire, motivate and engage. We serve as a single-source partner for everything you need for your workplace— from design and furniture to flooring and technology. We then curate the best options to reflect your priorities. In our own office, we encourage the use of flexible working arrangements, respect our teams’ personal family time, and encourage participation in community involvement. The Company has season tickets to the Greenville Drive baseball team and are available for employees to use whenever they like.

AIR COMPRESSOR SERVICES

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Neal Shade, Founder Location Greenville

Why are you a best place to work?  Air Compressor Services has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years because we have been dialed in to every employee being an owner and contributor to our success. Everyone at ACS is for each other’s success and the success of this organization. Such a mindset has led to ACS growing by about 30% year over year for the past four years. We offered employees the ability to continue working from home after the pandemic and people refused. Employees actually want to be in the office. The organization is thriving because of this level of employees being boughtin to our growth. This growth is going to allow us to build a new 53,000 square-foot headquarters in the next year. This group is excellent at celebrating each other, whether it’s company-paid Chick Fila breakfast every Friday morning, cookies or donuts to celebrate accomplishments or homemade ice cream every Friday afternoon. We also have a quarterly peer-recognition program called “Circle of Excellence” and an annual President’s Club trip for both quota-bearing and non-quota bearing top performers.

CNT FOUNDATIONS LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Travis Bedson, CEO

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? As foundation repair experts, we have adopted something that we call “The Wall” which lists all our core values as a company. One of the core values, or mantras that we follow is, “It’s only a problem if it doesn’t have a solution.” We apply this to every customer that we serve, making our customer service unmatched in all capacities. We have an open forum and communication concept that allows everyone to be heard and ideas or opinions to be respected. We value the work they do and the effort they put forth equally. We also hire veterans and have even been recognized by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for doing so. We also contribute to the Special Olympics and Harvest Free Medical Clinic, as well as many other outreach programs. Everyone at CNT believes in what we are doing and why we are doing it. There is an open discussion on any topic and all perspectives are respected.

SOUTH CAROLINA STUDENT LOAN CORP.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Trey Simon, President and CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? South Carolina Student Loan was established and designated by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1973 as the single, private, non-profit organization to administer the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) in South Carolina. SC Student Loan off ers Federal Family Education Loan Programs (FFELP), including Staff ord Loans for students, Parent PLUS Loans for parents, and Graduate/Professional PLUS Loans (Grad PLUS) for graduate and professional students. In addition, we off er a private, alternative loan program, the Palmetto Assistance Loan (PAL), for borrowers needing additional assistance for higher education. In addition, we off er a PAL Consolidation Loan for borrowers wishing to consolidate all their private education loans. SC Student Loan also administers the SC Teachers Loan, a specialized program for students studying to become teachers. When you join the staff of the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, you’re part of a deeply-rooted team that shares a passion for higher education. All of our employees are valued and respected for their unique talents and many qualities. Leadership cares about each employee, takes time to listen to feedback.

DP3 ARCHITECTS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Brian S. Thomas, AIA, LEED AP, President/CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We are an architecture firm that respects our team members. The executives do not have offices, they share a space with the team and are always accessible. We believe in sharing our successes through celebrations, bonuses, and random fun. We involve families in office events and genuinely care for each team member. We provide an environment that is open, collaborative, and allows our team members to grow in the profession. The firm hosts Friday afternoon happy hours, allows employees to have time off for family/child’s events and shares openly aspects of the business so that employees always know how we are doing. There are spontaneous office-provided lunches, regular ice cream days, Friday happy hours and allows for flexible hours to accommodate school events, taking a family member to the doctor or other life events.

HUDSONMANN INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Joe Hudson, CEO

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? With over 29 years in business, consulting firm HudsonMann supports over 600 organizations nationwide at more than 3,000 client sites. As an extension of our clients’ Human Resources departments, we have the pleasure of working with HR leaders across the country to advance Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, Diversity, Inclusion, Civility and Equity and also peace of mind. This starts with our core values of Integrity, Respect for the Individual, Teamwork, Dedication to the Customer and Accountability. These values fuel the decisions we make on a day-to-day basis. By staying true to these values and focusing on the needs of our team to do their best work and enhance their careers, we are empowered to fulfill our service commitments to clients to provide quality, value, service and expertise. The depth of care that our leaders show for their teams and each other impacts all of the strategic decisions at HudsonMann. Our whole team has input into key decisions affecting them and insight on where we are headed as a company.

SC RESEARCH AUTHORITY

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Yolanda Lewis, Executive Director

Location: Summerville, SC

Why are you a best place to work? Chartered in 1983 by the State of South Carolina as a public, non-profit corporation, SCRA fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth in research, academia, entrepreneurship and industry. Each of our employees are impacting the state of South Carolina. SCRA is a great place to work because we care about and support our employees while challenging them to grow with the company. Leadership is involved and engaged, communication is a top priority and we believe in work/life balance and stand behind our six core values: integrity, respect and trust, stewardship, courage, innovation and collaboration. The company is closed starting from Christmas Eve thru the 1st of the year for mandated vacation. A flexible work schedule of three days in the office and two days working at home helps employees’ work/life balance.

MAVIN CONSTRUCTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Todd Malo, Managing Partner

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Working at Mavin Construction truly is the difference between ordinary and exceptional. Mavin truly cares about employees’ well-being, at work and outside of work by encouraging them to use earned PTO and to take time for themselves and family. Mavin hosts regular social events for all employees, which shows they really care about having a team-like, close-knit culture. Employees are able to freely

share ideas to better the company, without judgement. There are employee happy hours and outings every other month such as mini golf, happy hours and corn hole. Other perks include Christmas bonuses and an annual “Mavin of the Year.” employee awards. Mavin Construction sponsors and decorates a tree each year for the Bon Secours Festival of Trees. All proceeds benefit Bon Secours St. Francis’s Project SEARCH program. Mavin Construction participates annually in the Meyer Center for Special Children Trunk or Treat event. Mavin Construction’s Birthday Party Celebration consists of food, drinks and a cornhole tournament with prizes to the winners.

COGNITO FORMS

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Jamie Thomas, CEO and Jennifer Dellacroce, President Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Cognito Forms is a fast-growing, software-as-a-service company empowering users to quickly build forms and form-driven business solutions. While we are headquartered in Columbia, our product is used in over 120 countries. Cognito Forms has five core values: innovate, be tenacious, act with integrity, simplify and appreciate each other. Most employees work on a hybrid three days in office and two days remote schedule. We work with each employee to determine what works best for their situation. There is a company-provided lunch every other Thursday for everyone to enjoy a meal together. Each quarter we do a fun event with the whole office such as Fireflies baseball games, escape rooms, happy hours and games nights. The company reimburses employees’ personal phone plans and offers a home office set up stipend as well as reimbursing for industry subscriptions, trainings and conferences.

PALMETTO TECHNOLOGY GROUP

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Reed Wilson, CEO

Location: Anderson

Why are you a best place to work? We’re a managed service provider that translates and aligns technology into business value. As a team, we engage with heart, think forward and do it right. We live out our core values of teamwork, service and growth every day by celebrating the team’s successes and learning from our failures. We provide a direct and open forum to department heads/managers to talk through areas that need improvement. There are team milestone celebrations and management provide support when needed without micromanaging employees. Palmetto Technology Group recognizes that the heart of growth and opportunity comes from the team you create. We are motivated not only to give the best IT support and managed services to our customers, but to also be the best place of employment for those looking to garner growth in their careers in IT.

CRAWFORD STRATEGY LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Marion R Crawford, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Where else can you get free parking in the heart of downtown Greenville and hang out with some fabulous folks who are hungry, humble and smart? Sure, it’s work and the clients can be demanding, but Crawford, a marketing and advertising agency, tries to involve the team in the decision-making process as much as possible. And our founder and CEO, Marion Crawford, is a leader you truly want to follow. Activities include “Fill your 40,” which enables every employee to dedicate 40 hours a year to professional development. An additional “Fill your 4:40” is happy hour every Friday. There’s also summer Fridays, during the summer our office closes at 3:30 p.m. There is the flexibility to work remotely 25% of the month. The endof-year bonus program is directly tied to the financial goals and success of the company. Employees have the opportunity to earn a year-end bonus of up to 12.5% of their annual salary.

CUSTOM RECYCLING LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Timothy Weaver, CEO

Location: York

Why are you a best place to work? Custom Recycling is a premier scrap metal recycling facility. We are a family-oriented company. The company takes care of their employees in times of need. There is a great work atmosphere with continuous positive reinforcement. We have a great PTO scale that goes up the longer you are with the company, and on top of PTO, there are all paid holidays the company observes. Yearly bonuses are paid out before the Christmas holiday. We are flexible about obtaining more PTO through incentives and flexible in giving us an extended holiday at Christmas based on how we finish. At each employee’s 10-year anniversary, they are rewarded with a trip paid for by the company as an anniversary reward. Regular company meetings and outings that allow everyone to voice their opinion and to bring the team together. Custom Recycling LLC is a family-oriented business who cares about its employees and strives to provide a great place and great atmosphere for everyone to work in and succeed in.

FUEL

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Warren Griffith, Founder and CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We’re a marketing agency where everything we do is to benefit our fellow humans and that starts with our teammates. We offer a culture where people can thrive and where our true, authentic selves and talents shine because we’re treated as people first. We’ve created a close-knit, supportive culture that promotes respect, collaboration and growth. Our hybrid office allows space to work solo or with teammates, in the office or from home. The focus is on productivity and happiness. Our Employee Experience Manager works closely with everyone to ensure each individual feels supported, both personally and professionally. We take pulse surveys regularly and have tools in place so that everyone is heard. Beyond exceptional benefits – like Friday afternoons off – FUEL’s biggest perk is fun. Our FUEL for Good Grant program selects a nonprofit each quarter, and we’ve donated more than 600 hours creating logos, videos and marketing campaigns. We celebrate achievements and support each other during bad times, because we know life and families come first.

LANDMARK BUILDERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA LLC

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Dave Bohlmann, Executive Vice President

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? When Paul Stephens founded Landmark Builders in 1975, he was determined to make his company “the preferred builder that consistently delivers what is promised.” His principles of integrity, dependability and a disciplined work ethic paved the way for Landmark to become one of the most trusted and respected companies in the markets we serve. The Landmark family continues to practice these key principles and retain the best talent in the business by following our core values of safety, service, community, fairness, driven, ethical, consistency, and compassion. We have developed a focused project-by-project work ethic. Our focus to procure design-build projects allows us to implement a full team approach. Our cross-market support and family-like atmosphere truly impacts the success of each project. Each team member knows one another and cares for one another. We host family nights and host cookouts for all our employees and their families during major holidays. Monthly staff luncheons share comprehensive company updates.

ARNOLD COMPANIES

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Shelly Little, Vice President/COO Location Columbia

Why are you a best place to work?   Our vast portfolio of commercial and multi-family properties gives us the opportunity to have multiple employees serving at each of our multi-family properties, Lake Murray Marina and the corporate office that all come together as one team to support and promote each other and the Arnold Companies. In return, the Arnold Companies supports each of us with growth opportunities, flexible work schedules when needed, additional benefits, milestone celebrations and genuine compassion and care for each team member. We pride ourselves on the incredible team and work environment that we have created in which ideas can grow and thinkers and doers can be rewarded. We recently expanded our teams and truly evolved. The amazing talent, supportive management, and collaborative team members we have results in having a place where people love to work every day. We treat people the way they would want to be treated, let them excel with their skills, and help them grow in the direction of their passions and talents. The company holds holiday parties, company lunches, birthday and milestone celebrations and pre-COVID, a fitness trainer came on site to hold bi-weekly workouts for employees.

SIOS TECHNOLOGY CORP.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Masahiro Arai, COO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? SIOS Technology Corp. makes software solutions that provide IT Resilience for critical applications businesses depend on. Using SIOS high availability clustering, applications automatically recover from infrastructure and application failures in a matter of minutes with no loss of data—keeping business data protected, applications online and users satisfied. SIOS provides the best of both worlds—a global company in a small environment with a diverse workforce serving diverse customers. SIOS is a community where you get to know your co-workers well and become lifetime friends or family, whether you work in one of the US offices in the U.K., in Singapore, or in Japan. SIOS encourages open communication, collaboration, and growth through countless opportunities for learning and development. We celebrate individual contributions and team successes and offer support in challenging times. Employees are provided opportunities to innovate and dream as well as the freedom to fail forward and learn as they go.

RINGOFIRE

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Brian Stearns, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? We are a fast-paced, young and growing marketing and advertising agency that employs innovative thinkers who are driven towards success and client satisfaction. We work hard and know how to have fun while doing it. Teamwork is really our driving factor. We were recently ranked the 5th Fastest Growing Agency Internationally by AdWeek, and keep working hard every day, always keeping our employees in mind and how we can continue to make this the best place to work for our them. Our team’s eight core values drive every single internal decision we make, from our hiring process to hosting company events and curating our exclusive client portfolio. When we find a client whose own vision and culture aligns with our own, we immediately strive to be their best strategic partner. By instilling our eight guiding principles with intentionality, we truly believe that RingoFire’s future will be full of compelling and fulfilling opportunities to do our best work. Ultimately, RingoFire’s primary mission is to help innovate, inspire, and ignite ideas for each and every one of our clients.

SWAMPFOX

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Bob Cooper, CEO

Location: Columbia

Why are you a best place to work? Swampfox is a modern software, solutions and services company. The compnay Vision is “building a great place to work that works great for our customers.” We value this Vision across all our operations with mindfulness about policies and environment provided to our team. Swampfox’s open approach to addressing issues among and across our teams makes us stand out from most places of work. We recognize that the value we provide our customers starts and ends with our people. Nurturing our people is of paramount importance. Swampfox just invested over $2 million on a building renovation so that its employees would have the nicest facility to work in. This includes a professional kitchen, roof top bar and full workout facility. Employees enjoy great office perks, like Friday lunches. The company leaders communicate what is happening with our business and actively seeks input from all and provides a team- and family-oriented environment. Earlier this year we flew the entire company and spouses to Charleston to celebrate our 10-year anniversary.

MARSH BELL CONSTRUCTION CO.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Paul Westberry, CEO

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? Marsh Bell is a commercial General Contractor that has serviced the upstate since 1984. We have just entered our first ever ownership change. We are striving to focus on our integrity, the care and concern of our employees and exceptional client experience. We are also striving to sell and perform more complex work to challenge our team and make work exciting and engaging. Small company, maintain a sense that we are family and truly care for each other. Compensation and Benefits packages much improved over the last year $1000 Bonus for certifications / registrations Began a profit sharing program in the 401k, striving to make employees feel more as owners of the business results Encourage community participation in nonprofits, further education and economic development. We support these efforts with paid time off and sponsorships We have a long way to go and this is not yet deserved, but our organization has strived to care for our employees, partners and our customers. We participated in this survey as a way not to be recognized, but to improve. Feedback from our employees in an ever-changing business environment is crucial to our strategic planning and growth.

TOTAL BEVERAGE SOLUTION

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Dave Pardus, CEO

Location: Mount Pleasant

Why are you a best place to work? Total Beverage Solution is an importer of prestigious beer, wine and spirits products from all over the world. We provide our suppliers a guided route to the United States market via compliance and logistics, finance, marketing and sales. Our employees within these departments are vital to our business success. We offer our employees a wide range of benefits and perks, including reimbursement for professional development and tuition, fully funded international supplier immersion trips, discounts on our products, flexible work hours, paid volunteer days and much more. We appreciate our employees and want to give back to them whenever and however we can. We are open to creative and efficient solutions from our employees rather than continuing to do something a certain way because that is the way it has always been done. We operate from the top-down on open, clear, and honest communication with frequent company business updates from our CEO. We have virtual happy hours to personally connect with our team members. There’s also a monthly well-being reimbursement for well-being enhancing activities of employees’ choosing.

QUALITY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC.

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: David Evette, President

Location: Travelers Rest

Why are you a best place to work? Founded in 2000, QBS offers a wide and comprehensive range of integrated, fully-customizable PEO/ASO services, including payroll administration, uembers to bring in donuts, bagels or homemade treats for the entire team. We are always looking for ways to brighten the day of someone else. The team frequently celebrates birthdays and other important life or career occasions. We also celebrate fun “themed” office days for Christmas, Cinco de Mayo, QBS Spirit Day, and much more. At QBS we have a lot of fun. We laugh often and find any excuse to celebrate one another. Beyond our work and our culture, Quality Business Solutions believes strongly in supporting the community we serve. We give both time and financial support to multiple charities in the community.

GREEN ENERGY BIOFUEL

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Elisabeth Renwick, Co-owner

Location: Winnsboro

Why are you a best place to work? Green Energy Biofuel is in manufacturing and is an amazing place to work. Not only are we a family-owned business with amazing bosses, but we also have a fun work environment. We efficiently upcycle numerous waste products for a more sustainable environment. Green Energy Biofuel is the “best” place to work because all the employees work as a team to get the job done day in and day out with incredible passion. The boss listens to our needs and is open to change, inspires us to contribute to the common good and not afraid to get dirty. Green Energy Biofuel has grown exponentially in the past 14 years, from its first location opening in 2008 to five locations across three states in 2022. Through all those changes, the company preserved the collaboration between plants and departments to develop the close-knit team. Valuing team members not only for their skills but for their personality is what makes Green Energy Biofuel a best place to work in South Carolina.

NEW LIFE CHEMICAL & EQUIPMENT

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Ron Rountree, President

Location: Greenville

Why are you a best place to work? New Life is a manufacturer of generic laundry detergents, dish detergents and fabric softeners which are sold wholesale. We are a company that makes sure our employees have a work-life balance. We work with our

employees to make sure they are supported. They care about our well-being and offer employee hardship loans. We are a Christian company and we live by it, offering a weekly devotion with a Christian organization. We frequently donate to organizations in the community and across the world and we help employees out with financial burdens when needed. Company leaders do what they say. They treat us like people not just workers. Our pets are also allowed at work.

MARABU NORTH AMERICA

Highest-ranking executive and title in SC: Robert Keller, Owner

Location: North Charleston

Why are you a best place to work? Marabu North America LP is the U.S. subsidiary of Marabu GmbH & Co, a leading global manufacturer of screen, digital and pad printing inks for more than 155 years. Marabu is recognized by customers and the industry for the highest quality products, unparalleled technical service and environmental awareness. The company employs more than 440 people worldwide with its distribution partners exclusively representing Marabu in over 70 countries around the world. Though deeply rooted in tradition and long-established markets, Marabu is focused on research and development with more than 20 percent of its personnel working in that capacity. We are a unique blend of innovation, tradition and customer care. Employee recognition, development, retention and training are topics in which the management team collaborates on throughout the year to ensure all employees are offered the same opportunities. This teamwork has led to Mankiewicz Coatings having an outstanding employee culture of 5F’s: Focus, Fast, Flexible, Friendly and Fun. There are employee outings each year and a year-end party with dinner, dancing and drinks recognizing employees.

Frank Hatten 5 QUESTIONS WITH…

Boeing South Carolina Education Relations Specialist

1. How much does Boeing invest in STEM each year in South Carolina?

Since 2010, Boeing has contributed $65 million to charitable organizations across the state, about 50% of which is education funding. These investments are aimed at early childhood education, STEM education and K-12 workforce development.

Boeing teammates also invest their time in their communities. In 2021, Boeing South Carolina teammates volunteered more than 15,000 hours with nonprofits across the Charleston area.

In 2012, Boeing created DreamLearners, an instructional program based on elements of STEM. With the help of BSC volunteers, students participate in hands-on activities, discover different careers at Boeing and learn about the benefits of a STEM-focused education. Earlier this year, the program surpassed 1 million participants.

2. Who are your key education partners in South Carolina, and what are their unique programs that are making a di erence?

We are proud to engage with several organizations across South Carolina who are committed to inspiring the next generation of STEM.

The Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry is one of the leading sources of STEM engagement for early learners in the Charleston area. Students can engage in the Boeing Bright Lab makerspace and learn about the forces of flight through the Air Air Everywhere exhibit.

Boeing also partners with Clemson University. In 2021, Boeing sponsored Clemson’s Men of Color National Summit, which brings together Black and Hispanic high school students from around the U.S. to expose them to inspiring leaders and mentors with the goal of encouraging the students to attend college. Boeing also funds a full scholarship, in partnership with Clemson, for one male student of color to receive a degree in a STEM field.

3. How are your investments making an impact in South Carolina?

Our STEM partnerships are focused on increasing access to inspiring educational opportunities for students who might otherwise not see themselves in STEM careers. Our goal is to graduate more students who are ready to enter aerospace and advanced

manufacturing careers and STEM-focused post-secondary education.

Boeing partnered with CML on the development of outreach tools to reach kids when schools were not able to access the museum during the pandemic. The museum reached 5,000 students at 50 schools through these programs.

Engaging Creative Minds expanded into afterschool programming last year with support from Boeing, and reached 100 Title I middle school students and 20 high school students through a 36-week afterschool curriculum.

4. What is a good age to start cultivating an interest in STEM subjects in children?

It is never too early or too late. Our approach to STEM begins with early learning and carries directly through high school education programs. We seek to improve kindergarten readiness, particularly in mathematics; generate interest and sustained participation in STEM disciplines through hands-on, experiential learning; and, help educators and students make connections between what they’re learning and potential STEM careers. We also support postsecondary education and programs to prepare the workforce for the manufacturing jobs of the future.

5. How is Boeing helping to grow the future workforce?

Boeing has recognized over 500 South Carolina students through STEM Signing Day celebrations. Two students from each county are selected through a competitive process, and they sign letters of intent to pursue a STEM degree at a college, university or technical school.

Boeing’s Career Foundation Program in areas like engineering, IT, data analytics and business functions accelerate the technical growth and leadership of college graduates and early career teammates.

Boeing also recently extended its partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund to include a new fast-track hiring program that will supply talent for open positions at Boeing locations in close geographic proximity to HBCUs. One of the partner schools is South Carolina State University.

Finally, we encourage anyone interested in beginning a career within Boeing can visit https://jobs. boeing.com/, and search “South Carolina” for local openings.

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