tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29212796163683395802024-02-07T18:30:10.864-08:00SC Council on CompetitivenessThe South Carolina Council on Competitiveness is a business-led non-profit organization working to make the state, industries and citizens of South Carolina more competitive.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-37491122858594164312014-10-31T13:20:00.003-07:002014-10-31T13:29:08.607-07:00Aerospace Support Chain Feature - Will Mitchell<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Aerospace Support Chain News</span></i></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R-Will Mitchell<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">In this month's SC Aerospace News, we are spotlighting Robert (Will) Mitchell,
a mechanical engineering student at USC who is actively engaged in the
aerospace cluster here in SC.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">He works
at the McNAIR Center, volunteered at Aerospace Industry Day and attended the
Celebrate Freedom SOAR Summer Camp.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Here is our Q&A with him:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>:
Where did you attend high school?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:
Dutch Fork High School, spending half of my senior year there and the other
half at the Center for Advanced Technical studies, a magnet school of sorts
where I took Intro to Aerospace Engineering and Senior Design.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>:
Tell us more about yourself?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:
I am an only child, my mother Cindy Mitchell co-runs Dixie Heating and Cooling,
the first place I worked. I was an HVAC Assistant Technician; a lot of my
technical knowledge came from this job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My Father Robert Mitchell is a retired Air Force
avionics expert and technician. He served in the Gulf War, working on F-16</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">s and other aircraft. He is currently doing
corporate security for TD Bank, South Carolina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:
<b>When and how did you become interested in aviation and aerospace?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What really pushed my interest in aviation and
aerospace was my father teaching me about airplanes and flying. He</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">d always tell me stories of working out on the
airstrip at McEntire Air Force Base and I wanted to be just like him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:<b>
What is your major? Where are you at in the program?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A: I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">m currently
enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program and I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">m in my sophomore year. Having a</span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: DA; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> job at </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">the McNAIR Center has motivated me; it gives me a
place to apply what I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">m learning from the Mechanical
Engineering program to real life scenarios.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q: <b>You attended the <u>SOAR Aviation Summer
Camp</u>. What were the highlights of
that experience?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
attended the SOAR Aviation program back in the summer of 2012, the summer right
before my senior year of High school. I made friends, met interesting
characters, had firsthand experience in the aviation industry and I was able to
work with engineers in the industry to achieve goals set by the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I think that my most memorable moment at SOAR was
the trip out to SHAW Air force base. I was able to sit right at the edge of the
tarmac, hear and feel the roar of the F-16s as they started up and watch them
take off flying into the horizon. It was simply an amazing experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Q: What
career plans do you have?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS Bold"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS Bold";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A: I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">d like to
continue down the path that I am on. Currently I assist in the Vacuum Assisted
Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) Lab and help run the Hot Press Machine. By
working in these two labs, I have been able to help professors run experiments,
getting to know many of the Faculty, as well as graduate students in Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering. I love to help out with research and love to make
parts for people</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">s projects and grants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-6243928511021732452014-07-02T12:39:00.000-07:002014-07-02T12:39:18.431-07:00Laura McKinney Says Farewell<span id="docs-internal-guid-c02fcca1-f881-36c7-114c-9009799dd271"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-c02fcca1-f881-36c7-114c-9009799dd271"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3Cry5zSgljg8gkexe8B0kV0_U2zVcDN7nniIpMKpZdCxnxI8NWfRzKLhDBkaYibcOi-fGxhUcCevFIPsVfb3_N3RQqoXBhyphenhyphenFdfix5eSFPrYhu7BsiaeXmV6HLj0dCqekLbBFsYwXZ68/s1600/Laura+McKinneyt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3Cry5zSgljg8gkexe8B0kV0_U2zVcDN7nniIpMKpZdCxnxI8NWfRzKLhDBkaYibcOi-fGxhUcCevFIPsVfb3_N3RQqoXBhyphenhyphenFdfix5eSFPrYhu7BsiaeXmV6HLj0dCqekLbBFsYwXZ68/s1600/Laura+McKinneyt.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear New Carolina Supporters,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As many of you are already aware, I am stepping down from the position of Executive Director of New Carolina as of July 1, 2014. My husband Jim, our children and I are returning to our home in Blaine, Washington after an extremely rewarding two years spent back where I began - in South Carolina. It is with great pride and pleasure that I welcome <a href="http://www.newcarolina.org/about/staff.aspx" target="_blank">Ann Marie Stieritz</a> to the leadership role for New Carolina. I will work with Ann Marie through July and will continue to finish some projects as we make this transition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I depart from my post, the enthusiasm and support for the activities and projects at New Carolina make me most proud. Over the last 10 months, we have welcomed some dynamic individuals who will continue to take projects to a higher level. Deborah Cameron, Charlie Farrell and Wayne Fritz are leading the development of the Aerospace cluster with incredible knowledge and experience amassed among the three. Dr. Peggy Torrey brings an unparalleled set of skills and wisdom to guide the Education and Workforce Development Task Force and to direct the progress of TransformSC. Ben Green is connecting industry groups across the state to focus on common issues of competitiveness. And Jackie Breland keeps all on track as New Carolina’s ever vigilant CPA. None of these activities would be possible without the stellar (and flexible) support of Communications Director Summer Ramsey and Project Coordinator Marie Bauschka. I thank them all for bringing their best every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I must also say thank you to the Executive Committee of New Carolina and to Chairman Ed Sellers. The opportunity to work with all of you has been an honor. You have given so much to South Carolina through your professional lives and through the ways that you choose to contribute to your communities. Leading by example teaches the most, and your examples have set the bar high for those who will follow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The greater competitiveness for South Carolina brings this group together. It is a group of individuals who strive for excellence for themselves and for the state. There are so many to name who have opened doors and shared their time. I thank my husband Jim here specifically for the volunteer time he gave for the betterment of the organization and the focus of mission. Please know that your contributions have made a difference and will continue to make a difference. New Carolina thrives through the actions of its volunteers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is with that image of building a better South Carolina that brings me to my close. This letter would not be complete without a poem that is one of my Dad’s favorites. Jim Leventis - this is for you:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bridge Builder</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An old man going a lone highway,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Came, at the evening cold and gray,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To a chasm vast and deep and wide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through which was flowing a sullen tide</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The old man crossed in the twilight dim,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sullen stream had no fear for him;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he turned when safe on the other side</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And built a bridge to span the tide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You are wasting your strength with building here;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your journey will end with the ending day,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You never again will pass this way;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why build this bridge at evening tide?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The builder lifted his old gray head;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There followed after me to-day</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A youth whose feet must pass this way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This chasm that has been as naught to me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Will Allen Dromgoogle</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until we meet again,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laura</span></div>
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</span>New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-84631571053795683332014-06-09T16:39:00.002-07:002014-06-12T12:30:35.009-07:00Leadership Insurance Underway<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbIpoRp4ePMHZxxU9vMh-yfjycCp2rEZoC_3Aj8KGT2pD0wh6fzciDRRLlvVd80i2BJhqU3QCT0luzECZMC6Zgaw4NdJarLMWkMRWnoVYYy0jvlzMhSDjKhI8C-gCsSnhKppv1m_b5Rk/s1600/iTs-SC_LeadershipInsurance_041614_1623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbIpoRp4ePMHZxxU9vMh-yfjycCp2rEZoC_3Aj8KGT2pD0wh6fzciDRRLlvVd80i2BJhqU3QCT0luzECZMC6Zgaw4NdJarLMWkMRWnoVYYy0jvlzMhSDjKhI8C-gCsSnhKppv1m_b5Rk/s1600/iTs-SC_LeadershipInsurance_041614_1623.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">iTslSC, the Insurance, Technology and
Services cluster of the Midlands, launched the inaugural Leadership Insurance
course on April 15<sup>th</sup> at BlueCross BlueShield. Leadership Insurance is
an 8-part course designed to provide a forum for the rising stars of the
local industry to connect, collaborate, learn and grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the only known program of its kind in
the country within the insurance tech industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Participants in the program will
learn about all aspects of insurance - including ethics, marketing,
underwriting, claims, and more - and also gain a deeper understanding of the
technology employed by the industry. In addition to networking with other
participants and gaining industry knowledge, the participants will be working
on a project for the duration of the course. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The first session included a
leadership exercise facilitated by Karen Hill. Then Terry Povey from BlueCross
BlueShield spoke on “Insurance – The Big Picture,” gave an overview of the
Blues system and introduced the group project centered on health and wellness. The
participants were split into two groups and have been asked to develop a
technical application, tool, program or event centered on health and wellness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The inaugural class of Leadership
Insurance includes participants from Companion Life, Aetna, PHT Services Ltd.,
Seibels, and Colonial Life. Their job roles include underwriting, enrollment,
analytics, finance, senior management and others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Midlands has a wealth
of opportunities within the insurance technology and services industry,
with over 100 years of history, innovation and growth in the area. iTslSC seeks
to further the industry's opportunities in the Midlands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The next session is “Sales and Marketing” at Interactive Intelligence on June 18<sup>th</sup>. For more information on iTs|SC and Leadership Insurance, click <a href="http://www.newcarolina.org/clusters/insurancetechnology.aspx" target="_blank">here</a> or contact Kristin
Hamilton at <a href="mailto:khamilton@newcarolina.org" target="_blank">khamilton@newcarolina.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-71831004224358500312014-06-09T16:32:00.000-07:002014-06-09T16:32:03.325-07:004th Annual TDL Summit the Best Yet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdog6X2lTTHvfug8D8sefFQhMAgSQtiqBtlND3AKOSdIDevJaoFm-hcBfWt8mlvMjTQc46zRzyt-pA0vWmAVf21-hX5j4g9CWCa6uvPfQTyTZawEqFkv7UCs3YZjO7Zjt_cogV1ZiFO8s/s1600/4210_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdog6X2lTTHvfug8D8sefFQhMAgSQtiqBtlND3AKOSdIDevJaoFm-hcBfWt8mlvMjTQc46zRzyt-pA0vWmAVf21-hX5j4g9CWCa6uvPfQTyTZawEqFkv7UCs3YZjO7Zjt_cogV1ZiFO8s/s1600/4210_web.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
For the fourth consecutive year, the TDL Council brought together South Carolina’s top leaders from the transportation, distribution and logistics industry for the TDL Summit, the annual event that has become synonymous with South Carolina’s TDL industry.
In the spirit of partnership and collaboration, the Summit provides a forum for public leaders to provide their perspective, business leaders to share best practices, educational partners to share new projects, and attendees to learn, network and celebrate the industry’s successes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyopaYtGxMHxQ9eeoNloGmAOPM8rLM01sb55FRY4KnTvA5zZ0oCA73NBAU7EJQ-FaY_2fkIy4sgG1W7rXVFFZc3ZDTiQgjnj2fW3zJIcODfq4Ir67I3EjgPRTCxNtG5YOvOZVtMhktyI/s1600/3738_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyopaYtGxMHxQ9eeoNloGmAOPM8rLM01sb55FRY4KnTvA5zZ0oCA73NBAU7EJQ-FaY_2fkIy4sgG1W7rXVFFZc3ZDTiQgjnj2fW3zJIcODfq4Ir67I3EjgPRTCxNtG5YOvOZVtMhktyI/s1600/3738_web.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
This year’s event, held April 24 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, drew a record crowd of more than 200 attendees. The day began with remarks by Governor Haley.
The Governor said that South Carolina’s infrastructure and regional positioning attracts industry to the state, but acknowledged the need for improvement to infrastructure. Governor Haley addressed questions from the crowd and then passed the microphone to the Secretary of Commerce, Bobby Hitt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEz70_zwutn6qjm55mYhhZMhIO3pt_KhBTEHyt7iskgs_gU_KmZCVCJ30a_RZdBdnjXKDJ15bowzxpFuWDK-zZGv2B_haYtnQkgh-HPnYSlMfJZBtA3VRvp8xrhEb5SO5prrV_aHtvQ8/s1600/3801_print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEz70_zwutn6qjm55mYhhZMhIO3pt_KhBTEHyt7iskgs_gU_KmZCVCJ30a_RZdBdnjXKDJ15bowzxpFuWDK-zZGv2B_haYtnQkgh-HPnYSlMfJZBtA3VRvp8xrhEb5SO5prrV_aHtvQ8/s1600/3801_print.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Secretary Hitt said when the Department of Commerce recruits industry to the state, the top three subjects of conversation are: 1) inventory; 2) workforce; and 3) logistics. He also said that economists predict South Carolina’s TDL cluster will grow by 4% in 2014. He expects that infrastructure will continue to be an asset in recruiting companies to South Carolina. The crowd enjoyed a brief break before hearing from Alan Torres, General Manager of Nuclear Construction for SCE&G, on logistical challenges in the construction of the new Jenkinsville nuclear facility. His presentation illustrated how a component weighing 605,000 pounds was shipped from North Korea to the Port of Charleston then hauled by a truck over highways, under power lines and through small towns. South Carolina Ports President & CEO Jim Newsome was next up.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEz70_zwutn6qjm55mYhhZMhIO3pt_KhBTEHyt7iskgs_gU_KmZCVCJ30a_RZdBdnjXKDJ15bowzxpFuWDK-zZGv2B_haYtnQkgh-HPnYSlMfJZBtA3VRvp8xrhEb5SO5prrV_aHtvQ8/s1600/3801_print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuCsywA5FjSYB42dKmWWHMF7Szz5TDWfOS2oOBfWXLn_sBt6wxuL7BVZ_ZkkcVGmsxU36W-x8MXlZ7dlNIWmhs2tWBlLt-lYDl9P59GfYb9tBBCPPnrpANe2d9QsFGBkeRRA0hzZolxI/s1600/4032_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuCsywA5FjSYB42dKmWWHMF7Szz5TDWfOS2oOBfWXLn_sBt6wxuL7BVZ_ZkkcVGmsxU36W-x8MXlZ7dlNIWmhs2tWBlLt-lYDl9P59GfYb9tBBCPPnrpANe2d9QsFGBkeRRA0hzZolxI/s1600/4032_web.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTOQFmvMhdTEXkB57zVoivdCZmXNnVPnIKZkQWE9xnuDDlSp3o3zIbHsV2YFc4M_9DZixGEriD8EVZTX4o4DjJq_5hfMo86M1wUTkBfC9YL28PqGgHQHXwoe0WWANJO09_gEsqT7V3a0/s1600/3939_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTOQFmvMhdTEXkB57zVoivdCZmXNnVPnIKZkQWE9xnuDDlSp3o3zIbHsV2YFc4M_9DZixGEriD8EVZTX4o4DjJq_5hfMo86M1wUTkBfC9YL28PqGgHQHXwoe0WWANJO09_gEsqT7V3a0/s1600/3939_web.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>Newsome told the crowd he sees the Ports as businesses with the people of South Carolina as shareholders. The audience was thrilled to learn that the Port of Charleston is now the fastest growing Port in the US. The Charleston Port also gives South Carolina a competitive advantage because it is the only port in the region offering 50’ depth. Newsome also stressed the important of the inland port at Greer, as rail volume has increased by 50% since 2011.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9iFkZBTVYcQSjltvNAtrNP_c0N41xQcEbBG3m0Kas4SK4qa-bMZclIJ5A-oElkZ4mA-fkzq4_UXxFjuJxLHMMM4yFzbUIkBnPjnG6_5acqhUnoPPR1jBC64eZWqNk700toIURZ9EMuE/s1600/3910_print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9iFkZBTVYcQSjltvNAtrNP_c0N41xQcEbBG3m0Kas4SK4qa-bMZclIJ5A-oElkZ4mA-fkzq4_UXxFjuJxLHMMM4yFzbUIkBnPjnG6_5acqhUnoPPR1jBC64eZWqNk700toIURZ9EMuE/s1600/3910_print.jpg" height="87" width="320" /></a>After Mr. Newsome’s presentation, lunch was served and a panel was convened to discuss different perspectives on infrastructure needs. Each of the participants identified the most important infrastructure issue for their industry cluster. Jack Shuler, President of the South Carolina Agribusiness Council, said the priority concern for agribusiness in the state is the condition of roads and bridges in rural South Carolina. Rob Roberson, Logistics Manager for Nucor, said the priority concern for the recycling cluster is the productivity of the trucking industry.<br />
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Dr. David Neyens, Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at Clemson took to the state to discuss scoring the economic development impact of transportation infrastructure projects. He is working very closely with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and handed a survey to the crowd asking them to rank economic development indicators in terms of importance. His team will be making recommendations to the DOT on which indicators to use when prioritizing projects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjd9w7XpISDEudCpMTHdxz8rL5iIRuvxoDF4RsTyhcS5cUdd57M-YYpGfD-byLOQNKvqsBqNoOE6mPMoRDhbaDS3QkJ_LoMKbVg7eVYYuqkqCDGUOIbA0B7L4nbnii86Tb1SZL7BY1Vx4/s1600/4101_print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjd9w7XpISDEudCpMTHdxz8rL5iIRuvxoDF4RsTyhcS5cUdd57M-YYpGfD-byLOQNKvqsBqNoOE6mPMoRDhbaDS3QkJ_LoMKbVg7eVYYuqkqCDGUOIbA0B7L4nbnii86Tb1SZL7BY1Vx4/s1600/4101_print.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next up was Deputy Secretary for Intermodal & Freight Programs, Doug Frate. He emphasized the importance of events like the TDL Summit and continuing collaboration of state agencies like the Department of Commerce and the DOT with groups like the TDL Council. <a href="http://www.columbiabusinessreport.com/news/51207-scdot-multimodal-plan-to-be-ready-for-review-by-summer" target="_blank">He announced that the DOT’s 25-year multimodal transportation plan will be ready for publication by this summer</a>.
Deputy Secretary Frate also emphasized that South Carolina’s highway system is the 4th largest state-maintained highway system in the nation. He informed the crowd the cost per mile of maintaining the state’s roads - to preserve $20K; to rehabilitate $125K; to reconstruct $200K – and the implications of these costs on prioritizing improvement projects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAB3DWVt1sFGEu95SiBKeVWJa0sW8ztFkteq3oXzkJzpczdToLQzs9UlBelUT6-HlzAAdzAt-B5ITgqJ0ganDVCXS1sm8t1itUbePyQwZyFjx7A2swMbEvAAAK7YbofFxZ71usQpvIa8/s1600/4126_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAB3DWVt1sFGEu95SiBKeVWJa0sW8ztFkteq3oXzkJzpczdToLQzs9UlBelUT6-HlzAAdzAt-B5ITgqJ0ganDVCXS1sm8t1itUbePyQwZyFjx7A2swMbEvAAAK7YbofFxZ71usQpvIa8/s1600/4126_web.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>The next to last speakers were Alfred Hass, Department Manager of Material and Transportation Control and Delivery Assurance for BMW, and Brian Gwin, Industrial Development Manager for Norfolk Southern. The duo discussed the long-term partnership of their respective companies and the effects BMW’s expansion will have on transportation and logistics. BMW’s South Carolina facility is now the second largest value exporter in the world for the company. Norfolk Southern is now the originator for more finished vehicles than any other rail company in North America.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4UKp-kFG12E733aexiPUHtZbguvKHtIPBJZUnMMEH_eVGZtVrwmai-cpJXdTFDcm9hANtKaorseNg6VOOpNw7H5tj-5LKHgZSvxmKRtQ3xrwF9xhzF_-j_ECq_miXfvkhGKJivzrSo0/s1600/4189_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4UKp-kFG12E733aexiPUHtZbguvKHtIPBJZUnMMEH_eVGZtVrwmai-cpJXdTFDcm9hANtKaorseNg6VOOpNw7H5tj-5LKHgZSvxmKRtQ3xrwF9xhzF_-j_ECq_miXfvkhGKJivzrSo0/s1600/4189_web.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>Last to go was the energetic Lexington County native Lou Kennedy, President & CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. She spoke about the construction of the new facility in Lexington County and explained how temperature regulation is extremely important for pharmaceuticals. SCANA, located next door to Nephron in the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park, was a key partner in designing and implementing contingency power in case of an outage. She also spoke about Nephron’s partnership with CSX Rail and the construction of a rail spur on-site to bring all resin deliveries directly to Nephron. <a href="http://coladaily.com/2014/06/04/photo-gallery-nephron-pharmaceuticals-opens-in-lexington-county/" target="_blank">Kennedy held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 4th opening the facility that was finished one year ahead of the expected completion date</a>.
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Chair - Early Childhood Task Force
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdqD2esokDbbIUMS3-NI_mIp5sJXObrze0-UngAly0b2MAI2hEsbofxxMMvfmGPAPmCIO1GXYzfSfXlcYVSY51d7s-QR35ZZDXUJnauphgiiBtwdzWaZL34SG_uvWFGNbq-Nl8RgxNOg/s1600/dave+morley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdqD2esokDbbIUMS3-NI_mIp5sJXObrze0-UngAly0b2MAI2hEsbofxxMMvfmGPAPmCIO1GXYzfSfXlcYVSY51d7s-QR35ZZDXUJnauphgiiBtwdzWaZL34SG_uvWFGNbq-Nl8RgxNOg/s320/dave+morley.png" /></a></div>The future success of our economy depends on well-educated and highly resourceful workers capable of learning new skills so that they remain competitive in a continually changing global market. The focus on early childhood is the newest effort of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force.
Too often early childhood education is considered a nice “add-on” but its real value is not appreciated. Brain research shows that the foundations built in the first five years of life define the potential for that child later. Additionally, economic research shows that investment in early childhood education has the highest return of all education interventions. Longitudinal studies lasting forty years demonstrate that investments in early childhood education return sixteen to one on every dollar invested and have an eight percent internal rate of return.
One example is reading. Education success is built on reading. Our children learn to read through third grade and read to learn the rest of their lives. In fact, third grade reading is one of the most important predictors of high school graduation. In our state, twenty-eight percent of all public school students are not proficient in reading by the end of third grade. Low-income students fair worse with fifty-seven percent reading below the proficient level by the end of third grade. This contributes to twenty-five percent of our kids not graduating from high school.
The foundations for reading are set in the first years of life. Cumulative vocabulary is a predictor of third grade reading. At twenty-four months of age, children of lower income have approximately two-thirds the vocabulary of higher income children. By thirty-six months the gap has widened so that poor children have approximately one third the vocabulary of those of higher income. And this is only one measure of early childhood development, among several others, all demonstrating the importance of early experiences to later academic achievement.
The good news is we can do something about this. There are well documented, evidenced based programs that can change the educational potential of our youngest citizens. The goal of the Early Education Initiative of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force is to help local decision makers navigate the world of early childhood education. We are developing a roadmap for parents, community leaders and educators to guide decisions regarding early education and care for their communities. We hope to elucidate the various areas they can make a difference in educational outcomes, help them find the appropriate programs to meet their desired goals and understand the financial and implementation issues they will encounter. The returns will be substantial.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-11863747086418908522014-03-03T07:07:00.001-08:002014-03-03T07:08:57.976-08:00TDL Council to Host 4th Annual TDL Summit April 24th
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzjfJdgkRyxCkFxJQTqXWmyeLbXYbCs57f0PIlzsfkqa3HyHUPx7qiOJboXwU6VaOTXNQLTd67py3qR9SQ1UBq1X8bfaJvvbG8pttF6CX2gl0gZkGokqdMUVQKaDdeb6RPdz-feb94I8/s1600/TDL+Deepal_Eliatamby+-+Photo_1_USE+THIS+ONE+20130410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzjfJdgkRyxCkFxJQTqXWmyeLbXYbCs57f0PIlzsfkqa3HyHUPx7qiOJboXwU6VaOTXNQLTd67py3qR9SQ1UBq1X8bfaJvvbG8pttF6CX2gl0gZkGokqdMUVQKaDdeb6RPdz-feb94I8/s320/TDL+Deepal_Eliatamby+-+Photo_1_USE+THIS+ONE+20130410.jpg" /></a></div>
By: Deepal Eliatamby
President, Alliance Consulting Engineers
Chairman, TDL Council
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In 2013, South Carolina’s TDL industry saw several important milestones. The inland port in Greer opened in October, expanding the economic ties between the Upstate and the Lowcountry and increasing the state’s competitiveness as a leader in moving freight. The SC Department of Transportation has continued to make strides in the development of the 25-year multimodal plan that will provide the roadmap for moving freight throughout the state and guide future infrastructure projects. Many TDL-related businesses have announced new business or expansion in the Palmetto State. We’re on the right track.
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But what’s on the horizon? The widening of the Panama Canal, expected to be completed in 2015, is putting pressure on East Coast ports - Charleston included - to dredge harbors in order to accommodate post-Panamax ships around the clock. Tourists and residents alike bemoan driving on I-26, I-95, or I-85, especially during peak hours. Logistics analysts are always trying to shave off a few hours of transit time. TDL supports practically our entire economy; naturally, TDL needs constant investment and fine-tuning to maintain vibrancy and have the ability to grow and compete.
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The TDL Council is a collaborative effort between public and private sector leaders to boost South Carolina’s economy, create jobs, and attract investment that will position the state as a national and global leader in the TDL industry. One way the Council seeks to bring South Carolina to the forefront of the TDL industry is by hosting the TDL Summit each year. In the spirit of partnership and collaboration, the Summit provides a forum for public leaders to provide their perspective on the industry, private industry leaders to share best practices, educational partners to share new innovations and projects, and attendees to learn, network and celebrate the industry’s successes. The 4th Annual TDL Summit will be held in Columbia on February 12.
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The TDL Council has put together an exciting program and speaker line-up for the 2014 TDL Summit, with presentations that touch on all areas of freight transport, logistics, and distribution. The day will be opened by Governor Nikki Haley, and we’ll hear updates from Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt, and Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome later in the day. A panel of South Carolina cluster leaders will offer their perspectives of freight infrastructure needs, and SCE&G will cover the logistics behind construction at V.C. Summer. Nephron’s Lou Kennedy, former Port of New Orleans President & CEO Ron Brinson, Senator Paul Campbell, and Clemson’s Dr. Scott Mason will round out the program, each offering their own unique perspective on a certain aspect of the industry. A networking reception will follow the event.
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As we celebrate TDL successes we must also stay focused on working collaboratively to identify solutions that will help us reach our multimodal transportation goals. Decision-makers from the business sector, elected officials, government agencies, higher education partners, community advocates and interested citizens must come together to put the vision of the TDL Council into action.
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We look forward to thought-provoking dialogue, knowledge exchange, and insights into revolutionary innovations at the TDL Summit on April 24th. Please join us for this exciting event.
For more information, click <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-south-carolina-tdl-summit-tickets-9359848559">here</a>.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-63018199468652380372011-12-16T12:52:00.000-08:002011-12-16T12:53:22.484-08:00Milken Institute List of Best Performing CitiesCongratulations to Charleston/North Charleston for moving from #19 to #11 on the Milken Institute's list of best performing cities. Greenville Mauldin Easley moved from 136 to 111. Columbia dropped from #65 to #113. Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia dropped from #65 to #114. Myrtle Beach was #128. Atlanta #145. Spartanburg #181, <br />
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The rankings are based on such factors as job growth, growth in wages and salaries, and growth in gross domestic product in high tech industries. Arbitrary, but interesting. You can see the complete list of 200 cities at http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2011.taf?rankyear=2011&type=rank200New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-82820625591856444152011-12-14T06:44:00.000-08:002011-12-14T06:49:35.343-08:00Harvard Business SchoolThe Institute for Competitiveness and Strategy at the Harvard Business School licenses a course called the Microeconomics of Competitiveness. The course has been licensed by 100 universities from around the world, including the Moore School of Business at USC. Ed Sellers and I had the opportunity to present the New Carolina story to the annual meeting of the group at Harvard on December 13. <br />
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The two day session ended with a review of Harvard’s US Competitiveness project. This project will be detailed in a series of articles in the March issue of the Harvard Business Review. The project surveyed some 10,000 graduates of the Harvard Business School. There were also 12 faculty members who addressed specific issues. The conclusions of the study were pretty grim.<br />
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Since 1980, America has experienced:<br />
• Globalization of competition<br />
• Countries with effective economic strategies<br />
• Shortened time horizons<br />
• Intense pressure on the middle class in terms of job loss and stagnation of wages<br />
• Significant percentage in the upper .5% (5 % in 1977 to 18% in 2006)<br />
• The cost of two wars<br />
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As a consequence, there have been unsustainable benefits that were primarily, but not exclusively, directed to the middle class:<br />
o Badly thought out housing policy<br />
o Retirement benefits<br />
o Health care (Medicare and Medicaid)<br />
o Cheap products from China, who is not competing on a level playing field<br />
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The problems are the result of choice, but not unstoppable forces. However, the federal government can’t seem to make even no brainer decisions.<br />
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Michael Porter said “Just do the math on the budget. We are a few years away from a real catastrophe.”<br />
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More on this subject in future blogs.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-39574363679194231542011-12-07T07:05:00.000-08:002011-12-07T07:24:14.168-08:00Smart State ConferenceOn December 4th - 6th, the SC Centers of Excellence (also known as SmartState) held their first national conference in Charleston. The Conference was titled "Realizing a Knowledge-Based Economy: Bridging Academia, Government and Industry." <br />
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The SmartState Program with its Centers of Excellence and Endowed Chairs is woefully under under-appreciated around the State. The program was established by the legislature in 1992. It was originally funded with $30 million/year from the SC Educational Lottery, to be matched dollar for dollar with money from other sources. The money was to be used to recruit world class talent to the State's research universities. <br />
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There are currently 49 Centers of Excellence with 41 endowed chairs. These Centers have resulted in over $1.2 billion dollars of outside investment and 7000 employees. There has been a six to one return on investment for the State. There are another 40 Chairs that have been approved, but State funds have been unavailable for the match.<br />
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SmartState put together an excellent conference program, with experts in commercializing research and the knowledge economy participating. Speakers included Saul Singer, one of the author's of <i>Start-Up Nation</i>, Peter Beattie, former Prime Minister of Queensland, William Symonds, Director of the Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard and many others. Thanks to Drs. Richard Swaja (MUSC) and Dr. Tom Kurfess (ICAR)and the SmartState staff for pulling together an excellent program. Thanks as well to the entire SmartState program for what they are contributing to the State.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-91338159392320570932011-11-20T07:01:00.000-08:002011-11-20T07:01:22.257-08:00What Can We Learn from Israel?One does not change a culture easily. Tom Friedman of the New York Times most recent book was entitled "That Used To Be Us." It is fairly depressing. The Israeli venture capitalist Jon Medved said, "The US needs to regain its mojo."<br />
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The US is still the most innovative country on earth. I saw significant potential collaborations between SC researchers and Israeli researchers in nanotechnology, neurology and other areas. There were at least two dozen Israeli companies that can potentially establish some kind of partnership with SC. <br />
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The population of the US is a little over 312 million. Israel is 7.5 million. SC is 4.5 million. We can not import culture. We can work to rebuild elements of the Israeli culture that are so successful. Let's look at the success factors and see what can be adopted.<br />
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1. Risk Taking. Outside of Silicon Valley and a handful of other entrepreneurial hotbeds, there is still a fear of failure when it comes to entrepreneurship. The Israeli economy suggests to American entrepreneurs, "why not?"<br />
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2. Immigration. In my opinion, we are going the wrong direction on this one. Most of the graduate students in engineering at USC are from outside the United States. We should staple a green card to their diploma, but that is not happening.<br />
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3. Ability to question authority. That is more in the culture of individual companies, but it should be encouraged.<br />
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4. Universal military service. It won't happen, but I for one would vote for two years. It think it would give the government a labor source, and would better prepare young people for college.<br />
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5. Government policy. SC has tried to become a business friendly state and for the most part has succeeded. I think that SC Launch can be every bit as effective as the Israeli incubators. We need to consider adding some support services to the effort. Russ Keller from SCRA/SC Launch was on the Mission and all over this idea.<br />
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6. Education. Don Herriott and Jim Reynolds, Co-Chairs of the New Carolina Education Task Force, have been exploring ways of improving the education ethos in SC. This should be among our highest priorities, but it is difficult to change someone who doesn't value education. <br />
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A great first step in connecting SC with Israel are the collaborations that I have idscussed over the last seven days. A speaker at Technion had a slide with a 2500 year old quote from Confucious. "Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand."<br />
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Thanks again to all of the organizers, trip participants and Israeli hosts. It was a great trip.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-18838708808054685722011-11-20T01:25:00.000-08:002011-11-20T20:23:33.610-08:00Day 6: Coming HomeDay 6 was actually one long night. We left Tel Aviv at 12:40 AM after spending two plus hours winding through security (which given the threats, I actually appreciated.) We arrived in New York 11 hours later, which because of the seven hour time shift, was still dark.<br />
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So why is Israel so innovative? Experts such as the authors of <i>Start-up Nation </i>and venture capitalist Jon Medved cite the following reasons:<br />
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1. Risk. As a people, the families of Israelis have survived the holocaust, fought eight wars since 1948, and still have heads of nations calling for their extermination. What kind of threat is a business failure? Israelis are very willing to take risks.<br />
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2. Immigration. The Israelis opened their doors to Jews from everywhere in 1948. Even though the Jewish immigrants had a common language and common historical memory, they brought the motivation and the cultural interplay that have made first generation immigrants among the most successful entrepreneurs in the US. Shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, some 687,000 Jews from around the world came to Israel. THEY CAME KNOWING THAT THE ISRAELIS WERE AT WAR WITH THE ARABS. Between 1989 and 2000, more than 950,000 Russian Jews immigrated to Israel. Many of the latter were well educated in science and medicine and immediately contributed to the country's intellectual horsepower. <br />
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3. Ability to Question Authority. It is probably not an accident that three of the world's five major religions started in Jerusalem. Jews have been questioning the reigning authority for a long time, and not without consequence. Today, according to venture capitalist Jon Medved, it is not uncommon for 19 year old employees to question a CEO about a decision. It is not uncommon for military privates to question officers. Why not? The junior employee or soldier may know more about a given situation than the Officer or CEO. In Israel, the culture encourages them to speak up without fear of retribution. It is an inherent part of the innovation culture. <br />
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4. Universal Military Service. Every 18 year old (both men and women) have required military service. It provides a common experience and a common understanding of the importance of defense for all young Israelis. The best and brightest are selected for elite units. One of the best units requires eight years of participation. In the first year, recruits spend three months rotating and learning about each branch of service. They then spend two years getting the equivalent of a BS in computers or physics. The next five years are spent working on weapon systems, defense strategies and advanced security, while completing other course work. When they leave the military at the ripe old age of 26, the venture capitalists are lined up to grab them as start-up CEOs.<br />
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5. Government Policy. <br />
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Stan Fisher is the current Governor of the Bank of Israel, a post equivalent to the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve. Fisher is an American born in Northern Rhodesia. He has Bachelor and Masters Degrees from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D in Econonmics from MIT. Before coming to Israel, he was Chief Economist of the World Bank. Fisher recognized that low interest rates were a key to investment, and like the US, he lowered interest rates in 2006 to encourage investment. Unlike the US, he did not lower the requirements for home mortgages. Israel still required up to 50% money to get a home loan. (For that matter, government grants generally require a 50% private match.) As a consequence, Israel did not have the meltdown that affected the US economy. <br />
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The questioning of authority makes Israeli government fairly contentious. We heard three speakers with three widely different views on the Palestinian issue. However, on the issue of promoting innovation and start-up companies, of building infrastructure, and in supporting research and the university system, the government seems to be of one accord.<br />
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6. Education. There is a culture in Israel that values education. I hope I am not generalizing too much to say that this is a part of the Jewish DNA. It was clearly reflected in the visits we had.<br />
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So can it be sustained?<br />
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In December, 2005, after only six months in this job, Bill Ward, a Clemson Professor in International Business and a former World Bank economist, invited me to join him to look at the Celtic Tiger in Ireland. Ireland and SC are almost the identical population and identical land area. Ireland was the poster child for the new economy. Bill knew most of the leadership of the major Irish economic development agencies from his tenure at the World Bank, and as a consequence, we met with the heads of all of them. I came away very impressed with what they had done, but I did not see much direct translation to South Carolina. We could not implement a 12% corporate tax rate. We could not provide free four year degrees to those that wanted it. We could not be the English speaking interface between high tech companies in America and the European market. As it turned out, perhaps Ireland could not do that either.<br />
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My sense from leaving Israel is different. They are not just hosting American companies like Intel, Google, etc. They are innovating for them. They are not just relying on American superstars, but they are spinning out companies on their own, in fact some 700 per year. They have their own venture capital infrastructure. They have first class educational institutions that are largely focusing on scientific innovations. Those insitutions are providing significant research and development with an ey towards commercialization. I did not have that sense in Ireland.<br />
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There was a T-Shirt in a street shop in old Jerusalem that said "We Have Your Back America."<br />
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Short of the Iranians lobbing a nuclear device towards Israel, I believe that what they are doing is sustainable.<br />
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On the flight from Tel Aviv to New York, I sat next to a man with a craggy face and a pony tail to mid back. He was reading an old book on mathematics (I did not write down the title.) I struck up a conversation. Turns out that he was a Doctor at the Hadassah in Jerusalem, former Department Head and still practicing medicine at 75. He was flying to New York to visit one of his four sons. Two were physicians, one was working on his post doc in physics and one was a banker. A picture of Dr. London Mordechai will be on the blog pictures. <br />
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There will be one more blog on what can we learn from Israel.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-91287755554550977592011-11-19T12:24:00.000-08:002011-11-20T19:47:07.957-08:00Day 5: Incubators and AcceleratorsOur last full day in Israel was Thursday, November 19. As usual, we had the superb Israeli breakfast. At this hotel, it was a 100 ft long buffet that from right to left included coffee, juice, various kinds of cheese, fish, salads, fruit, yogurt, breakfast cereal, granola and many kinds of bread. The buffet turned left to the omelet and pancake/Belgian Waffle areas. They are designed to accommodate a range of nationalities. Maybe Israeli breakfasts are part of the reason they are so innovative.<br />
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Our first stop today was to Misgav to visit an incubator called The Trendlines Group. The Office of the Chief Scientist supports 26 incubators around the country. Companies in the incubators can receive up to $600,000 from the Government. This particular incubator was private and was one of two that actually invested in the resident companies. They have three facilities. Misgav focuses on medical devices, biotech and pharmaceuticals. The facility in Mofet focuses on agri-tech, green tech and clean tech energy. They also have a business development consulting arm called Signal. Trendlines has in-house staff support for accounting, regulatory requirements, patents, board management and mentoring. Those also provide business development support for resident companies through Signal. As a consequence, they attract some of the most promising companies in Israel. Some examples in medical devices include:<br />
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• A device that is an artificial sphincter for colostomy patients, attaching directly to the large intestine and allowing the patient to use throw away bags.<br />
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• A blood test for detecting Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS. Currently the only tests are based on symptoms.<br />
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• A new approach to sleep apnea that does away with the face mask and continuous low pressure air.<br />
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• A new aortic valve that can be inserted through an artery, rather than with open heart surgery<br />
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• A new device for childhood scoliosis that requires only minimal surgery to implant the device. It allows the spine curvature to be corrected with stretching and exercise.<br />
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• For asthma patients, a new dry inhaler that monitors whether the pressure and particle size are correct <br />
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Like our other meetings at the WATEC, Weizmann Institute, Ben Gurion University, Technion and the Hadassah, we left with contacts and potential business and research opportunities. We finished the day with a one hour debriefing on what the group’s next steps are going to be. Each of the 27 members has specific follow-up responsibilities that we will track on our South Carolina-Israeli website. <br />
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We finished the day with a tour of Holy sites around the Sea of Galilee and dinner at an Israeli winery. We then boarded the bus for the return to Tel Aviv and the long flight home.<br />
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I have never been on a trip this well organized. There was a wide range of talented people in various fields representing South Carolina. I suspect all of us made lasting friendships. Ford Graham from the Department of Commerce was a great addition. <br />
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A major thanks to Mission Chair Jonathon Zucker and to Tom Glaser and his staff from the American-Israeli Chamber for their incredible organization and vision for what this collaboration can do for South Carolina. <br />
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My next few blogs will review the culture that makes the Israelis so innovative and what SC can learn from Israel. I hope blogs in the future will discuss the successful results of the South Carolina-Israeli collaboration.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-42837067094511462212011-11-16T22:19:00.000-08:002011-11-20T19:42:11.160-08:00Day 4: The Old and the NewWe packed and left the Carlton early this morning traveling North to the ancient City of Caesaria. It is on the eastern end of the Mediterranean and has been conquered, destroyed and rebuilt at least 10 times. From recorded history, it was originally built by the Phoenicians. King Herod (a Jew, but with Roman interests) built into one of the world's great harbors in -10 BCE. Subsequently, the site was destroyed and re-established by the Byzantines, Moslems, Crusaders, French, Turks, British and now the Israelis. The site is a UN World Heritage Site and includes an original theater, a chariot race track, an aqueduct, and other ruins at least 2000 years old. <br />
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Around Caesaria is a beautiful area on land formerly owned by the Rothschild family. When Israel was formed, they turned the land over to the State, who then leased it back to a Foundation. The Foundation then endowed the area to create a community focusing on education, the arts and the public welfare. What they have created is magnificent.<br />
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We then went to Given Imaging at Yokneam. This is the company that invented the pill sized camera that is swallowed and can monitor the esophagus, the small intestine and even the colon. It requires no anesthesia. They have 300 patents, 300 pending patents, and grew from $5 million in sales in 2001 to $175 million in 2011. Their earnings per share have matched the sales growth and they have no debt. We used their building to interview nine other companies for potential collaborations. <br />
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The bus then went to Nazareth for a luncheon with the Nazareth and Galilee Chamber of Commerce. Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel. It was the home of Jesus, and I was astonished to learn that Bethlehem is more than 100 miles away. It was a long way to go to pay taxes, but I learned why they went. Let me just say that I learned more about the history of three of the five major religions in one week than I had previously learned in a lifetime. <br />
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After a quick visit to the Church of the Annunciation, we went to Technion, often called the MIT of Israel. We discussed a potential partnership in nanotechnology. At Technion I saw the same passion for patenting and commercializing new technology that I saw at Ben Gurion University, the Weizmann Institute and the Hadassah. Technion files 100 international patent applications per year.<br />
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Dinner was at a restaurant overlooking the magnificent city and Harbor of Haifa.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-4322337438747061992011-11-15T21:20:00.000-08:002011-11-20T19:38:01.902-08:00Day 3: WATECWATEC is a 20,000 person international convention with representatives from 97 countries. It is primarily a showcase for Israeli equipment and technology. I had the opportunity to participate on a panel in a breakout session called "Doing Business with North America". This particular panel was talking about challenges and opportunities in water.<br />
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They come to this conference because Israel may manage their water resources better than anyone. They get 11 inches of rain on average per year. (The Negev Desert in southern Israel that we visted yesterday is lucky to receive a half inch per year.) Every drop of water is used four times. Every roof top has rainwater collection systems.<br />
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The agricultural areas are irrigated with treated sewage through an extensive purple pipe system. The pipes are literally purple so that people know not to drink the water. <br />
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By 2015, the Israelis have set a goal to not rely on the 11 inches of rain. They are then not hampered as much by drought. By then, they will have two new desalinization plants online and 1/3 of their water will come from desalinization. <br />
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The Government owns all the water, and for that matter, all of the land, except for approximately 6% that the Arabs own. The land is leased under long term agreements to individuals and businesses. It is obvious that owning the land makes infrastructure management easier. <br />
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After my presentation, we met with at least half a dozen businesses that were interested in collaborating in some way with South Carolina. Some of the ideas appear revolutionary. I took ownership of one that involves using enzymes to improve the disinfection of private swimming pools.<br />
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Tonight we had dinner at Deputy Ambassador Tom Goldberger's home. Beautiful house, great dinner, fun day.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-9381305086540503002011-11-14T13:53:00.000-08:002011-11-20T19:27:43.633-08:00Day 2: Startup NationToday we headed South and began to visit with companies and research universities that were potentially interested in collaborations. I have no idea how many companies that we met with, but I think all 27 trade mission delegates had follow-up assignments with specific companies. <br />
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Israel spins out some 700 companies a year. The companies can get up to 50% funding from the Chief Scientist's office. The office receives 2000 applications and funds approximately one in five companies. The company then has an obligation to match money from the State one to one. There are 70 to 100 venture capitalists that typically invest anywhere from $3 million to $300 million in startups. There are organizations like the National Institute for Health (US), Foundations and other companies that can provide matching money. That is one motivation for the SC collaboration.<br />
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At noon, we visited the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot and had an overview of their technology initiatives. Chamir Weizmann was Israel's first President, a Ph.D Chemist and a great believer in research. He perhaps set the tone for the educational and research culture in Israel. <br />
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We took a bus from there to Be'er Sheva for meetings with officers and researchers at Ben Gurion University. There were breakout sessions and I went to the Nanotechnology/Robotics section. I will review only one of probably 20 technologies that were discussed. It was a five foot robotic snake probably five inches thick. It moved like a real snake, was painted black and could climb walls. John Warner wanted to take it home with him. One could wreak havoc with such a device. In fact, I could see no other real purpose, except that they could make a fortune selling them on Amazon.com.<br />
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From there, we headed east to the Negev Desert. Our destination was a Bedouin camp, about 30 minutes from the Dead Sea. This was not a flat desert, but mountainous and mostly devoid of vegetation. The Bedouin's were essentially nomads with an acute sense of nature. They were trekkers that could read the desert like a book. They owned camels for transportation and large tents as mobile homes. The one that we had dinner in was probably 100 ft by 40 ft. We had a lecture from a Bedouin and then a fabulous dinner. <br />
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Quote of the Day: "The Life of the Bedouin woman was hard, including cooking, cleaning, child rearing, animal caring, and hosting frequent unannounced guests. If the work got to be too great, the husband would simply find another wife. They could then share the work." <br />
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Such generosity could result in a wife #3 as well. Somebody asked about three mother-in-laws. "Not a problem," we were told, "the wives were simply sharing the work." <br />
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On the way to the camp, we encountered an unusual desert phenomena: rain. OK, it was only enough to wet the windshield on the bus, but we were told that the desert would turn green in two weeks. There were seeds that had been waiting five years for moisture. More about water tomorrow when I will attend and speak at WATEC, an international water conference with 20,000 attendees. <br />
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Good night from Tel Aviv, where there has been a WATEC welcoming rain on and off for the last 24 hours.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-19233867802136679792011-11-13T13:48:00.000-08:002011-11-20T05:53:33.568-08:00Day 1: Jerusalem, Lift Up Your Gates and SingSunday is the first day of the Israeli work week, and we dutifully left the Hotel at 7:45 AM to drive to Jerusalem, the capital and largest city (750,000) in Israel. Our first meeting of the day was with the Trade Ministry and the Chief Scientist. It was the first time that I truly appreciated what a credible delegation that SC has. Russ Keller with SCRA stayed on after the meeting to try and negotiate a Memo of Understanding. Quote of the meeting. "Israelis are very direct. There is no word in Hebrew for 'tact.'"<br />
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Then, we split. I went with Tom Vogt, the Director of USC's Nano Center and Vincent Giurgiutiu, the Interim Dean for Research and Grduate Engineering, to visit 3G Solar. They have accumulated 13 patents on the dye solar cell as an alternative to silicon solar cells. I won't get into technical details, but Dr. Vogt, an expert in electrochemistry, was very impressed. If he were a venture capitalist, he said that he would invest.<br />
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We then joined the rest of the group at the Hadassah Medical Organization. This is an architecturally stunning medical school, medical research facility and hospital. In the center is a Synagogue with 12 large Marc Chagall stained glass windows. When I can figure out how to load a picture, I will include it in the blog. The luncheon was hosted by a law firm that specializes in intellectural property.<br />
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Our next stop was the Israeli Holocaust Memorial. Words will not adequately describe this experience. The museum winds through the Jewish experience from about 1933 until 1948. Six million Jews were exterminated, including 1.5 million children. Rather than describe it, the following link offers virtual tours.<br />
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http://www.yadvashem.org/<br />
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At the end of the historical museum, we went through a special children's area. It is a cave, dark and with stars above. The names of the children, where they were from and how old they were, are being read. I'm not sure there was a dry eye when we came out. We then went to a special monument to a man who had established an orphanage for Jewish children. It lacks one arm, because he was unable to save them. Jonathon Zucker placed a wreath from SC on the statue. Jonathon lost 13 direct family members in the Holocaust and probably hundreds of cousins and other distant relatives. The only one to survive was his grandfather, who lost his wife, but met and married a childhood friend in Israel. <br />
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Quote of meeting #1. "It was the most highly educated people in Germany that chose to exterminate the Jews." Quote #2. "We would not be here if Jonathon Zucker's grandfather had not survived. Think of how many other families like the Zuckers never had the chance to succeed." Third quote: "We will never forget and never forgive. However, Germany has become our best business partner on Earth."<br />
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An example of the last quote. Israel placed an order for submarines with Siemans in Germany. The Germans decided to give the first two submarines at no charge.<br />
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From there, we went to the Old City of Jerusalem, which is divided into four quadrants: Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian. We walked three of the four quadrants and then spent an hour in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is on the site where Jesus was crucified, cleansed and buried. The management of the church is shared by the Armenians, the Greek Orthdox Church and the Roman Catholics. A large "bigger is better" tower by the Muslims is next door. At 5:00 PM, choirs for all three religions sing at prayer services. It was magnificent. Google the church for details.<br />
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We closed the day by going to the most holy of all Jewish sites, the Wailing Wall, at Mt. Moriah. It dates to the second century and was originally a magnificent temple some 530 meters long and 130 meters wide. The Wailing Wall is actually a retaining wall. The Jordanians controlled the site and prevented Israeli access until the 1967 war. The original wall was used as a foundation for a Muslim Temple. I suspect all of us prayed at the wall.<br />
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We closed the evening with dinner and an expert in current Israeli politics. He said that Israel's great failure has been their inability to attain peace in the Middle East. There are no agreements with any of the Middle East countries and the Arab Spring (a term for the recent uprisings) has created substantial uncertainty.<br />
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The Holocaust victims that survived the German concentration camps first tried to return to their homes in Germany, Poland and other parts of Europe. People occupied their former homes and threatened to shoot the Jews if they tried to take over. The British occupied Israel and would not accept Jewish immigrants. The displaced went back to the concentration camps and set up societies. Britain left Israel in 1948 and the United Nations partitioned an Independent Israel. The country was open to Jewish immigrants, only to have the Arabs in Isreal wage war two days after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. The Israelis had no military training, no arms, no fighting skills, but incredible motivation. Less than two years later, they won the war.<br />
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Maybe Tom Glaser of the American Israeli Chamber said it best: "To understand the phenomenal success of Israel, you must understand where they came from."<br />
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I'm sorry of the length of this blog, but I can't remember a more memorable day.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-79077583187833648862011-11-12T18:34:00.000-08:002011-11-20T05:35:53.979-08:00IsraelI am pleased to be a part of the SC Trade Mission to Israel. Headed by Chairman Jonathon Zucker and the American Israeli Chamber of Commerce, 27 South Carolinians made the 24 hour journey to Tel Aviv. (The actual flight time from New York to Tel Aviv was 10 hours, but increased security, getting from Charlotte to JFK and just international travel add to the time.)<br />
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As many of you know, Israel is the second most innovative economy on earth. Significant innovations that came from companies in Israel include: the jump drive, the cell phone, voice over internet protocol, cordless phones, call centers, the desktop pentium chip, the laptop centrino, the DVD, plasma TV, LCD TV, cable TV, data compression, satellite TV, Firewalls, instant messaging and much, much more. Some of these innovations were with Israelis working for American companies like Intel, but they came out of Israel. For a discussion of this incredible success, see the book <i>Startup Nation </i>by Dan Senor and Saul Singer.<br />
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Israel has only 7.5 million people, but there is a culture here that rivals Silicon Valley. Tel Aviv is an international city that has been called the capital of cool. It's the second largest city in Israel with a population of 610,000 in the City and 3 million in the County. (Ignore my previous post that said Tel Aviv was smaller than Greenville County. I relied on Wickipedia.) We are at the Carlton Hotel that overlooks the Mediterranean. It has the fastest wireless internet connection I have ever seen. <br />
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SC is interested in establish both research collaborations and new business relationships in six key cluster areas. Those areas are:<br />
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Sustainable Systems (Agriculture, Water, Energy)<br />
Biomedical<br />
Transportation (Automotive and Aerospace)<br />
Insurance and Health Information Technology<br />
Defense/Security<br />
Advanced Materials<br />
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This week we will try to connect with the Israelis at different levels. We will try to better understand what made the country so innovative and how SC can benefit both the Israeli companies and ourselves. We will also try to develop opportunities for Israeli companies in SC.<br />
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I hope you will follow the daily blog posts.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-32319821137463898452011-10-07T07:48:00.000-07:002011-10-07T10:44:18.257-07:00Tire ClusterON October 6, the Governor and Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt announced that Continental Tire will build a $500 million tire plant in Sumter that will eventually employ 1700 people. Continental's North American headquarters is in Fort Mill, SC.<br />
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Last month, Bridgestone Corporation announced a $1.2 billion tire plant in Aiken that will employ 850 people. This will be the largest initial investment ever in South Carolina. <br />
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Michelin Tire is SC's largest private employer, with their North American headquarters in Greenville and seven plants in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson and Lexington Counties that employ 7,711 people. They also have a research center in Greenville and a test track in Laurens County. Michelin announced a $200 million expansion of their Lexington plant in May.<br />
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Michelin is headquartered in France, Continental in Germany and Bridgestone/Firestone in Japan. Combined these companies will make South Carolina the largest producer of tires in the United States.<br />
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In addition, TBC Corporation (Tire Kingdom and other brands) has a one million square foot tire distribution facility in Charleston. In June, Tire International announced a $25 million tire and rubber recycling facility in Charleston. <br />
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Dr. Porter says that companies co-locate in clusters. There may be many reasons: business environment, right to work laws, incentives, the presence of a trained workforce, the ports of Savannah and Charleston, etc. The tire industry is clearly emerging as one of South Carolina's major clusters.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-30655298372385589462011-07-28T18:57:00.000-07:002011-07-28T18:57:30.250-07:00South Carolina Israeli Trade MissionBy George Fletcher<br />
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For the past six months, I have had the privilege of working with a group called the South Carolina/Israeli collaboration. Chaired by Charleston’s Jonathon Zucker, the group is working with the American Israeli Chamber in Atlanta on partnerships between the SC research universities and Israeli universities, as well as establishing business relationships in six clusters. New Carolina was invited to join the collaboration because of our data base on clusters. The six target clusters are Biomedical, Advanced Materials, Sustainable Systems (water, energy, agriculture), Transportation (auto, aerospace), Defense/Security and Insurance and Health Information Technology. SC obviously has signficant strengths in these clusters.<br />
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Educational session were held at the Greenville Chamber and the Columbia Chamber on July 27th and at the CRDA offices in Charleston on July 28th. Background information on the collaboration was presented. Israel produces more high tech companies than anyplace other than Silicon Valley. Innovation that came from Israel included the DVD, the jump drive, the cellphone, voice over internet, voice mail, plasma and LCD TV’s, firewalls and many other innovations in medical devices, security and weapons. The culture for innovation was documented in the book Startup Nation which I highly recommend. <br />
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The collaboration would like to recruit a group of key SC people for a trade mission on the week before Thanksgiving. Details on the mission, itineraries and participant applications are on a recently created website http://sc-israel.org.<br />
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As many of you know, I am a recovering engineer who’s expertise was in water and wastewater. During the proposed week of the trade mission, Israel is hosting WATEC, an international water conference that will attract 20,000 people. Israel uses every drop of water 4 times. They have planted 450 million trees in the desert. They invented drip irrigation. The conference will showcase some of the Israeli innovations in water. Over the past two days, we have had 20 of the leaders in water meet with Booky Oren, the conference chairman and one of the great Israeli private sector innovators in water technologies. I believe that a separate partnership will develop in the area of water and wastewater reuse.<br />
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Thanks to Tom Glaser of the American Israeli Chamber of Commerce, and to Jonathon Zucker, CEO of Intertech, for driving this effort.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-60451586552482581932011-07-25T07:38:00.000-07:002011-07-26T07:19:34.311-07:00Harvard Business School Case Studyby George Fletcher<br />
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Michael Porter's think tank at the Harvard Business School is called the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness (ISCC). That is the organization that is managing the EDA funded Cluster Mapping Project, of which New Carolina is a team member.<br />
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Dr. Porter teaches one course at Harvard on regional competitiveness. That course is licensed to almost 100 Universities around the world through an organization called the Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC). The Moore School at USC is a member of that consortium. Every year representative of the MOC go to Harvard in December to get an update on research and recent ISCC activities.<br />
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Last weeks, Dr. Jorge Ramirez from ISCC was in Columbia to collect information on a case study for the MOC. This study will review all activites of New Carolina since Dr. Porter was here in 2003. The idea of the case study is to provide the facts of the situation and the students will provide approaches to the problem. A separte document will be developed for the faculty saying what actually happened.<br />
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This is an incredible opportunity for New Carolina and the State of Scuth Carolina. Probably 10,000 students a year will review clustering activities in South Carolina and think through what should be done to advance these clusters. Ed Sellers and I have been invited to address the MOC reps in December.<br />
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Thanks to Ed Sellers, Amy Love, Chad Prosser, Scott Carlberg, Neil McLean, Steve Warner, Jim Reynolds and Don Herriott for taking the time to speak with Jorge Ramirez. We gave him detailed information on the other clusters and there may be follow-up. <br />
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The case will be available to groups around the world for purchase. The work of the hundreds of New Carolina volunteers will be memorialized.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-1972530772223015132011-07-21T17:40:00.000-07:002011-07-21T17:40:24.538-07:00Midlands Clustersby George Fletcher<br />
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Congratulations to Amy Love, who has already been promoted from Senior Manager of Global Business Development to Marketing and Communications Director at the SC Department of Commerce. In that role, she will be in constant contact with the Governor, the Secretary of Commerce and his senior staff. I know she will do a great job.<br />
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I have not used this blog as I should have. In the post Amy world of New Carolina communications, I will try to improve. <br />
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On Tuesday, July 19, I attended a meeting of the Midlands Cluster Oversight Committee. This group is Chaired by Cathy Novinger and has approximately 20 members. Staffing is being provided by Neil McLean and Sagacious Partners. This is an excellent model for regional clusters, especially when Cathy and Neil provide the leadership.<br />
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The committee has identified four cluster areas: Clean Energy (specifically Fuel Cells and Nuclear), Insurance and Health Care Technology, Health Care/Health Sciences. With nuclear, they are taking our multi-state approach and finding niches that can be specifically applied to the Midlands.<br />
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Many people believe that the next big thing in Nuclear will be Small Modular Reactors (SMR’s). There was a conference in Columbia this spring on SMR’s and nearly 300 people from all over the country paid $2000 to attend a two day conference. These 250 MW units could potentially replace coal plants in the US or provide power to some of the planet’s remotest places. Alaska, for example, has a huge interest in SMR’s. Senior nuclear people at SCANA and the Savannah River Site think that research, testing and manufacturing of these units could and should take place in SC. Congress is considering appropriating $400 million or more to this purpose. One manufacture believes that exports could hit $100 billion by 2030. To put that number in perspective, BMW currently ships 700 cars per day though the Port of Charleston and that amounts to $4.2 billion.<br />
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The Midlands Nuclear Cluster group is called NuHub and it demonstrates exactly the kind of private sector driven economic development that is the hallmark of successful cluster strategies.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-86127590457694000222011-04-08T13:25:00.000-07:002011-04-08T13:28:03.559-07:00Entrepreneurship Conversation Leads to High Impact RecommendationsBy Garry Powers<br />
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Director of Economic Development Initiatives<br />
CTC Public Benefit Corporation<br />
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New Carolina’s High Impact Entrepreneurship conference was held on April 7. About 125 participants from both urban and rural counties throughout the state met to have a conversation on how we can work together to build a stronger base of homegrown firms. <br />
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Our goals for the conference were to:<br />
<ul><li>Learn more about the types of homegrown firms that are creating most of the jobs and wealth in the state. </li>
<li>Understand the factors that can help high impact firms expand in our state. </li>
<li>Obtain information about the entrepreneurship strategies that work in other regions of the country.</li>
<li>Discuss some specific steps that we can take in South Carolina to promote high impact entrepreneurship.</li>
</ul><u><b>1. Who is Creating Jobs? </b></u><br />
Research presented by USC professor Dr. Doug Woodward indicated that: <br />
<ul><li>Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees are creating a disproportionately large share of South Carolina’s jobs.</li>
<li>In any four-year period during the last 10 years, 2.5 percent of all South Carolina-based “high impact” firms created almost all of the net new jobs in the state.</li>
<li>“High impact” firms are spread across industry sectors. </li>
<li>High-impact firms are highly urban. </li>
<li>About half are in traded sectors of the economy. </li>
<li>South Carolina is not growing as many small firms into big firms as our neighboring states. </li>
</ul><u><b>2. What are the Needs of High Impact Companies?</b></u> <br />
Based on interviews with South Carolina’s high growth firms and economic developers in the state, six of the most critical constraints to growth fall into the following categories:<br />
<ul><li> Lack of Access to Affordable Financing</li>
<li>Lack of High-level Management Talent </li>
<li>High Business-related Taxes in Some Areas </li>
<li>Need for more Collaboration Related to Innovation </li>
<li>A Less than Robust Entrepreneurial Culture </li>
<li>Difficulties in Attracting and Retaining High-level Professional and Technical Workers. </li>
</ul><u><b>3. What Strategies Work in Other Regions? </b></u><br />
Kurt Dassell with the Monitor Group, a global economic development consulting firm, indicated that many regions have difficulties implementing entrepreneurship strategies because: (1) they try and fail to become the next Silicon Valley, and (2) they do not understand their particular region’s strengths and weaknesses and - consequently - they do not pursue solutions that are tailored to their regions. He recommended that South Carolina should focus on a small number of initiatives designed to increase the base of management talent and to improve access to financing. <br />
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<u><b>4. What are the Next Steps? </b></u><br />
In collaboration with the economic development community and the organizations that provide services to entrepreneurs, New Carolina has pledged to identify three or four recommendations on strategies that can help to build a stronger base of homegrown firms. Stay tuned. We are still digesting the information from the conference. <br />
There was one clear message from conference participants, though. They identified a strong need for a highly visible statewide “portal” that is recognized as the one place that entrepreneurs and service providers can go to find resources and information. That is an idea that will be explored further. <br />
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<u><b>5. One Other Success Story </b></u><br />
During the conference, representatives from the organizations that currently operate or plan to open an incubator met to form the South Carolina Incubator Association. Thanks to Joel Stevenson, the Executive Director of the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator, for taking the lead on this initiative. <br />
<ul></ul>New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-46243909657088721892011-04-06T09:05:00.000-07:002011-04-06T09:05:46.840-07:00How do we gain more ground, faster<div class="MsoNormal">By C. Grant Jackson</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Senior Vice President/Community Development<br />
The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and New Carolina Partner</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Per Capita Income in South Carolina continues to head in the right direction. That was part of the story out of the data released late last month by the <a href="http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/sqpi_newsrelease.htm">U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis</a>. Just not fast enough. That was the rest of the story hidden in the mass of BEA data.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">South Carolina’s per capita income, a metric that has been tied to New Carolina since its beginning nearly 10 years ago as South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness, is now $33,163. That compares to $26,132 in 2003 when Harvard professor Michael Porter came to South Carolina to present his economic analysis and recommended South Carolina form a public-private partnership to tackle a cluster strategy for moving the state’s economy forward. That led to New Carolina.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Since Porter’s study and the creation of New Carolina, per capita income has increased, just not enough and just not quickly enough. It has continued to hover around 81-82% of the national average – $33,163 is 81.7% of the current national average of $40,584. We also currently rank 45 in per capita income among the states. Those lower than us: Arkansas 46 at $33,150, West Virginia 47 at $32,641, Utah 48 at $32,595, Idaho 49 at $32,257, and (I won’t say it) Mississippi 50 at $31,186. By the way, we’ve actually ranked higher – in 2003 we were 42<sup>nd</sup> at $33,041 and 83% of the national average of $31,632.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you notice that 2003 national average is actually less than our state’s current per capita income. And that is the problem: as we gain ground, others are gaining a lot more. That is the real message: if we want South Carolina to break out of the 81-82% of the national average, we’ve got to find a way to grow quicker. </div><div class="MsoNormal">We often quote Michael Porter as saying, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” But to win a marathon at some point you’ve got to run faster and overtake the other guy. So as New Carolina moves toward closing its first decade I’d like to start a race strategy conversation: how do we move up in the pack? </div>New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-57799299818381151052010-12-13T08:47:00.000-08:002010-12-13T08:47:46.860-08:002010 Economic Outlook Conference, by guest blogger and New Carolina Intern, William Raffety<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">The 2010 Annual Economic Outlook Conference was a great success. Dr. Douglas Woodward, Dr. Joseph Von Nessen, and Zoltan J. Acs gave insightful presentations on the current status of the <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region></place> and South Carolinian economy, as well as predictions for this upcoming year and beyond. After giving an informative overview of the current fiscal and monetary policy, Dr. Woodward concluded that the <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region></place> will continue to slowly recover from the recession using both these policies as temporary crutches. However, he also reassured the conference that the fear of hyper-inflation is misguided and the long term cost of the bailouts is misinterpreted. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Relative to other historical <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">United States</place></country-region> recessions, the recent recession has seen a slow improvement in the recovering employment rates. The conference took an interesting approach to a possible solution to this problem: entrepreneurship and small businesses. A three member panel, consisting of Garry Powers, John Denise, and George Fletcher, discussed the issue of small businesses and the economic recovery in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">South Carolina</place></state>. Zoltan J. Acs expanded on their thoughts by presenting on Entrepreneurship and “gazelle” firms. He believes these quickly growing firms are largely created by entrepreneurs fueled by innovation, improved efficiency, and re-allocated factors. In order to create these strong entrepreneurial firms, Mr. Acs suggested we focus on the 3 A’s: the attitude of the population, the activity of the entrepreneurs, and the aspirations of the few. With those ingredients, new companies can create jobs and opportunities while expanding and improving markets.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">As I have learned while working with the New Carolina clusters, this entrepreneurial energy truly is the fuel for growth and expansion. However, it is not possible if the population, government, and markets do not support the proposed ideas. It is also not possible without setting long term goals. New <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Carolina</place></city>’s clusters are working to do just that; focusing on possibilities and narrowing their vision to expanding firms’ strategies, creating a sustainable market for innovative ideas and investments, and setting achievable goals that will provide results and significant accomplishments.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">The final consensus of the conference was that the economy will continue to recover at a steady, but slow, pace in 2011. Dr. Von Nessen predicted the state unemployment rate to decrease about 1.2% in 2011. If that rate remains constant, allowing for some fluctuation, it will take 3-6 years to get <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">South Carolina</place></state> back to normal rates. In my opinion, the short term key to increasing the rate of unemployment reduction is entrepreneurship and a focus on fast growing firms. I believe the recession brought out the flaws of some companies while highlighting efficient strategies of others. It also provided a sobering realization of corrections that need to be made in certain industries as well as the potential found in underrepresented, expanding industries. Now that the recession is over and recovery is under way, opportunities are opening up once again, and innovative ideas are being demanded. New <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Carolina</place></city>’s cluster initiative is working to focus on these expanding industries and help their expansion while providing a catalyst for innovative ideas to branch out throughout an entire industry. By connecting ideas from growing firms to struggling firms, New Carolina is providing a support system that allows the state to grow as a whole without leaving certain distressed areas behind or underrepresented.</div><br />
William Raffety<br />
student, University of South Carolina Honors College<br />
major, International Business and EconomicsNew Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2921279616368339580.post-79530970771318636972010-12-03T21:27:00.000-08:002010-12-03T21:27:31.166-08:00Dr. Patrick MooreDr. Patrick Moore was in the Upstate during the week beginning November 28. Dr. Moore was one of the founders of Greenpeace, and is now a Co-Founded with former EPA Administrator and former Governor of New Jersey, Christie Todd Whitman. Their organization is CASE, Clean and Safe Energy. It is a nuclear power advocate.<br />
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Dr. Moore spoke to a group in the Fluor cafeteria in Greenville. He said that nuclear power is the only safe and clean renewable that can provide carbonless baseload power for the next 1000 years. Its safety record is unmatched in almost any industry. He called solar power and wind power "pipe dreams." Their intermittant nature and inherent cost will not make them competitive. He said that future technologies for nuclear power will reduce the capital costs and the consume the waste in the reactor itself. <br />
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Dr. Moore has recently written a book called "Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout." It can be pre-ordered on the website <a href="http://www.sensibleenvironmentalist.com/">http://www.sensibleenvironmentalist.com/</a>.New Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15227547602585646721noreply@blogger.com0