What’s Greenville’s secret weapon to economic success? Report says it’s this group

The Greenville metropolitan area has outpaced the rest of South Carolina in its rate of economic growth, and the Greenville Area Development Corp. has had a major role, most recently bringing in $6 billion a year, according to a new study by the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.

The report, released Wednesday, said since the GADC was started by Greenville County 20 years ago, it has been responsible for a total economic investment of $55 billion.

Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist with USC, said in addition he found Greenville County has diversified the types of businesses it has attracted.

Once a major world textile center, Greenville County slumped when mill owners began moving their manufacturing overseas. Over the course of a few decades, the impact of textiles diminished substantially.

Von Nessen said Greenville County’s economy has moved from agriculture to textiles to technology, which he labeled “low economy” to “capital investment” to “innovation.”

Greenville County’s top five industries are manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; education and health; and leisure and hospitality.

The professional and business services sector has grown increasingly strong, surpassing manufacturing in terms of the number of jobs created. Those five sectors account for 83% of employment.

Mark Farris, chief executive officer of GADC, said the organization has worked with 325 companies, including DC Blox, that ultimately located in Greenville County. Farris has said GADC has been courting a data center like DC Blox for years. The Atlanta-based company’s center will be completed in October.

Farris said that last year, during the pandemic, the GADC had a record number of business announcements — 25. Some were new to the area, and some were expansions of existing businesses, he said. The businesses ran the gamut from small to large, public to private, foreign to domestic, and manufacturing to office.

He said GADC is undergoing a strategic planning process to position it to excel in the aftermath of the coronavirus.

He said they are looking at changes in business practices and what opportunities are available.

Farris said central to what they do at GADC is a plaque in every office that says, “What can I do to position Greenville to win?”