Zeus plans $75M expansion; company adding 350 jobs in Calhoun County

The facility will result in the creation of 350 new jobs over the next several years.

“Zeus has been a friend to South Carolina for decades, and we’re grateful for the continued commitment they’re showing to our people and the Calhoun County community by investing and creating more than 350 jobs there," Gov. Henry McMaster said in a press release.

The new manufacturing facility will be built off of Interstate 26 near Exit 119. It will be located about two miles from the company’s existing Gaston facility on property purchased from Eastman Chemical Company for $563,460, according to Orangeburg County records.

The facility is projected to be completed in 2019.

The expansion also includes the purchase of an existing, 80,000-square-foot warehouse in St. Matthews at 2759 Old Belleville Road.

“We are truly excited about expanding our presence in Calhoun County," Zeus Industrial Products President and CEO John Winarchick said.

"We have been pleased with all of the local and state support that we have received since commencing our Gaston operations back in 1996. We remain committed to being a good citizen of the county, meeting and exceeding the needs of our customers and, most importantly, providing quality careers for all of our employees in an atmosphere that will allow them to flourish,” he said.

The initial phase of hiring for new positions will begin during the first quarter of 2018. Interested applicants should visit the company’s careers page online for more information.

"The bulk of the 350 jobs will be production jobs paying our standard hourly rate of $20 an hour with full company benefits," said Scott Lloyd, Zeus general counsel and vice president of administration.

The expansion will have no impact on the company's existing Gaston plant operations, Lloyd said.

Zeus received a number of incentives for the expansion, including job development tax credits from the Coordinating Council for Economic Development and a joint industrial park incentive. It will also receive a 30-year fee-in-lieu of property taxes incentive, with the fee based on a 6 percent assessment ratio on both properties.

Zeus also received a 15-percent special source revenue credit that will last 10 years.

A $1 million Rural Infrastructure Fund grant was awarded to Calhoun County to assist with the cost of site preparation and building construction.

Zeus officials said they expected the warehouse to be operational by the middle of April. An additional 10 to 20 jobs will be added for the facility.

According to county property records, Zeus purchased the vacant, 84,000-square-foot building for $1.2 million from Carter and Hudgins Holdings LLC. The property sits on about 14 acres.

It was most recently the site of Electric Controller and Manufacturing Company. The company closed its doors in November 2016.

Zeus says the building will be used for storing raw material and finished goods.

The company will be relocating people and materials from its existing South Carolina plants to the building, freeing up additional manufacturing space at those plants.

“It is always exciting when a business chooses to invest its dollars into Calhoun County, but when an existing industry with a long-term relationship in our county chooses to expand their operations, it is a cause for celebration," Calhoun County Council Chairman David K. Summers Jr. said.

"We are thrilled that Zeus’ footprint in Calhoun County will be growing, and we know their future endeavors will be successful,” he said.

Summers said the county, “continues to provide low taxes, reasonable regulation and a business-friendly environment, making a fertile field ripe for new investments.”

Founded in 1966, Zeus develops and manufactures polymer tubing for a variety of industries including the medical, fluid handling and electrical markets.

Since it arrived in Orangeburg in 1981, Zeus has continued to grow its business as it has obtained a certification in the aerospace sector as well as expanding its polymathic analytical labs. In 2013, Zeus opened a new plant in New Jersey, enabling the company to consolidate its extrusion technology and personnel at one site.

The company also has sites in Aiken as well as in Ireland and China. It employs about 1,250 globally.