From textiles to tech: SC manufacturing surges ahead

Since the 20^th century, manufacturing has powered South Carolina’s economic engine. Though textiles aren’t running the show anymore, the industry that built the state has evolved with the times, driving innovation and growth on a national scale.

A 2021 study by the University of South Carolina Moore School of Business estimated the state’s total economic impact of manufacturing is around $200 billion.

As South Carolina shifts through a pandemic, recession, tariffs and technological advances, the state is experiencing a decrease in manufacturing employment, but an increase in advanced skillsets, growth in production while becoming a location of interest for global headquarters.

“Manufacturing has been the backbone of the state’s economy for more than 100 years and remains strong,” Harry Lightsey, South Carolina Department of Commerce secretary, said in an email. “South Carolina has worked hard to diversify since the decline of the textile industry, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.”

An evolution in South Carolina employment and production

The risk of technology replacing human jobs has been shrugged off since “The Jetsons” and “Wall-e” made their debut, but the dwindling employment in an otherwise bustling South Carolina manufacturing industry may be proving the point correct.

With data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ETQ performed a study analyzing the manufacturing changes in employment from 2000 to 2024 in all states excluding Hawaii.

In the study, South Carolina ranked in the dead center of all other states for change in manufacturing employment, decreasing 21.3% in that timeframe. Of the 49 states, only six have seen an increase in manufacturing employment in the 24-year period.

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Today, South Carolina has 263,747 people working in the manufacturing field, making up 14% of the overall state employment. In 2000, there were 335,118 people working in manufacturing, or 22% of the state’s workforce. That’s a decrease of 21% since 2000.

Prior to the 2008 recession, textiles led the manufacturing in South Carolina. Joey Von Nessen, research economist at the University of South Carolina Darla School of Business, said since 2010, advanced manufacturing has attained the leading position for the industry’s employment and has experienced112% growth, larger than any other southeastern state.

“So, when we get into employment changes, it’s important to recognize that at the same time that textile manufacturing employment was declining, we saw advanced manufacturing employment rise,” Von Nessen said.

The automotive sector arrived in the state between the 1970s and1990s, budding a momentum of large manufacturers interested in expanding into South Carolina following BMW and Michelin’s lead.

Despite the ebbs and flows of employment, product output remains on the rise with a 36% increase in GDP since 2000, according to the ETQ study.

Von Nessen said the key to maintaining the strength of South Carolina’s production is a successful global logistics market. The population growth in the state also plays a role in economic success for industries such as manufacturing

“We can’t rest our laurels because this is the region of the country that is seeing the bulk of economic growth,” Von Nessen said. “That means that South Carolina has to look for ways to continue to build its competitive advantage when it’s trying to compete with either Georgia or Alabama or Tennessee or other states around the country for new companies that are looking to make a location decision.”

Advancing technology and technical skills in manufacturing

This isn’t your grandfather’s manufacturing industry anymore, especially in South Carolina.

Gone are the images of a grimy shop floor. Those have been replaced with futuristic workplaces with technology as the focus.

BMW Group, for example, conducted a trial run lasting several weeks last year where a humanoid robot from California company Figure successfully performed its task of creating manufacturing parts, which then were assembled as part of the chassis at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in the Upstate.

The automaker called it a successful test of humanoid robots.

BMW calls its vision for future production the iFACTORY, an initiative to always be on the lookout for new technologies that lead to efficiency, digitalization and sustainability.

“The developments in the field of robotics are very promising,” Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management for Production at BMW AG, said at the time. “With an early test operation, we are now determining possible applications for humanoid robots in production. We want to accompany this technology from development to industrialization.”

Anders Bell, chief engineering and technology officer for Volvo, which has a sprawling plant at the Camp Hall industrial center in the Lowcountry, said the brand’s success goes beyond simply manufacturing cars, but also being a leader in technology.

“It’s a massive transition for us as a company, not only being a car company, but also being a software company,” Bell said. “It’s not either/or. You need to be both in 2025. Looking back with some perspective, we’re one of the very few legacy car makers who pulled it off.”

The plant supports about 2,000 jobs today with a projected 4,000 jobs in the future to increase efficiency. The company recently announced it has invested $1.3 billion in the plant over the past 10 years, and it’s not done — it plans to expand production to include a hybrid model by 2030.

As technology has developed and become more accessible, Francesca Gamboni, chief industrial operations officer, points out that robots are introduced to Volvo assembly lines, not as replacements for people, but next to employees as support for jobs.

To operate a plant like the Volvo facility, a large portion of the assembly lines are automated and loaded with multiple types of machinery and tech equipment. To hire someone for a job like that, their readiness from education programs, whether in universities, tech colleges or through Volvo directly, has to meet advanced technology requirements.

It’s a huge challenge: The U.S. is projected to face a shortage of over 2 million skilled manufacturing workers by 2030, with hundreds of thousands of positions already unfilled, according to the ETQ study.

Tim Hardee, president of the South Carolina Technical College System, knows first-hand what it’s like to prepare a young workforce for a fast pace, ever changing industrial environment.

“Years and years ago, people thought of manufacturing as the three D’s: dark, dirty and dangerous,” Hardee said. “Well, if you fast-forward 50 years, I started using the term four H’s, which is high tech, high pay, high demand and high mobility.”

For a lot of employers, Hardee says they are looking for not only the qualifications for the positions and real-world experience, but also the ability to work as a team.

Large companies like Volvo and BMW, which are establishing facilities in South Carolina, are expecting local workers to be working in apprenticeships while completing their programs, Hardee said. The SC Technical College System has about 7,000 apprenticeships across the state right now with longstanding relationships with brands such as BMW, Michelin and Boeing.

“Just in our name is the word technical, so we are technology oriented,” Hardee said. “Sixty years ago, we taught sewing machine operators and typing, obviously we no longer teach those. Now we teach cyber security and programs that are more technologically oriented because that’s where the demand is.”

As the demand in manufacturing changes, so do the courses and priorities for students going through those programs. For Hardee, advancements in technology require a more skilled workforce and help workers in the field.

There are 70 active projects with 13,000 positions looking to be filled with the help of the tech colleges, Hardee said. The state graduates about 17,000 people a year, a third of which are in health care.

Adjusting South Carolina manufacturing to national needs

Coming into U.S. production at the South Carolina plant looks different than expansions to other countries. For example, the United States is not yet set up to manage fully electric cars like other countries are, Håkan Samuelsson, CEO and president of Volvo Cars, said.

For the American market, Samuelsson said new models will be made with more room for bigger families as well as more power through a hybrid design.

“The world is developing into more independent regions,” Samuelsson said. “The cars are not exactly the same, it’s not the same color, it’s not the same preferences so you don’t market them the same way. Also to have faster deliveries we need to build where we sale. Tariffs have accelerated this process.”

Volvo is currently looking into producing batteries in the United States rather than importing from abroad. Right now, Volvo uses 60% U.S. suppliers and 11% South Carolina suppliers at the Ridgeville facility.

Nevada-based Redwood Materials is getting in on the action. The EV battery recycler and manufacturer, founded by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straub, is building a $3.5 billion plant right next to Volvo at Camp Hall that is expected to open later this year, eyeing less dependence on foreign countries for raw materials essential in building EV batteries.

Miguel Tavera, vice president of global logistics for Volvo, said the supply chain and manufacturing has faced many setbacks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and varying tariffs, but being able to localize as much as they can to the region they are producing creates resilience.

Where is South Carolina manufacturing today?

South Carolina manufacturing continues to rise, creating a name for the state beyond its traditional magnetism of tourism and Southern charm. Lightsey said one of the draws to South Carolina is the growth of economic development including the manufacturing industry. If the state has well-paying jobs and a high standard of living, people are less likely to have a need to relocate.

“Very soon I don’t think we’ll be talking about how South Carolina is growing, we’ll be talking about how South Carolina has been extremely established and is all grown up,” Tavera said. “I think there’s a fantastic future in this state.”

Lightsey credits accessible trade and logistics ports both with the Port of Charleston and inland ports, airports and interstates.

Automotive, aerospace and advanced manufacturing have remained the top employers in the state for many years, Lightsey said. South Carolina is the national leader in exporting passenger vehicles and tires.

“Today’s manufacturers are creating new jobs that, while fewer in number, require higher level skills,” Lightsey said. “These jobs are typically viewed as higher quality and higher paying than those of the past. As manufacturing transforms with technology, processes change, and workers need specialized skills and the ability to understand holistic processes.”

The biotech sector is the fastest growing industry for South Carolina, with other new technologies and advanced energy, Lightsey said. Over the next 10 to 20 years, he said technology will continue to advance efficiency, while colleges and universities remain positioned to prepare a “next-generation workforce.”

Von Nessen sees a bright future.

“The short run uncertainty generated by the tariff negotiations doesn’t change our long run projections for manufacturing in South Carolina or the long run trends that we are seeing,” Von Nessen said. “We are still very bullish for growth in manufacturing over the next decade.”

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