The Florence County Economic Development Partnership (“FCEDP”) is pleased to announce that New Millennium Building Systems, one of the nation's leading suppliers of joists and girders, has finalized plans to expand in Florence County.   The $15 million expansion project will include acquisition of additional property, forty new employees, construction of new buildings and the purchase of new equipment.

New Millennium Building Systems, formally Socar, Inc. was acquired in a merger in 2006.  Steel Dynamics of Ft. Wayne, IN purchased Roanoke Electric Steel Corporation in April, 2006.  Roanoke was the parent company of Socar.  In the purchase, Socar became part of New Millennium, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Steel Dynamics.  New Millennium now has five joist and deck manufacturing plants in Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Florida and South Carolina.

“The Florence, SC plant gives our company a strategic position in an important Southern market”, says Bert Hollman, President of New Millennium Building Systems and a Vice President of Steel Dynamics.  “The combination of an experienced work force with the latest in manufacturing technology presents a winning picture for this plant and for New Millennium.  The biggest attraction for us when contemplating this merger was the people.”

The four phase expansion began in 2006 and will add over 90,000 square feet of new building space.  The new space will house a new production line to handle a wide range of specialty products, as well as upgrades and extensions of existing production facilities.  Also included in the expansion is additional inventory space plus room for coil slitting and roll forming of material.

Much of the equipment has already been purchased and is waiting to be installed into the new facilities.   The new facilities and equipment will increase productivity on all lines.  NMBS is currently in the process of changing their payroll over from a straight hourly pay system to a production bonus pay system.  These bonuses will allow production employees to potentially make a much higher overall salary.  Currently the average salary is about $32,000 a year and should increase to over $50,000 per year.  NMBS anticipates their payroll to go from $6 million to $11 million within the next five years.   All of the new production facilities will have conditioned air, which will greatly improve the working conditions of all shop employees and hopefully add to the increase in productivity.

Ken Charles, General Manager of the NMBS-SC plant indicates, “We have been operating this facility in Florence for a number of years with very little capital infusion.  New Millennium came along at the right time and as a result, we will be much more competitive.  Initially, many of our employees were worried about the change.  As time has passed, they have adapted very well to new systems and equipment.  All things considered, this has been a real plus for the fine employees at this facility.”

“The expansion of New Millennium is another positive sign that our efforts to improve the soil conditions for business are working to create jobs in South Carolina,” said Gov. Mark Sanford. “With more people working in our state than ever before, we remain committed to continuing those efforts to keep creating jobs and opportunity for the Pee Dee.”
Employment will increase to 180 employees once the expansion is complete.  Fifteen of the forty new employees as part of the expansion have already been hired.  NMBS has one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the Pee Dee, which results from their competitive wage rates, above average benefits and family oriented management style.

On behalf of the State of South Carolina, I would like to congratulate NMBS for their recommitment to Florence County,” said Senator Hugh K. Leatherman.  “As the State Senator and a resident of Florence County, I am thrilled to see new capital investment, increase in jobs and wages, and new construction from a local industry leader.”
NMBS purchased an additional 35 acres adjacent to the current facility.  The former corn field was leveled and gravel was brought in and laid to create a flat area for finished product storage.  They are in the process of fencing this entire area which partially runs along Sharon Road.

“NMBS has been part of the fabric of our county since 1966; their expansion has once again proven their commitment to Florence,” proudly said Florence County Council Chairman, K.G. “Rusty” Smith.   “I was honored to have been apart of yet another exciting partnership with a current industry reinvesting in our county!”  
NMBS takes great pride in their pro-active environmentally friendly policies.  They are currently in the process of changing from a solvent-based paint system to a water-based system.  NMBS has a corporate environmental manager who has the sole responsibility of monitoring environmental regulations and to help plan for future upgrades. 
 

“NMBS has been a long-time member of Florence County Progress, Inc., said Dr. Charles Gould, Chairman of FCEDP and President of Florence-Darlington Technical College.  “We are happy we could be of assistance to an existing industry in their plans to expand in Florence.  FCEDP staff and Board members are continuing to reach out to existing industry leaders in the hope to assist in further growth in our communities.  Both Florence-Darlington Technical College and Francis Marion University are continually cultivating new and industry specific courses to provide skilled workers for our local industries.”
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