Arris Manufacturing

On the northern border of South Carolina, deep in the heart of cotton country, Clio is home to some 900 people. This small town was once a thriving hub for agrarian commerce due to the successful cotton industry at the turn of the 20th century. The town’s population has shrunk over the last 100 years, and now over 70% of the population have no more than a high school diploma or GED. Roughly 60% of this non-metro, persistent poverty county’s population is minority, and the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high at 24.30%, or 2.93 times the national average. 

Marlboro County, which has a slightly better overall unemployment rate than Clio as a whole, ranks as the 7th worst of 46 counties in South Carolina for employment opportunities. The lack of employment opportunities was exacerbated in 2016 when Baldor Electric, one of the largest employers in the area shuttered its mining equipment component manufacturing facility, laying off the remaining 65 people employed at the site. 

The Innovate Fund invested $15 million for Arris Manufacturing to acquire the former Baldor Electric facility and completely retro fit it to begin building modular housing units for use in multi-family housing. The project created 134 new permanent Quality Jobs in Clio (82% of which are accessible to employees with no more than a high school diploma or GED). The project sponsor also implemented a Skills Incentive Program where employees can earn higher pay for learning new skills regardless of the ability to immediately progress to a higher position. 

“Marlboro County Government is committed to assisting Arris Manufacturing in every way possible so that the company and our workforce will prosper. We’re excited to see this innovative company get its start here with the help of the New Markets Tax Credit program.” 

-Ron Munnerlyn, County Administrator and Economic Developer, Marlboro County