Best Moving Company in North Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The South Carolina Ports Authority announced Tuesday it plans to purchase the former WestRock paper mill site in North Charleston to “further expand port capacity.”

WestRock announced in May 2023 that it would close the mill in late August, citing high operating costs and the need for significant capital investment as the driving factors behind the closure.

The SC Ports Board of Directors voted on Tuesday morning to move forward with a purchase sales agreement with WestRock. While the SC Ports did not provide a timeline, they said the transaction is expected to close “as soon as practical.”

Port officials said they also received support from the state for the project.

“South Carolina Ports is widely known as a top driver of our state’s booming economy, but that success doesn’t come by accident — it takes timely, strategic investments like this one. Every time we invest in port infrastructure, we see significant success at port-dependent businesses and new, good-paying jobs for our people. Our state’s investment in the expansion of North Charleston Terminal will yield dividends and create opportunities for future generations,” said Governor Henry McMaster.

“The tremendous backing from our state and an excellent partnership with WestRock allows us to make investments today that will support our state’s economy and create opportunities for future generations of South Carolinians,” said SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin. “We are adding significant port capacity to support growth in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast.”

The approximately 280-acre property sits adjacent to the North Charleston Terminal. SC Ports leaders say the former paper mill site will offer a natural extension of the container terminal allowing them to handle more cargo for port-dependent businesses.

It could expand the terminal’s capacity to handle five million containers in the future and create 5,000 feet of linear berth space for container shops, and around 400 acres of terminal space for cargo.

Port officials said the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is playing a key role in the project. They are planning to expand I-526 and will replace the Don Holt Bridge, which would remove height constraints for larger vessels.

“Plans are also underway to achieve a 52-foot depth up to North Charleston Terminal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, is undertaking a feasibility study — a critical first step toward deepening this stretch of the Cooper River an additional five feet,” the SC Ports said in its release.

Leaders say the deepening and new bridge height will allow bigger ships calling the Port of Charleston to seamlessly access the North Charleston Terminal.

An effort by outlet shopping center giant Tanger to reduce the carbon footprint at its North Charleston mall has hit an unexpected hitch — a state regulation meant to encourage homeowners to go green.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based company wants to install solar panels on six of eight buildings at its open-air property off International Boulevard.

It's part of the mall owner's goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. Solar capacity is being added at Tanger properties around the nation.

South Carolina regulators have approved the sun-harnessing panels for one of the North Charleston structures, but they've denied a request for the remaining installations, which would provide power to tenants. Any excess electricity would be sold to Dominion Energy.

The denial stems from the S.C. Generator Interconnection Procedures, an esoteric document dating back to 2016. It generally requires that electric utilities in the state set aside six megawatts of capacity on each substation transformer for residential customers who generate excess solar power that needs to go back on the grid.

That reserve must be available regardless, even if no power is being generated from nearby homes.

In Tanger's case, residential solar is using about 10 percent of the reserve at the substation that serves the mall. The rub is that the company can't tap into the other 90 percent, so there isn't room to accommodate the panels it wants to install on its five other buildings.

Tanger, in a filing with the S.C. Public Service Commission, said the rule is well-meaning but "shoots a rabbit with an elephant gun." The mall owner added that some substations have little or no capacity for businesses that want to add solar — unless they conduct an exhaustive and expensive study showing its panels won't affect residential customers.

Tanger wants to avoid that step and is asking the commission for a waiver from the regulations.

The request, filed last week, stated that an exemption would be in the public's interest because the current rules are "causing undue delay and hardship" and the reserved capacity "is no longer necessary on the substation."

Tanger also pointed to proposed legislation being debated in the General Assembly that's aimed at "reducing regulatory and administrative burdens" within the state's electric industry.

The commission hasn't said when it will take up Tanger's request.

In the meantime, the shopping center owner is moving ahead with solar power and other green initiatives at other retail locations.

"Our teams are committed to ensuring that environmental initiatives are embedded across all parts of the business, as we seek to have a positive impact on the health of our planet and communities," Leslie Swanson, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a written statement. "We have transformed our goals into actions and will continue to innovate and advance towards becoming an industry leader in the space."

Soaring sales

Volvo Cars sold a record number of vehicles worldwide last month, getting a big boost from the debut of its fully electric EX30 SUV.

The Swedish automaker, majority owned by China's Geely Holding Co., said it sold 78,970 cars in March, the most for any single month and a 25 percent increase from last year.

Europe, Volvo's biggest market, saw a 33 percent year-over-year jump in overall sales and 66 percent increase in electric vehicle purchases.

In the U.S., sales rose 50 percent to 15,315 vehicles largely due to the popularity of the carmaker's plug-in hybrid models. But demand for fully electric vehicles declined by two-thirds from a year ago, mirroring broader industry trends.

U.S. sales of the S60 sedan, which Volvo builds in Ridgeville, increased nearly fourfold in March to 3,355 vehicles.

The company will produce its flagship EX90 SUV, the battery powered successor to the popular XC90, and the Polestar 3 vehicle for its sister brand at its $1.2 billion plant off Interstate 26 starting this year.

Making metal

A metal recycling business is expanding its South Carolina operations with a new site within the Pee Dee region.

DCC Metal Recycling said it will invest $11 million in a Dillon facility, which is expected to employ 78 workers when operations start in early 2025. The 48-acre site at 1324 Smith St. will be the Hemingway-based company's seventh Palmetto State location.

DCC, founded in 1943, shreds and recycles metals purchased from scrap dealers and individual sellers. The Williamsburg County business said the process significantly reduces the cost and environmental impact of its products, which include aluminum, stainless steel and copper.

The S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development, a division of the Department of Commerce, has approved tax credits tied to the number of jobs the expansion creates.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The future of land in North Charleston lies in the hands of city council members, and it’s a breath of relief for concerned community members and a strain for the company urging its industrial use.

The city council will be the next step forward for the proposed plan after a request to rezone two parts of the former Baker Hospital property on the Ashley River. They will vote on whether the land will be rezoned from R-1 residential to M-2, heavy industrial and M-1, light industrial.

The city’s Planning Commission on Monday voted 5-1 to deny the recommendation to rezone before passing it onto council - saying it didn’t align with the best interest of the city’s comprehensive plan, the location to the Ashley River and the public interest of surrounding neighborhoods.

The land, defined as a brownfield, is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

“We don’t need industry in our living rooms. We don’t need to breathe the fluid of industry in our neighborhoods. We don’t need to be impacted negatively that way,” Union Heights resident Skip Mikell says.

The Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission and Sea Fox Boats have a 90-year lease with the goal of building a manufacturing plant on 11 acres of the 46-acre property. Sea Fox Boats owner Freddy Renken says they plan to bring 200 or more jobs to the area and will fund the construction of a waterfront public park.

The commission says rent paid by Sea Fox Boats and its dry stack marina would offset operations and maintenance for the park. Nothing has been finalized or started because this is in a due diligence phase.

The park itself would have the following amenities:

Renken did not speak at the meeting but a company lawyer shared insight on his behalf:

“What is there not to want about this? To turn a brownfield into a park that provides jobs and an economic engine. With Sea Fox Boats, the City of North Charleston will be able to build planes, cars, boats. I think that is pretty cool,” Ronald Richter says.

Despite the push for approval, a resounding “no” was heard from a crowd of North Charleston homeowners and supporters. They say the company never shared its plans with surrounding neighborhoods and businesses, including Union Heights, Chicora-Cherokee and Accabee.

Mayor Reggie Burgess also pushed for a full recreational park option to be considered following the initial plan release.

Charleston County Parks states in this press release they planned on releasing public input meeting dates in early 2024. As of now, no updates have been provided.

The commission released the following statement:

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission (CCPRC) recently entered into a public-private partnership with the locally-owned Sea Fox Boat Company at its Ashley River site. The company is in a two-year due diligence phase, which includes addressing zoning and permitting issues.

Per the partnership, Charleston County Parks would continue to own the entire property, with tenant Sea Fox funding the creation and maintenance of the future public park. This would allow Charleston County Parks to develop and operate the park without taxpayer funds. Because of the site’s history as the former Baker Hospital and as a phosphate processing plant, it has created a brownfield that will require costly environmental efforts to make it suitable for recreational use.

The future county park would offer residents green space and views of the Ashley River. Other possible amenities at the park include a fishing/crabbing dock, trails, playground, splash pad, shelter for camps or programs, and unique event space. Public input meetings will be held to learn what the communities would like to see on the site. Once the zoning process has been completed, we will determine the timeline for the public input meetings.

Seventeen people spoke in opposition to the plan. Neighbors say adding the plant would not benefit their community in terms of work or play and are asking for the area to be solely a park.

“The neighborhoods we represent have some of the lowest unemployment rates in North Charleston. Chicora-Cherokee specifically has a 2.9 unemployment rate, which means our people are already working,” KJ Kearney says.

The planning commission stated in the agenda item they recommended denial because they believe the property’s location to the Ashley River makes the plant unfeasible and there is a “lack of support” to the city’s comprehensive plan.

Sea Fox Boats argues the area they are requesting rezoning for is on a brownfield, the former site of a phosphate processing plant and hospital, which would need environmental maintenance to make the area suitable for recreational purposes or greenspace.

North Charleston natives say they remember the smells, the sights and the feelings of growing up near the former plant and the concerns it raised for health and wellness.

“Those people don’t live here. So whatever damage they do, they leave at the end of the shift and go home. We live here and if there’s anything that we can do to prevent that kind of thing reoccurring. We’re going to do so,” Mikell says.

The site was donated to Charleston County Parks in 2015 by Charleston residents Michael and Jenny Messner of the Speedwell Foundation. The organization did not respond to a request for comment.

“The owner of that property is the Charleston County Parks and Recreation. Their purpose for being is to create parks, preserve and protect greenspaces,” Richter says. “We are not looking for the high bidder here, we are looking for the perfect partner to clean this place and make it a place of pride.”

The discussion will now go before city council starting on April 11 for its first reading. The next opportunity for public input will be on April 18.

For more information on the project, click here.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The moon will darken the skies across South Carolina on Monday.

How much darkening you’ll see will depend on where you’re at though.

A total solar eclipse with occur over a good chunk of North America on April 8 — the last to happen across the continent until 2044 and 2045. While South Carolina will not be privy to the total eclipse, residents in the state will have the chance to see a near total one, depending on where they are at the time. The last time the Palmetto State had a total solar eclipse was on Aug. 21, 2017.

But you can’t just go outside and stare up at the sky to view the upcoming eclipse, at least, not if you don’t want to damage your eyesight.

Here’s what to know about the solar eclipse and a list of when best to watch in various South Carolina cities.

According to NASA, “sometimes when the moon orbits Earth, the moon moves between the sun and Earth. When this happens, the moon blocks the light of the sun from reaching Earth. This causes an eclipse of the sun, or a solar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow onto Earth.”

Types of solar eclipse

South Carolina won’t be in the path of totality, so the event will look like a partial eclipse. The magnitude of the eclipse will be a little larger in the Upstate and smaller in the Lowcountry and coastal areas.

The partial eclipse will be visible from 1:48 p.m. to 4:27 p.m. in the state. Below is a list of South Carolina cities that shows which ones will see the biggest portion of the eclipse and the best times to view the phenomenon, depending on where you are. For a more complete list of cities in South Carolina and other states, click here.

A total solar eclipse happens somewhere in the world about every 18 months, space.com states. The eclipse’s path of totality, the area on Earth directly in line with the moon and sun, is only 60 to 70 miles wide. It’s width and where it is on Earth vary because of the moon’s orbit and other factors, which makes the likelihood of the path of totality falling in the same place twice low.

The path of totality over the U.S. for this eclipse will stretch from Texas to Maine.

Looking at the sun without proper protection, however briefly and even if it’s blocked by the moon, can permanently damage the retinas of the eyes.

“Viewing any part of the sun through a camera lens, binoculars or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury,” NASA states.

Instead, see if you still have those special glasses made for the 2017 eclipse. If you don’t have those, you can order a pair that comply with international standards. These are thousands of times darker than regular sunglasses, which won’t protect you.

The American Astronomical Society has a list of vendors selling safe solar glasses.

This story was originally published March 30, 2024, 6:00 AM.

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SHL Medical, a Switzerland-based provider of advanced drug delivery solutions, which is building a $150 million facility in North Charleston, has acquired Superior Tooling Inc., a Wake Forest, North Carolina-based manufacturer of plastic injection molds.

With two new manufacturing sites underway in North Charleston, and Zug, Switzerland, complementing the existing facilities in Taiwan, SHL addresses the growing demand in the autoinjector market, according to a news release.

Superior Tooling will support SHL’s strategic manufacturing operations across the Southeast, especially strengthening its vertical capabilities for the new site in North Charleston, while solidifying its local presence, the release stated.

This expansion of strengths underlines SHL’s global strategy, emphasizing one of its distinctive features — full in-house manufacturing — and positions tooling as one of SHL’s core competencies just a few hours from the new manufacturing site in South Carolina, where SHL plans to invest over $150 million and employ around 165 Charleston-area residents, the release stated.

Related content: SHL Medical establishing operations in Charleston County

“The demand for our autoinjectors, including treatment areas such as diabetes and weight management, is growing rapidly,” Ulrich Faessler, chairman and CEO of SHL Medical, said in the release. “Through continuous advancements and dedication, we deliver on our strategic vision to uphold our position as market leaders. This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey towards globalizing our operations to better serve our customer base. We are happy to welcome Superior Tooling into the SHL family.”

Expanding tooling capabilities globally

The acquisition of Superior Tooling not only supports the tooling needs of SHL’s in-house manufacturing but also its strategy to deliver the highest quality tools to customers across industries, according to the release. The company will work closely with SHL’s existing tooling departments to develop new solutions for its global customer base.

“This marks a significant step forward for our potential and growth trajectory. We take great pride in having our capabilities recognized by a global player, and eagerly look forward to maximizing them as integral members of SHL Medical,” said Robbie Earnhardt, president of Superior Tooling. “I am confident that the synergies between our capabilities and SHL’s established tooling expertise will prove highly advantageous for both our existing and new customers”, expresses Robbie Earnhardt, President of Superior Tooling.