GSA Technology Council

Sage Automotive Interiors announced today that it has signed a letter of intent to move into a newly-constructed facility on Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) campus. The building will become the international headquarters for Sage.

The new construction is part of a $3 million government grant. Construction on the facility will begin in April 2010. Sage plans to move into its new facility by June 2011.

“Sage is thrilled to have the opportunity to be headquartered on the CU-ICAR campus,” said Brian McSharry, COO of Sage Automotive Interiors. “Being on an automotive research campus just makes sense for us. The proximity to the outstanding academic research is a great strategic fit for Sage’s international operation, plus our partnerships with Clemson and the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC) make it an added bonus.”

“We’re pleased that Sage Automotive recognizes the many advantages that Greenville County and the CU-ICAR campus offers their company,” said Mike Buiter, Chairman of the Greenville Area Development Corporation Board. “As an innovative organization with global opportunities in the automotive industry, they had no shortage of location options in which to place their international headquarters. As a prized member of the local and South Carolina business communities, we’re delighted that they have selected Greenville County.”

“Sage is a perfect complement to our growing CU-ICAR community,” said Bob Geolas, CU-ICAR executive director. “They are at the front end of customer trends in automotive interiors. The staff experience and global reach of this company makes them a recognized market leader. We could not be more excited about having such a dynamic and creative company join the CU-ICAR campus.”

“We are pleased about Sage Automotive Interiors location to CU-ICAR,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White. “This continues to confirm that our partnership with CU-ICAR and the community’s commitment is paying dividends with new jobs and exciting companies like Sage.”

via: Sage Automotive Interiors

Recruiting Solutions, a Greenville-based staffing and workforce-management firm, will relocate to a new office in order to allow room for growth, bring several satellite facilities together, and improve their overall efficiency.

Effective March 1, 2010, Recruiting Solution’s new offices will be located at 124 Verdae Boulevard, Suite 103, in Greenville’s Bonaventure Office Park. The move will place their healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, and administrative service lines in one facility.

via Recruiting Solutions

Aspiring Upstate entrepreneurs have an exciting resource to help them prepare for launching a new business. The Clemson University Small Business Development Center is excited to announce enhancements to an interactive workshop to provide information needed before taking the plunge. “JumpStart Your Business, Tips for Start Up Success” will explore the basics of what it takes to get into business. Topics include how to set-up a business, forms of business organization, an overview of financial statements, general legal requirements, the elements of an effective business plan, financing options, and how to improve the odds of success. This practical program is designed to help you ask the right questions and find the most important information to make informed business decisions. Pre-registration is required. Call 864.370.1545
OR EMAIL SBOSTIC@CLEMSON.EDU

WHEN
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010; 6:30 – 8:00 pm

WHERE
Clemson at the Falls
55 East Camperdown Way, Greenville
Classroom 1A

INVESTMENT
$25

via: Clemson

The South Carolina Department of Commerce, the Greenville Area Development Corporation and Bosch Rexroth Corporation today announced that the company will expand its hydraulics business unit in Greenville County. Bosch will invest $10 million and expects to create up to 50 new jobs, requiring a variety of skilled workers to fill both managerial and manufacturing positions.

“Working with the State and local developmental agencies, we are pleased to be able to continue to invest in our Fountain Inn, South Carolina site,” said Mike McCormick, vice president and technical plant manager, Bosch Rexroth Corporation.

Bosch Rexroth currently employs nearly 400 associates at its facility on Southchase Court in Fountain Inn, where it manufactures industrial hydraulic units, including piston units and pumps. The changes will allow the company to also manufacture hydraulic motors used in oil drilling, transportation and other industries. The company’s investment will also better position the plant for potential future Bosch expansions.

“The consolidation of our operations here, while a challenge for the Bosch Rexroth organization overall, is a very positive development for our plant. We find South Carolina provides a stable business climate and a solid workforce for our company,” said Keith Beasley, vice president and commercial plant manager, Bosch Rexroth Corporation.

“Bosch has been an important part of the South Carolina business community for many years, and this investment further strengthens the company’s commitment to our state. Bosch Rexroth’s decision to bring this additional work into Fountain Inn is another sign that our business-friendly climate, highly-skilled workforce and exceptional market access are working to attract new investment and foster growth among our existing businesses. This announcement is also a positive reflection of the continued dedication and work of Commerce’s European office in Germany to stay in contact with our existing businesses and ensure that South Carolina is continuing to meet their needs,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce. “We thank Bosch for choosing to grow in South Carolina and look forward to furthering our long-standing relationship with the company.”

“Bosch Rexroth Corporation’s decision to invest in Greenville County is again the result of a true team effort,” added Mike Buiter, chairman of the Greenville Area Development Corporation, noting that grants from both Advance SC and Duke Energy were instrumental in landing the expansion. “Bosch Rexroth is a long-standing quality corporate citizen of this community, and their growth will continue to create good paying jobs while affirming that manufacturing can thrive in our state.”

“We’re pleased that the leadership of Bosch Rexroth recognizes the many advantages that the Fountain Inn facility offers their company,” said Gary Long, mayor of Fountain Inn. “This announcement is another shot in the arm to Fountain Inn’s growing business community.”

Bosch Rexroth will be making physical improvements and adding new equipment to the Fountain Inn facility over the next few months. The company plans to begin hiring for the new positions before the end of the year. When hiring begins, persons interested in job opportunities can visit www.boschjobs.com for more information or contact Human Technologies Inc. of Greenville at 864-467-0330.

via: Bosch

Immedion, LLC, a South Carolina based dedicated data center and managed services provider is opening a second data center in Columbia, SC. The second site further expands Immedion’s redundancy and disaster recover offerings and allows Immedion to better serve the managed hosting needs of more of South Carolina.

“Locating our second data center in the Innovation Center will better enable us to provide services to businesses in the Midlands as well as throughout the state of South Carolina. In addition, the provisioning of a second, geographically diverse location will allow Immedion to provide uptime for critical technology beyond the capabilities of any single data center location.”

Immedion’s Columbia site is located in the SCRA USC Innovation Center. The location, with easy access to the Columbia Statehouse, airport and University of South Carolina, is an ideal site. The building is adjacent to the USC Engineering School and is also within walking distance of Innovista, USC’s forward-looking campus for research and entrepreneurship.

Today’s announcement “helps expand a knowledge-based company,” SCRA chief executive Bill Mahoney said. “Immedion is the kind of company we are looking for.”

The Columbia site will offer the same services as the Greenville headquarters with the goal of helping customers meet all of their IT Space, Server Power, Disaster Recovery and Regulatory Compliance demands. Immedion’s outsourced data center services and solutions help organizations lower costs, maximize internal resources and keep valuable information technology safe 24×7x365.

via: Immedion

Immedion, LLC, South Carolina’s first dedicated data center and managed services provider has promoted Don Poinsette from Marketing Associate to Account Executive. In his new role, Don will be responsible for bringing in new customers and he will be focusing heavily on the healthcare market.

Before becoming an Account Executive, Don was responsible for lead generation for Immedion. He has been with Immedion for over a year and a half and has proven to be a valuable member of the Immedion team.

“As Immedion’s customer base continues to grow, we’ve realized some markets need more focused attention due to government regulations and compliance concerns,” says Frank Mobley, CEO of Immedion. “There are many reasons for the healthcare industry to utilize the benefits of an outsourced data center and with government mandates and regulations, the healthcare industry needs a little more attention ” adds Mobley. “With compliance, disaster recovery, and electronic medical record requirements, I think it’s very important to have an Immedion representative focused on this vertical and Don is a strong fit.”

via: Immedion

Acumen I.T., a Greenville-based technology company, has acquired TeleData USA, Inc., a regional designer, installer and supporter of Mitel business telephone systems.

TeleData has been a key regional player in the industry for more than 15 years, providing specialized products and services for the hospitality industry with a focus on the motel and restaurant markets. Through this acquisition, Acumen bolsters its communications product and service offering by strengthening its consultative support and enhancing its wiring and installation expertise.

Buddy Craven, co-owner of TeleData, will join Acumen as the manager of its Telephony department.

“The added expertise of TeleData strengthens our ability to serve our customers while further enabling us to offer enhanced opportunities for their businesses,” said David Pence, chief executive officer of Acumen. “What’s more, through this new relationship, we look forward to bringing new business and additional jobs to the Upstate.”

Acumen sell, installs, customizes and supports Mitel and Zultys business telephone systems, both recognized for their excellence in VoIP communications. Zultys received the Unified Communications Product of the Year Award for 2008, was voted #1 Business VoIP product, and was most recently awarded the Internet Telephony 2009 Excellence Award. Mitel is recognized as a phone system of choice for the Hospitality industry.

via: Acumen I.T.

Proterra Inc., which develops and assembles drive and energy storage systems for heavy-duty vehicles, including their ground-breaking BE-35 fast-charge battery-electric transit bus, today announced that it will locate a facility in Greenville County at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) for research and development as well as assembly of its products. Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jim DeMint, Rep. Bob Inglis, Mayor Knox White, Greenville County Council Chairman H. G. “Butch” Kirven Jr., Clemson University President James Barker, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the Greenville Area Development Corporation and the South Carolina Research Authority joined Proterra in making the announcement today.

“We are very excited to pursue the next stage of Proterra’s manufacturing and development in Greenville. This new facility will be our first full-scale, state-of-the-art research and development and manufacturing facility for our groundbreaking clean transportation solutions. Several months ago, Proterra retained the help of eRealty Companies Inc. and NPB Capital to assist in the site selection process. After a nation-wide search involving some 30 states, we selected Greenville, South Carolina as a result of the state’s numerous benefits in terms of workforce capabilities and research and development support. Additionally, we were impressed by the efforts of the Governor, the federal delegation, the local officials and economic development entities which far exceeded our expectations. We look forward to continuing a long and fruitful level of collaboration with the state of South Carolina and City of Greenville,” said Jeff Granato, CEO of Proterra Inc.

Proterra and its partners design, develop and assemble all electric and battery dominant hybrid drive solutions and complete vehicles for commercial applications including transit, school and commercial buses, parcel delivery vehicles and other class 4-8 trucks. Its revolutionary BE-35 fast charge battery electric transit bus has been tested at the Federal Transit Administration’s Altoona Center as achieving between 17 and 21 miles per gallon (diesel equivalent), a roughly 500 percent improvement over conventional diesel buses. Proterra’s very first vehicle, a battery dominant fuel cell hybrid transit bus funded by the FTA, is in service in Columbia, South Carolina. Proterra is headquartered in Golden, Colorado at the Coors Technology Center.

“Proterra’s decision to put down roots in South Carolina represents not only a significant investment and new job opportunities, but also another step toward expanding our state’s role in the growing market of next generation clean technologies,” said Gov. Sanford. “I’d offer the state’s appreciation to Sec. Taylor and his team at Commerce along with all our economic development partners at the state and local levels for their combined efforts to make our state that much more competitive in this global economy. With that said, we look forward to welcoming the Proterra team to South Carolina.”

Proterra anticipates that it will invest $68 million and create more than 1,300 new jobs over the next seven years in Greenville County. The company will hire a variety of skilled workers to support functions ranging from mechanical assembly, warehouse, logistics, managerial, engineering and quality assurance.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce has approved Proterra for the Job Development Credits program, which is a performance-based incentive directly related to new job creation and new capital investment. Additionally, Commerce will make two grants to Greenville County totaling $3 million to assist with site preparation and infrastructure improvements for the project.
Upstate South Carolina will be home to one of the nation’s most innovative transportation companies with today’s announcement that Proterra has chosen CU-ICAR as home for its assembly and research and development facilities.

“This is a red letter day, not just for Greenville, but for the Upstate and for South Carolina. Proterra opens the door to a whole new range of innovative enterprises to come. We are very proud of our team who worked very hard to make this happen, and we are very proud of our newest corporate citizen – Proterra,” said H. G. “Butch” Kirven Jr., GADC director and chairman of Greenville County Council.
“This is exciting news for Clemson University, for Greenville and for South Carolina,” Clemson University President James F. Barker said. “Proterra is an innovative, dynamic company that brings a new dimension to the CU-ICAR campus. Its product and processes fit the CU-ICAR curriculum and our program-driven campus perfectly. We look forward to a great partnership.”

“In addition to Clemson University, many others have worked tirelessly over the past several months to convince Proterra that CU-ICAR is the right place to realize their goals for the future,” Barker added.

“Not unlike the recent Boeing 787 announcement, this is another example of South Carolina leading in the green economy. The bus that Proterra is going to build in Greenville will not only be good for the environment, but it will help this nation break our dependency on foreign oil,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham. “I applaud local and state leaders for helping make the case that South Carolina is a great place to do business.”

“This exciting news reaffirms South Carolina as one of the best places in the world to do business,” said Sen. Jim DeMint. “We can all be proud of the strategic partnership between economic development professionals, education and research leaders and elected officials at every level that helped attract these much-needed jobs. Proterra’s decision to locate in Greenville is one more step towards the fulfillment of the long-term vision of the Upstate as a world-class automotive cluster. I’m confident this investment will pay dividends for both Proterra and our community for years to come.”

Proterra’s decision to invest in Greenville was the result of a coordinated team effort from the federal delegation to the local level.

“We’re excited to welcome Proterra to the Upstate and CU-ICAR. This commitment on the part of Proterra continues to show the way CU-ICAR is fulfilling its promise to create jobs and help South Carolina lead nationally in reinventing the car,” Inglis said. “Proterra exemplifies the can-do spirit of Americans by creating new jobs through innovation and in the process helping break our dependence on the Middle East for oil. This goes to show that the road to energy security and economic recovery runs through the Upstate of South Carolina.”
“Proterra’s landing in South Carolina is the result of both team effort and growing alignment among business, academic, governmental and economic development partners,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA Chief Executive Officer. “While SCRA’s SC Launch program has been primarily focused on support of start-up companies, in concert with our partners across the state, we’ll see more and more landing parties like Proterra arrive in South Carolina to further strengthen the knowledge economy here. These important high-tech businesses are closely aligning with the vertical markets that our research universities and their economic development partners have targeted.”
The City of Greenville will not only add an innovative transportation company to its business community, but Greenville will also purchase buses from Proterra for the City’s public transit use.

“Proterra’s location in Greenville is another piece in the CU-ICAR puzzle that establishes it as one of the premier locations for leading edge transportation and technology companies,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White.

In addition to state and local officials, Proterra thanked the following parties for their efforts: Greenville Area Development Corporation, the South Carolina Energy Office, readySC™, the Clemson University Real Estate Foundation and many others.

Proterra will lease 25 acres in Technology Neighborhood Three on the CU-ICAR campus to construct a 240,000-square-foot building, with the potential to expand into the entire 50-acre site. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2010. A ground-breaking ceremony will be held at a future date.

Proterra will work with readySC™ on workforce training and job placement. Please note that hiring will begin at a future date that has yet to be determined. Information regarding Proterra may be obtained by visiting www.proterra.com, and for interest in the new facility, please contact: Greenville@Proterra.com.

via: Proterra

Immedion, LLC, South Carolina’s first dedicated data center and managed services provider has been selected by the City of Charleston for virtual hosting services. After careful consideration, the City of Charleston selected Immedion because they offered an excellent level of services at a highly competitive price.

Before deciding on Immedion, the City of Charleston had been actively looking for a new data center for hosting services. “We were looking to rebuild our site and move to a new provider at the same time,” shares Wes Ratterree, the City of Charleston’s CIO. “Because of budgeting constraints the new site was put on the back burner, but we still had to move over to a new provider as soon as possible,” he states. “We had been looking at top tier providers in the southeast region and narrowed it down to three. After reviewing RFP responses from our top choices, we determined Immedion provided the level and quality of services we wanted at a price we couldn’t pass up,” explains Ratterree.

Immedion was a good fit for the City of Charleston from both a cost and timeliness perspective. “The city needed something now and we did everything in our power to make it happen for them,” comments Frank Mobley, Immedion’s CEO. Within less than a week The City of Charleston had signed a contract and moved their entire site over to Immedion’s virtual platform. “This partnership further establishes Immedion as the premier hosting and data center services provider in the state of SC,” comments Mobley. “It is important to us to make sure our customers get exactly what they need when they need it.”

For the City of Charleston the “overall experience has been very pleasant and encouraging. Immedion has been incredibly responsive to our needs, and the relocation of our Internet sites occurred without a single issue,” comments Ratterree.

via: Immedion

Although government officials have been leaking this information for several days, there has been no official word from Proterra about it’s Greenville move… until now. The company website makes no announcement, but does now include a link to a page about Greenville South Carolina in the middle of it’s home page.

No more details are given should you follow the link, with the exception that they encourage the curious to email them at greenville@proterra.com. They then beg forgiveness for the slow load times of their website as it’s experiencing heavy volumes.

See below:

In case you missed the previous item about public officials dribbling this story out, you can follow today’s story on Twitter: