Archive for category: Frontpage Article

Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, at least two major industry sectors in South Carolina saw significant growth last year.

“Despite persistent industry challenges in 2021, consumer demand for our products remained strong,” said Anders Gustafsson, vice president of the Americas for Volvo Cars, which builds the S60 sedan at a $1.2 billion manufacturing campus in Berkeley County.

German automaker BMW, which builds its X-model SUVs in the Upstate, saw a 20.8 percent jump in North American sales in 2021 compared to the previous year, to 336,644 vehicles.

Hotels in the Palmetto State took a hard hit because of COVID-19 in 2020, but they didn’t perform quite as poorly as lodgings in the U.S. overall. Hotel occupancy nationwide that year was 44 percent, and revenue per room dropped 46 percent year-over-year.

But from March through August 2021, South Carolina outpaced the U.S. on occupancy and room rates. The state’s lead was largest in April when hotels in South Carolina were filling about 68 percent of their rooms versus 58 percent across the United States. Revenue per room in South Carolina that month was also more than $20 higher than the U.S. figure.

To read the full story, click here.

Sonoco Recycling, a unit of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest sustainable global packaging companies, today announced it has acquired American Recycling of Western North Carolina, a privately owned recovered paper recycler located in Asheville, N.C.

American Recycling of Western North Carolina is a privately owned business that processes approximately 30,000 tons of recovered fiber annually at its well-capitalized Asheville material recovery facility. The business expects to generate approximately $9 million in sales in 2021 and it is strategically located approximately 65 miles from Sonoco’s Newport, TN, uncoated recycled paperboard mill.

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On the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Florence Planning Commission is the approval of a sketch plan for seven townhomes to be located on a vacant lot between Bojangles and the Edward Jones office.

The plan calls for the front doors of the homes to face Celebration Boulevard.

The information provided to the Planning Commission does not indicate how many bedrooms the townhomes will have. However, a drawing of the townhomes indicates that they will be two stories tall and will have concrete parking in front of the units.

In 2020, the Planning Commission approved sketch plans for the construction of two townhome developments: an 8-unit building to be located near where Festival Lane turns toward its intersection with Celebration Boulevard and two six-unit townhome buildings behind the Fire It Up building.

Another chicken restaurant is coming to Florence.

QSR, a magazine serving the food-service industry, recently reported that uncle and nephew Larry and Jody Chandler would be bringing nine Slim Chickens restaurants to the Palmetto State including a location in Florence.

The Chandlers are franchisers of several Firehouse Subs locations in South Carolina and North Carolina.

The article does not list a Florence location for the restaurant or a timetable for construction and opening of it.

Slim Chickens was founded in 2003 in Fayetteville, Ark. It has around 150 locations in the United States with more locations in the United Kingdom and Kuwait. The restaurant specializes in various chicken items including wings, tenders, sandwiches and chicken and waffles.

Florence is home to several chicken restaurants including KFC, Zaxbys, Chick-fil-A, Maryland Fried Chicken, BTJ’s Wings, and Buffalo Wild Wings.

There is also a Wingstop to be located next to Five Guys at the Florence Mall.

To read the full article, click here.

Over 16 million Americans have at least one disease caused by smoking.  In South Carolina, approximately $1.9 billion was spent on healthcare costs due to smoking in 2009.  Approximately 21.1% of adults use cigarettes and 30.5% use e-cigarettes in Charleston County.  The Midlands and Pee Dee regions of South Carolina have some of the highest numbers of tobacco users.

The good news is that 7 out of 10 smokers want to quit smoking!  Please join our expert speakers, Stephanie Stansell, PhD, Emily Ware, PharmD, and Cassie Frazier, DNP, as they share information about the tobacco treatment program at MUSC and the MUSC Lung Cancer Screening Clinic.  This informative session will give tips and tools for being tobacco free in the new year.

The virtual lunch & learn will be held on January 12th from 12:00-1:00 PM

For more information, click here.