In 2012, South Carolinas Secretary of Commerce Robert M. Hitt, III appointed the Aerospace Task Force to develop a strategic plan to grow the states aerospace cluster. With input from Regional Advisory Councils and led by Charlie Farrell, the group of public and private leaders recommended priorities for action.

In late 2013, the SC Council on Competitiveness received an Investing in Manufacturing Community Partnerships (IMCP) planning grant from the United States Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration. The Council worked closely with the SC Department of Commerce and other partners around the state to compete for these funds that enabled additional activities to occur to support the aerospace cluster. The first ever aerospace economic impact study was conducted to provide a baseline to understand the growth patterns of this important industry to the states economy. The economic impact studys findings clearly show that South Carolina does indeed have an aerospace industry cluster and that there are opportunities to strengthen and grow the cluster. With continued, targeted efforts by the SC Council on Competitiveness and the SC Department of Commerce, South Carolina will be positioned to compete nationally and globally as a destination for the aerospace industry.

Using the IMCP grant, Deborah Cameron was hired as the Director of Aerospace Initiatives and Wayne Fritz was hired as Senior Project Manager. Charlie Farrell remained as an adviser to the effort for the first year. Staff traveled the state meeting companies and organizations related to the aerospace cluster. Regional and local economic development alliances were also engaged in outreach to companies in their respective locations. Information gathered from these consultations was utilized to develop programming helpful to the industry.

SC Council on Competitiveness partners withUSCs McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research, theSouth Carolina Department of Commerce, the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, and the South Carolina Aviation Associationto host the Aerospace Industry Day event which attracts over 500 attendees.

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SC Aerospace is a collaborative effort to advance and market South Carolinas aerospace industry cluster on the global stage. We are a partnership of the public, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors connecting the industrys assets and securing future growth.

We work to:

We host quarterly events to connect aerospace industry leaders and expose them to state assets relevant to the industry, convene aerospace organizations to promote collaboration and alignment, publish monthly newsletters to communicate industry news, partner to host an annual aerospace conference, conduct relevant industry research, host a web site and GIS asset map, represent South Carolina on a broader stage, and much more.

South Carolinas aerospace cluster consists of over 400 civilian companies, as well as four major military aviation facilities:

While The Boeing Company is the dominant face of aerospace in the state, there are numerous other recognizable firms located in South Carolina. These include Lockheed Martin Corporation, TIGHITCO, Stevens Aviation, GKN Aerospace, Labinal, Champion Aerospace, and Ranger Aerospace. Yet, most companies in the aerospace cluster report having five or fewer employees. These small businesses comprise 95% of aerospace firm growth over the five-year period from 2007 2012.There are over 53,000 workers directly employed by civilian aerospace companies and military aviation facilities in South Carolina. The average total compensation of a civilian aerospace employee is about $71,000 far greater than the state average compensation of about $41,000.

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Aerospace - SC Council on Competitiveness