Groundbreaking Held At Wyman-Gordon

PHOTO BY JOHNNIE DANIELS/THE DILLON HERALD

By Betsy Finklea
By Betsy Finklea
A groundbreaking was held at Wyman-Gordon, Dillon County’s newest industry, on Tuesday with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other officials in attendance.
The program was opened with a welcome from Tonny McNeil, Executive Director of Dillon County Economic Development. He said that this day was a defining moment in Dillon County economic development. He thanked everyone for the extraordinary team effort that had led to this day.
Haywood Proctor, chairman of the Dillon County Public-Private Partnership, gave the invocation.
Greg Paolini, Vice-President of Wyman-Gordon Structural Forgings, said Wyman-Gordon is a Fortune 500 company based in Portland, Oregon. He thanked the state, county, and local officials who made this day a reality. He said the location in Dillon County was perfect for their role in the global aerospace and power generation industry. He said this is an industry that has remained strong even though there was an economic downturn.
Some of their customers include Boeing and AirBus.
The Dillon County facility will employ over 400 workers and cover over 450,000 square feet, Paolini said. He said they hoped the Dillon location will be the prototype for growth for Precision Castparts Corporation (PCC).
Paolini said they expect construction to begin in mid-January and expect first production as early as September 2015.
He said that he is looking forward to working with ReadySC because this was all worthless without a sufficient skilled workforce, but he was confident this region of the country could support those needs.
Paolini presented Governor Nikki Haley with a token of appreciation.
Governor Haley then made remarks. She said it was a “great day in South Carolina” and “a great day in Dillon County.”  She said this was not just any company locating here, but one of the premier countries in the world. Wyman-Gordon is putting their first plant in  the southeast here in Dillon.
Haley said the work has not stopped. It is now starting. She said we must prove to Wyman-Gordon that they made the right decision. She said during good times we must be here to celebrate, and during tough times, we must hunker down and help them through it. She said we must commit to them every step of the way and show that South Carolina deserves to keep great companies.
She told Paolini that we are committed to their success and look forward to the work ahead.
William Fleming, CEO of Marlboro Electric Cooperative, recognized the vision and commitment of all who worked to make this happen. He thanked them for their decision and trust to locate here.
Leighton Lord, the Board Chair of Santee Cooper, was next to make remarks.
He said he saw in Dillon County many stakeholders who were working to make this proposal happen.
Lt. Governor Yancey McGill said he believed that this would be  the start of an economic revolution across the state.
Dillon County Council Chairman Andrew Graves said that four years ago he would not have thought that anything like this would have come to Dillon County. He thanked all who made it possible.
County Administrator Clay Young said this was truly a great day and spoke about the tremendous impact that this would have on Dillon County and the Pee Dee Region. He said he was “more than excited.”  
He said the project took several players to come together and thanked Governor Haley for her personal role in making this all come to fruition.
After his comments, a groundbreaking was held, and several went to Shuler’s Bar-B-Que, where they enjoyed lunch.

PHOTOS BY JOHNNIE DANIELS/THE DILLON HERALD

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