Oconee Economic Alliance

This is one of the few non manufacturing projects that the Oconee Economic Alliance has worked on. We are excited to see the development progressing and look forward to Target opening this summer, as well as the other retail that will follow at Thornwell Village Retail Center! The center is located at 1810 Sandifer Boulevard (US 123) in Seneca.

In 2025, the Oconee Economic Alliance (OEA) worked with forklift mast manufacture Lift-Tek, the Oconee County Council and SC Department of Commerce to facilitate the expansion of the company’s SC 11 operation in Westminster. The 100,000 square foot addition will result in 41 new jobs with an estimated capital investment of nearly $20,000,000. The expansion will bring Lift-Tek’s employment in Oconee County to around 340. The OEA took this picture Friday afternoon, which shows how well the expansion is progressing!

It was another Top Shelf for Business Day in Oconee County as the Oconee Economic Alliance (OEA) held its 2026 Annual Meeting at Keowee Key in Salem. Over 90 investors and partners came together to hear about how incentives win projects (Katie Busbee of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd), a deep dive into our Top Shelf for Business tagline, the OEA's successes in 2025, and the positive outlook for 2026. The meeting concluded with the presentation of the 2026 Dave Eldridge Award. This year's recipient was Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative President Jim Lovinggood. who was recognized for his outstanding leadership and support for economic development in Oconee County. It was a fantastic event!

Dynamic Fluid Components’ new West Union facility is nearly finished and it looks fantastic. The project was the first Oconee Economic Alliance announced project in 2024 in what would turn out to be a record setting year for economic development in Oconee County.

Thank you DFC for choosing to expand in Oconee!

https://www.sccommerce.com/news/dynamic-fluid-components-expanding-operations-oconee-county

A huge shout out and thank you to the Oconee County Department of Roads and Bridges for the excellent job and hard work they did to get us new and improved access to the east side of the Seneca Rail Park (SRP)!

The east side of SRP has approximately 32 acres available for industrial development with NS rail frontage. All utilities are on site and due diligence work completed. A new, adjacent electric substation is under construction and will serve the park. SRP has opportunity zone designation. It is just five minutes from Downtown Seneca and ten minutes from Clemson.

Seneca Rail Park is a great choice for a variety of manufacturers!

Coming soon to Oconee Industry and Technology Park! We are so excited about this new campus. Meyn America is an incredible company, and the OEA is so appreciative that they chose Oconee County as their new home!

It's another "Top Shelf for Business" day in Oconee County as Site Selection Magazine has named the Seneca Micropolitan Area, which includes all of Oconee County, the 25th Best Micropolitan Area in the U.S. in 2025. The ranking is out of 538 micropolitan areas, which puts Oconee in the top 5%. Oconee County was ranked 19th in 2024 and 29th in 2023, giving the county a Top 30 ranking for each of the last three years.

The OEA is looking forward to our new home! Thank you Oconee County Council, County Administrator Stewart Jones, Interim County Administrator Phil Shirley and OEA Executive Committee for supporting our move to Heritage Station. We really appreciate all that you did to make this happen!

he OEA was recently at our Oconee Industry and Technology Park (OITP) and couldn’t contain our excitement when we saw the completed pad for Meyn America’s new $50 million, 200,000 SF Headquarters and Manufacturing Facility. The project will create over 170 new jobs in Oconee County! The new facility will be adjacent to Meyn America’s parts distribution center which opened in 2024. Also, construction will begin later this year on Meyn America’s new customer experience center that will be located at the campus.

This is a huge win for Oconee County and another example of Oconee being Top Shelf for Business!

For the sixth consecutive year Oconee County has been designated a Tier 1 County by the State of South Carolina. Tier 1 counties are the eleven most economically healthiest counties in the state. Oconee and Greenville Counties are the only two Upstate counties that have been designated Tier 1 every year since 2020.

Our tier status is a reflection of Oconee’s excellent business climate, workforce, employers, quality of life and county council leadership! It is just another of many examples of Oconee County being a “Top Shelf for Business” location!

The past few years have been extremely strong for economic development activity in Oconee County, South Carolina and the period ranks as our best for industrial growth. As we close out 2025, we reflect on what was another good year for economic development in the county and what the last few years have meant in context over the past fifteen (2011-2025). This year, Oconee County announced 4 industrial projects with an anticipated capital investment of $55,700,000 and 92 new jobs. It was a solid year but when looking at the past two, three and four consecutive years the numbers jump out. Oconee County is truly blessed with phenomenal manufacturers, a supportive and pro-business County Council, and outstanding local, regional and state partners.

2026 is looking to be an excellent one for economic development in Oconee County and we couldn't be more excited about the industrial projects that will unfold throughout our community!