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 Manufacturing experts to speak at 2nd Annual Manufacturers Conference Dec. 7-9
A variety of manufacturing experts will address an audience of manufacturers from across the state at the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s 2nd Annual Manufacturers Conference: International Manufacturing – South Carolina’s Worldwide Reach, presented by Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, December 7-9 at the Crowne Plaza Resort on Hilton Head Island.
The conference kicks off Wednesday, December 7 with a welcome reception at 5:30 p.m. On Thursday, December 8, guest speakers will discuss supply chain management, international tax issues, current labor issues and more. Peter Fischer, minister of economics for the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, will speak during the Thursday evening dinner. On Friday, December 9, attendees will get updates from the South Carolina State Ports Authority, the South Carolina Department of Transportation and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) and receive the latest information on manufacturing innovation and technology. An optional golf outing will follow Friday afternoon after the close of the conference. View a complete agenda.
It’s not too late to register for the 2nd Annual Manufacturers Conference, and sponsorship opportunities still remain. For more information, contact Alexa Stillwell at 803-255-2621.
South Carolina must pave the way for better infrastructure
By Debbie Bass, executive director of the SC Alliance to Fix Our Roads – SC FOR
Benjamin Franklin said, “A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.” This truism applies to South Carolina’s highways. We have a great highway system, but it has become frayed at the edges. Funding is at the heart of the matter.
It has been 25 years since The Drive for Tomorrow, an industry-led effort to improve the state’s highway system. As a result of that campaign in 1987, South Carolina increased its motor fuel user fee from 13 cents per gallon to a meager 16 cents per gallon. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), the national average is now 31.2 cents per gallon. There is also a federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. The state of South Carolina currently funds its highway system with the fourth lowest fuel tax in the nation despite two very important facts:
- According to the Federal Highway Administration, we have very few locally-maintained roads. We depend on the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to fund and fix three times the normal level of state responsibility.
- We have done very little over the years to diversify our revenue base for highways, meaning we have an over-dependence on motor fuel revenues.
New S.C. Chamber website unveiled
The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the state’s unified voice of business, is pleased to release a redesigned website at www.scchamber.net.
The new website is the culmination of numerous surveys and interviews with South Carolina Chamber members and other stakeholders from across the Palmetto State. It is built around this year’s Competitiveness Agenda, the business community’s annual list of legislative priorities, which includes comprehensive tax reform, economic development, environment and energy, government restructuring, infrastructure and workforce development. Each legislative issue also features a poignant fact. For example, did you know South Carolina has the highest industrial property tax rate and the seventh highest commercial tax rates in the nation? Or, that South Carolina spends just $15,000 per mile to maintain roads while Georgia spends $35,000, and North Carolina spends $150,000? Visit www.scchamber.net for more facts and solutions.
In addition, www.scchamber.net features current headlines of interest to the business community. It also includes a Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down section, events information and a statewide Business Directory.
The new South Carolina Chamber website includes must-see information on issues affecting South Carolina businesses. Exclusive advertising opportunities are still available. For more information, contact Julie Scott at 803-255-2628. Check out the new site at www.scchamber.net!
Learn how to increase your website traffic with S.C. Chamber webinar
How can you get hundreds of fans and followers interested in your social media channels? Are you worried your message is getting lost online? Join Inbound Marketing Specialist Keely Saye December 14 for New Media in the New Economy Part Two | Getting Found Online.
This is the second in a series of webinars exclusively available for South Carolina Chamber members at no cost. Non-members may access each webinar for $25. Part two of New Media in the New Economy will be available online December 14 at 9 a.m. with an all-day question and answer session with Saye on the Chamber’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Tune in December 14 to learn how to properly execute a conversion campaign, increase your Facebook likes through landing page development and develop a successful lead nurturing strategy. Saye owns KeelySaye.com, an inbound marketing consulting firm that specializes in new media strategies that help businesses get found on the Internet. She is also a member of the South Carolina Chamber’s Public Relations Advisory Committee. Register today! For more information, contact Matthew Gregory at 803-255-2564.
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