FORE! SC to Become TaylorMade’s North American Golf Ball Manufacturing Headquarters
With the South Carolina weather beginning to warm and become ideal for the state that’s “First in Golf,” officials with TaylorMade Golf Company announced that they will establish a new state-of-the-art golf ball production facility in Pickens County with an investment of $13 million.
“The opportunity to have a permanent home in Pickens County was too good of an opportunity for our company to pass up,” said John Kawaja, executive vice president at TaylorMade Golf. “We are getting a new building in a booming area that will improve our unit production, quality, and margin position. Most important, we are committed to keeping jobs in South Carolina.”
TaylorMade will establish a new 120,000-square-foot golf ball production plant in Liberty and will move current golf ball manufacturing operations to the new plant in January 2014. The new manufacturing and research and development facility will be located in the Pickens County Commerce Park and will serve as TaylorMade’s North American golf ball production headquarters.
“South Carolina is home to a number of world-class, well-known brands, and it’s great to see another one choose to grow in the Palmetto State. We celebrate TaylorMade Golf Company’s decision to invest $13 million in Liberty with its new plant. Announcements like this are another indication that South Carolina is becoming the ‘it’ state for business,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.
Since January 2011, South Carolina has recruited more than $8 billion in capital investment and more than 21,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector.
“Today’s announcement is the product of the solid work done by Team South Carolina. The company had a choice between keeping operations in South Carolina or moving to a site in Georgia. State and local officials were able to work with the company to keep TaylorMade here and convince them to grow their investment in the Palmetto State,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.
The company expects to break ground on the new plant next month, have construction completed next January, and complete the transition to Liberty in July 2014.
“We are very excited about TaylorMade’s decision to locate its new golf ball production facility at the Pickens County Commerce Park,” said Pickens County Council Chairman Neil Smith. “To have another industry leader choose Pickens County and the Upstate is a testament to the pro-business approach of South Carolina.”
