By PHILIP LORD Senior writer
NEW ELLENTON — The Flanders Corporation is a household name for 85 percent of American consumers, but most of them don't know it.
The 90-year-old filtration system manufacturer is represented by every Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target and Ace in the country, said Flanders Corp. President and CEO Steven Clark.
"There is an 85 percent chance that you have a Flanders product in your home, even though you may not know it," Clark said.
For residents of Aiken County, the Flanders Corporation will be a household name after the company announced Wednesday it will build a 463,000-square-foot plant on S.C. Highway 278 near New Ellenton.
Global Containment Systems, which will operate the $60 million plant, is a newly formed consortium comprised of the Flanders Corporation, which is based in St. Petersburg, Fla.; Columbia-based Pantec Engineering, the Menk Co. of Augusta and Intermech Inc., which is headquartered in Lawrenceville, Ga.
GCS will employ between 350 to 400 people in the near-term and will likely grow to about 800 workers.
Much of the company's promise of 800 jobs is staked on when the federal government begins construction on a facility that would convert weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
GCS would employ 400 or 500 people without the construction of the mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel facility, Clark said.
A federal spending bill includes $300 million in funding for the project, but construction has been delayed since last spring.
Some products used at SRS and particularly at a MOX facility require onsite construction, making it advantageous not to have parts moving up and down the interstate, Clark said.
SRS won't be the only place the company sells it products, Clark said. With the growth of the nuclear containment industry, Global Containment Systems would have been built somewhere, he said.
At its New Ellenton plant, GCS will make air containment systems, or glove boxes, which is equipment used to contain toxic materials while allowing workers to handle them using gloves built into the box.
The glove boxes will be for use at the Savannah River Site, pharmaceutical companies, the Department of Defense and the State Department, Clark said.
Flanders Board Chairman Robert Amerson said the new plant will need engineers, machinist, welders, fabricators and other staff. The average pay for similar Flanders plants ranges from $12 to $14 an hour, Clark said.
The company plans to complete the building, at S.C. Highway 19 and U.S. Highway 278, before the end of 2005.
"This product will be shipped everywhere, probably into Europe at some point in time," Amerson said.
Gov. Mark Sanford attended Wednesday's announcement and said the jobs GCS would create in Aiken County would also benefit Barnwell County, which has an 11.5 percent unemployment rate.
"This is about making a material difference in the jobs equation in South Carolina," Sanford said.
He added, "What you really represent here is a giant Christmas present to the people of South Carolina."
GCS purchased 165 acres adjacent to SRS to enable the company to be close to one of its major customers and to allow for future growth, Amerson said.
Clark added that several of his company's key suppliers are likely to locate adjacent to the 14th plant in the Flanders chain as a way of being able to meet the demands of the new production facility.
"What a great day and a great way to end the year and welcome in the new year," said Aiken County Council Chairman Ronnie Young.
Wednesday's announcement brings the amount of capital investment pumped into Aiken and Edgefield counties to $400 million, as well as the creation of 500 new jobs in 2004, said John Troutman, chairman of the Economic Development Partnership of Aiken and Edgefield counties.
"I want to thank all the parties involved for their team effort and assistance in helping make this day possible," said New Ellenton Mayor Jim Sutherland. "The bright prospects of GCS jobs are a wonderful Christmas present to Aiken County."
GCS will receive water service from the Talatha Water District and sewer service from New Ellenton, which will extend its lines to the new facility.
New Ellenton Town Council member Joe Gleaton said GCS expects to pump 40,000 gallons of sewage a day into the New Ellenton system, which has a capacity of 1 million gallons a day.
Contact Philip Lord at plord@aikenstandard.com.