MYRTLE BEACH - Those who work in the lumber and forestry industries are the "unsung heroes of economic development" in South Carolina, Gov. Mark Sanford told representatives of the state's third-largest industry.

Sanford spoke at the S.C. Forestry Association's annual summit last week.

He said the industry has strengthened its competitive advantage by clustering -- grouping similar businesses and industries in the same area.

"What they've gotten right, that we need to get right in South Carolina, is being competitive," Sanford said.

Clustering is working for the forestry industry just as it is working for the automotive industry in the Upstate and tourism along the coast, the governor said.

"By having the amount of hotels and tourism and activities, all of a sudden you have a cluster," he said. "It's making a difference in capturing wealth. It's making a difference in synergy, and it's making a difference in our ability to react to the marketplace."

The meeting brings together land owners, loggers, mill owners and those in businesses that support forestry, said Bob Scott, president of the South Carolina Forestry Association.

Tommy Rhodes, president of Cameron Lumber Co., said the timber industry is facing pressure.

"We are losing jobs and business to foreign countries because of cheap labor," he said.

Industry leaders are looking for areas where they can work together to compete in the global economy.

Georgetown logger and landowner Joe Young said the industry has little choice because the companies that deal in forest products are so interdependent. "We need to think more like a supply chain rather than a bunch of links," said Young, the owner of Low Country Forest Products.

Businesses tied to forestry employ more than 30,000 workers and generate $1.24 billion a year in wages. Timber harvests bring in $835 million a year in the state, according to industry officials.