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Article published Aug 5, 2004
State touts Greenville's gain, downplays loss
ROBERT W. DALTON
Staff Writer
State and Greenville
County officials on Wednesday hailed Hubbell Lighting's arrival in the Upstate
as a major economic development windfall for South Carolina.What they all failed
to mention was that Hubbell was already headquartered in Spartanburg, where the
news wasn't as rosy.The only mention of Spartanburg in a news release sent out
by Hubbell and the state Department of Commerce stated that a distribution
center located here would remain here. The center is actually near Cowpens.Gov.
Mark Sanford said in the release that Hubbell's move to Greenville would create
jobs -- rather than funnel them out of Spartanburg County -- and would raise
income levels, two goals of his administration."This new headquarters facility
will have an impact on both of those fronts, creating high-quality, well-paying
jobs. I'm excited for Greenville and for the economic development impact this
announcement from Hubbell Lighting will have on our state," Sanford said.The
economic development impact in Spartanburg is clear: The loss of a headquarters
that employs 235 people and the creation of another empty building.Sanford
spokesman Will Folks said that based on the incentives offered and the agreement
with Hubbell, the company would create new jobs on top of moving the current
jobs. But when asked why the governor didn't address Spartanburg's loss, Folks
said Sanford's quote was accurate and referred questions to the Department of
Commerce.Commerce Secretary Bob Faith said in the release that "the Upstate's
attractive cost structure, exceptional quality of life, and hard-working
economic development organizations make it desirable for a headquarters
location."We at Commerce are thrilled that a leading-edge company such as
Hubbell Lighting has discovered Greenville's global business strengths," he
said.Commerce spokeswoman Claire Morris said the comments in the release were
not intended as a slap at Spartanburg."We love Spartanburg," Morris said. "We
certainly didn't mean that as a slight to Spartanburg."Spartanburg Mayor Bill
Barnet said he hadn't seen the release and that he wasn't going to dwell on what
was or was not in it."I don't know who prepared it or what their intent was,"
Barnet said. "I choose to move forward and focus on the future of the community,
which is going to be bright and very exciting. I don't see any benefit in me
trying to guess why whoever prepared the release wrote what they wrote."Robert
W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.