Lancaster County’s small-town setting, featuring quality growth planning and diversified development, offers a pro-business, cost-effective work environment for companies, professionals and industries, and these are contributing factors to the continued expansion of our business community.

With the textile industry providing a strong foundation, Lancaster county’s economic base has expanded greatly in recent years. At least sixty industries maintain operations in Lancaster and manufacture a variety of products, including batteries, decorative trim and coatings, electronics, metalworking, hosiery, heavy truck parts, transmission towers, bricks, spices, cans, railroad spikes, and pharmaceutical packaging, to name a few.

Springs Industries is Lancaster County’s largest employer, with its operations center, printing, transportation departments, and several textile plants here. Other large manufacturing companies in the area include Duracell, Cardinal Healthcare, U.S. Textiles Corporation, and ZF Lemforder Corporation.

In recent years, Lancaster County has sought to attract new companies through the development of industrial parks. The Lancaster County Business Park, a 162-acre site along the Highway 9 Bypass, was originally developed as a partnership between the City of Lancaster and Lancaster County, and is home to four industries, with room to expand.

The northern part of Lancaster County, known as Indian Land, adjoins Charlotte/Mecklenburg County and is experiencing new industrial and commercial growth, especially in its business parks, including MacMillan Business Park, the Perimeter 521 Industrial Park, and located near the South Carolina/North Carolina border, the 521 Corporate Office Park, which opened in 2002 and houses several industries and corporate offices.

Other industrial developments/parks are scattered around the county, and as new infrastructure is completed, future growth is anticipated for many reasons, beginning with planning. Local government officials and business leaders know that quality planning now produces quality development in the years to come.

Lancaster County has one of the best available work forces in the greater Charlotte region. The South Carolina Special Schools Employee Training Program for Industry, coordinated by nearby York Technical College, is considered one of the best educational vehicles of its kind in the nation.

Also enhancing Lancaster’s economic growth is the constant upgrading of county and municipal water, sewer and natural gas services to better serve area citizens, as well as preparing for future business and residential growth.

Good infrastructure is a key ingredient of economic health. Lancaster is fortunate to have many primary federal and state highways transversing the county and to have Interstates 77 and 85 nearby, thereby facilitating the movement of people and commerce in all directions. The Carolinas abound in freight and air freight companies, which is why this area ranks as one of the foremost distribution centers in North America.

It’s only a 45-minute drive from the city to Douglas International Airport-Charlotte – one of the fastest growing airport hubs in the country. In addition, Lancaster takes pride in possessing one of the longest, non-commercial lighted runways in the Southeast. The 6,000 feet long runway and taxiway of the Lancaster county Airport-McWhirter Field easily accommodates the largest corporate jets.

With over 100 years of continuous rail operations, the L&C Railway is a privately owned, well-capitalized, financially strong, short line railroad based in Lancaster, offering customized, competitive rail freight service and connecting to the national rail network through both CSXT and Norfolk Southern.

Actively working to recruit new industries to the area, the Lancaster County Economic Development Corporation seeks out the best the business world has to offer local residents by promoting the county’s resources and qualities. Lancaster County provides a business-friendly tax structure – corporate income tax is 5% and Lancaster does not have state property taxes, nor inventory or intangibles taxes. A number of tax credits are also possible for new industries.

The county has an array of professional and commercial firms and numerous service enterprises. Additionally, Lancaster is the corporate headquarters for Kanawha Insurance Company, a national company that offers both personal and group insurance with sales representatives throughout the United States, and Founders Federal Credit Union, an organization that has branch offices in many states.

Downtown Lancaster’s revitalization includes extended Streetscape lighting and sidewalks, and has been enhanced by attractive new office complexes for both Lancaster County and the City of Lancaster. Occupancy continues to increase and renovations to several buildings are in progress. The Town of Heath Springs has completed its beautifying Streetscape project, and Streetscape work has also begun in the Town of Kershaw.

Supporting local businesses and industries, the Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce offers networking and training opportunities to its 500+ members throughout the year. The Chamber is an associate office of the Small Business Development Center which provides confidential, free-of-charge consulting for area small business and prospective small business owners, including planning, financing, marketing, advertising, accounting and cash flow management.

Chamber-sponsored Councils, including Small Business, Human Resource Managers, Top Management, and Retired Businesspersons, offer special programs and seminars of interest, support and education to their members. Membership-wide networking and educational programs are offered

throughout the year. Demographics, updated business information, available commercial site data and a community calendar are all maintained at the Chamber office.