Berkeley Means Business

Strong industrial investment. Commitment to conservation. Perseverance through teamwork.

Those were the top themes voiced by DuPont officials, along with state and local leaders who gathered Thursday, July 28 to celebrate a ribbon-cutting ceremony for DuPont’s newest investment in Berkeley County: the launch of its new Liveo™ healthcare product line, which began last year. This roughly $20 million investment resulted in 25 new employees and will create another 25 jobs in the near future.

DuPont began operating in Berkeley County more than 46 years ago, with operations first beginning in 1976. In 2017, the DuPont Cooper River site shuttered the Kelvar facility after just a few years of operations. The company decided to repurpose the facility by expanding the Hytrel™ operations and adding Molykote™ and Liveo™ production to the Cooper River site.  

Life sciences and biotechnology innovation is a growing sector across the County and State, with an annual economic impact exceeding $11 billion and 40,000 jobs in South Carolina. Berkeley County alone has more than 25 life science industries—adding another one (DuPont’s investment) to that list today.

“This plant, the DuPont name, is known all over the world. It’s a great company that started long ago. …It’s thriving and people are thriving with it. …This is a big moment; it’s an important moment.” -Governor Henry McMaster  

The DuPont Cooper River site sits on a former rice plantation—Dean Hall—dating back to 1725. DuPont has been an integral community ally, helping the County relocate the historic Nesbit House from the company’s property to where it now sits in Moncks Corner. More recently, DuPont donated land to the County to further expand the parking area at the Cypress Gardens Boat Landing site. DuPont also supported the County’s reopening of its popular Cypress Gardens park after severe flood damage.

The Cooper River Site is a well-balanced industrial park with over 2,100 acres, only 200 of which are currently developed. Over 1,200 acres are set aside for conservation in a conservation easement with Lord Berkeley Land Trust, of which 800 acres are wetlands, and 925 acres are managed for wildlife. 

“Forty-six years in Berkeley County is absolutely incredible; and DuPont’s expansion and existence here means so much to us. As a County, we are growing at a tremendous rate, and we’re both blessed and challenged by that growth; but at the same time, we want to protect what we hold dear so conservation and preservation efforts are at the forefront of our thoughts and actions. This campus is a shining example in that nearly 60-percent of the campus is protected under a conservation easement with Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust. Aside from this, Dupont has been a generous community partner and we appreciate their past and continued support for the Cypress Gardens Park and Landing.  Their recent donation of over five acres of land allowed us to expand an overwhelmed boat landing from 35 total parking spaces to 145 spaces.  Dupont is a shining example of Industry and Government working together for those we serve and represent.” -Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb

“We had such great cooperation, first from our community, and really appreciate the strong support from the State, the County, the local government but also from our construction partners.” -John Singer, VP, Integrated Operations – Electronics & Industrial, DuPont

“This is really a testament to the commitment that we have with Cooper River…and really this is just the first in a series of investments in Cooper River. This will make this a central part of our manufacturing network for high performance and high quality healthcare materials.” -Sam Ponzo, VP / General Manager for Industrial Solutions for Electronics and Industrial Businesses, DuPont

“We are a global leader in healthcare solution products and now we’re (working) to increase our capacity and find alternative locations. …This is a very special customer set of people that really need help to cure…from diseases” -Eugenio Taccalino, Global Business Director for Healthcare and Specialty Lubricants, DuPont

“Being selected as the second dedicated healthcare site is indeed an honor and a reflection of our team’s track record of dedication, ownership, and commitment to our Core Values and excellence in meeting customers’ needs.  Thanks to collaboration between the DuPont team and our contractor partners, the Cooper River site was completed within 17 months – on time, on budget, and without a single recordable safety incident.” -Bill Alexander, Cooper River Site Leader, DuPont

DuPont’s new biopharma tubing manufacturing site in Cooper River South Carolina
DuPont’s new biopharma tubing manufacturing site , located in Cooper River, South Carolina. [Image courtesy of DuPont]

Expansion of biopharma processing tubing manufacturing capabilities with state-of-the-art infrastructure will support customer growth

WILMINGTON, Del., May 31, 2022 – DuPont (NYSE:DD) today announced the opening of its new DuPont Liveo Healthcare manufacturing site in Cooper River, South Carolina, to help better serve customers worldwide.

The site, located in Berkeley County, will be operated using the same quality standards as DuPont’s Healthcare Industries Materials Site, the company’s longstanding biopharmaceutical manufacturing site in Hemlock, Michigan. The Cooper River site will bring additional extrusion capacity online over the next two years to serve strategic customers in the short term and expand its Liveo Healthcare customer base with additional supply in the medium term.

“The biopharma processing manufacturing investment at Cooper River is a key milestone in our growth strategy; it supports our customers’ expansion and contributes to business continuity,” said DuPont Healthcare & Specialty Lubricants Global Business Director Eugenio Toccalino. “We’re committed to investing in our healthcare business, and our recent expansions help us offer a highly reliable and sustainable product supply.”

DuPont™ Liveo Healthcare is also expanding its manufacturing footprint regionally to support customers locally, which will help alleviate supply pressure and allow customers to grow in their respective markets. In the second half of 2022, the company expects to add biopharma silicone tubing capacity in China to serve the fast-growing customers in the region.

“Through a strong, close collaboration between our DuPont team and our contractor partners, construction of the new Cooper River site was completed in 18 months, without a single safety incident”, said Bill Alexander, Cooper River site and unit leader for the DuPont™ Liveo™, and MOLYKOTE® plants. “The site has enabled the creation of 25 positions at start-up, with an additional 25 positions expected to be created as we ramp up operations over the next two years”, added Alexander.

“For more than fourteen years, DuPont Cooper River has continued to diversify and reinvest in new products ensuring the viability of this Berkeley County facility. Life sciences and biotechnology innovation is a growing sector with an $11 billion annual economic impact and over 40,000 jobs in the State of South Carolina. We thank DuPont for their commitment to this community and for creating more high-paying jobs for the local workforce,” said Kristen O. Lanier, Berkeley County Economic Development Director.

In 2021, the DuPont Cooper River site expanded to include manufacturing of DuPont™ MOLYKOTE® Specialty Lubricants.

As a trusted partner in the healthcare processing industry, DuPont has developed a leadership position within the industry by building upon more than seven decades of foundational capabilities that serve the highly regulated biopharmaceutical market. With these recent investments, DuPont is committed to serving the healthcare market and its customers more than ever, offering high-quality, high-performance solutions; application and material science expertise; and strong regulatory support to address healthcare customers’ specific needs and challenges.

About DuPont Liveo Healthcare Solutions

DuPont Liveo is a globally recognized leader in technology for a broad range of innovations in medical devices, biopharmaceutical processing and pharmaceutical solutions. DuPont high-performance materials help create safer healthcare environments and protect the health of patients and healthcare providers worldwide. We help enable smarter healthcare and positive patient outcomes. More information can be found at liveo.dupont.com.

About DuPont Electronics & Industrial

DuPont Electronics & Industrial is a global supplier of new technologies and performance materials serving the semiconductor, circuit board, display, digital and flexographic printing, healthcare, aerospace, industrial, and transportation industries. From advanced technology centers worldwide, teams of talented research scientists and application experts work closely with customers, providing solutions, products and technical service to enable next-generation technologies. 

About DuPont

DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, healthcare and worker safety. More information about the company, its businesses and solutions can be found at www.dupont.com. Investors can access information included on the Investor Relations section of the website at investors.dupont.com

Do you own a business in Berkeley County or are interested in starting one? We want to hear from YOU!  Our Berkeley County Economic Development teams wants to know what you like about living, working, and doing business in Berkeley County.

Please consider taking our survey so we can learn more about how your business is doing—and what WE can do—to help make EVERY business a success in our County.

GET INVOLVED

June 20 – 30, 2022

Tricounty STEMersion 2022 is a two-week, unique hands-on institute for middle and high school instructors in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties in South Carolina. During the institute, educators visit one or two sites per day and will be introduced to local companies’ work environments including the practical use of formulas, theories and/or concepts necessary for a successful work process. Educators will also participate in real-world workplace (hands-on) learning opportunities and lesson writing activities that reinforce why math, science and soft skills are so important for the region’s workforce and economic growth.

EDUCATOR REGISTRATION

FOR BUSINESSES

BECOME AN INDUSTRY PARTNER

Industry partnerships are the driving force behind Tri-County STEMersion. Local companies looking to make a direct investment in our region’s talent pipeline can support STEMersion in the following ways:

  • Host a site visit for educators and counselors
  • Become a STEMersion corporate sponsor
  • Provide a lunch for educators and counselors
BECOME AN INDUSTRY PARTNER

STEMersion Celebrates 5 Years

Tri-County STEMersion 2022 will celebrate five years of empowering educators to prepare our region’s future workforce during this summer’s professional development institute, to be held June 20-30.

STEMersion gives middle and high school instructors and counselors a firsthand look at emerging industry technology. Through hands-on activities and panel discussions with industry leaders, educators form connections between STEM education concepts and workforce preparation. Local STEM-focused companies including Bosch, Boeing and NIWC Atlantic shared insights and trends in workforce development with the 2021 cohort. Participants then applied these insights to develop industry-inspired lessons for use in the classroom. “STEMersion put the ‘why’ in what we teach students. We want our students to be great producers, and with this gained knowledge we can put ideas in our students’ minds,” said 2021 participant Angela LeVan-Woosley, a business education and computer science teacher at Westview Middle School.

Quotes
“An eye-opening experience, Tri-County STEMersion connects the classroom to key competencies and technologies required in today’s work world. The institute builds career awareness, allows local educators to ‘touch’ their curriculum at a local industry site and catapults them to create standards-based, industry-inspired projects for their students to ‘solve by design!'” – S.C. Department of Commerce Regional Workforce Advisor Dr. Patricia Ferguson

In addition to STEM-related topics, STEMersion sessions highlight writing and soft skills as a means of strengthening the region’s talent pipeline. Numerous presenters expressed the importance of investing in human capital to drive innovation and problem-solving capacity within the workforce. Using feedback from these industry leaders, participants explored ways to cultivate students’ ability to communicate, and to think innovatively, to ensure workforce readiness.

Applications for the 2022 cohort are now available at tricountystemersion.com. Twenty-two educators and counselors from Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties took part in the fourth annual session, which concluded June 30, 2021. The experience culminated in a capstone project competition, in which participants were divided into groups to apply STEM concepts such as proof of concept, prototypes, and design review into their final product. The winning project, created by four Berkeley County educators, applied the design and manufacturing processes to address the issue of bullying in schools. The project was then featured as a Day of Caring STEM design challenge in local schools in the region in November 2021.

Despite shifting to a virtual platform, STEMersion’s planning committee piloted several additions in 2021. School counselors joined this year’s cohort for the first time in the program’s history. The newly-launched STEMersion app served as a complement to the virtual sessions. Also, previous STEMersion participants were invited back to the institute as ambassadors. “I was so excited to serve as an Ambassador for STEMersion this year and look forward to being able to be back on-site next year. STEMersion helps teachers make connections between curriculum and careers. This helps teachers truly help students connect skills learned in the classrooms to skills used in the workforce and potential careers,” said Deborah (D.D.) Otap, a makerspace teacher and facilitator at the West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies.

STEMersion is hosted by the S.C. Department of Commerce and Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester County’s economic development offices. For more information, or to apply, visit tricountystemersion.com.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C.- (Tuesday, July 20, 2021)- Berkeley County residents interested in growing their qualifications for manufacturing jobs can apply for scholarships for the ManuFirst SC program HERE. This free program is available for Berkeley County residents and will start on August 16, 2021.

When: Monday – Thursday, starting August 16, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 6-10 p.m.

Where: Trident Technical College, Berkeley Campus, 1001 S. Live Oak Dr., Moncks Corner

Why: Help Berkeley County residents get the necessary training for manufacturing positions

This four-week course, ending on September 15, 2021 will provide the necessary training for graduates to qualify for positions at industries around Berkeley County and in the state of South Carolina. ManuFirstSC participants learn essential safety policies, communication best practices, quality standards, production processes and maintenance awareness. All successful graduates receive an OSHA-10 card and Yellow Belt Lean Six- Sigma certification. The course also includes preparation and testing for the MSSC Safety Certification Assessment. Materials are provided.

About ManuFirstSCTM – Berkeley County worked in partnership with Trident Technical College, South Carolina Department of Commerce, Volvo Cars, and Ready SC to pilot the program in June 2017. Since then, neighboring counties have emulated the training program to provide opportunities for residents around the state. SC Department of Commerce rebranded the program ManuFirstSCTM and has rolled it out across the state’s technical college system by industry demand. 

To qualify for a Berkeley County ManuFirst SC scholarship, participants must:

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be able to legally work in the United States
  • Provide documentation of Berkeley County residency
  • Have a high school diploma or GED
  • Provide proof of Bronze WIN/WorkKeys score

Scholarships are available for upcoming ManuFirst SC courses. Scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Apply now! Anyone with questions should contact Berkeley County Economic Development Workforce Development Manager Corey McClary at 843-719-4096 or corey.mcclary@berkeleycountysc.gov.

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– Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office –