Newberry County facility will create 954 local jobs and support advanced R&D and production of premium home appliance products
Ridgefield Park, NJ – June 28, 2017 EST – Samsung reached an agreement with the State of South Carolina to open a state-of-the-art home appliance manufacturing plant in Newberry County. The $380M facility will produce some of Samsung’s most popular, industry-leading home appliances and will generate 954 local jobs by 2020. This is the latest in a series of investments expanding Samsung’s U.S. holdings and operations.
“We aspire to be the global leader in premium home appliances,” said Samsung Electronics CEO B.K. Yoon. “This new investment will enable Samsung to increase the speed with which we can deliver premium home appliances that reflect the regional preferences of our fastest growing and most important consumer market.”
Samsung began contemplating an expansion of its U.S. production base nearly three years ago and initiated discussions with South Carolina in the fall of 2016. The company ultimately selected the Newberry County site for its high-skilled workforce, robust supply chain and transportation infrastructure and commitment to public-private partnerships.
“The fact that one of the world’s largest and most respected technology companies is choosing to invest in South Carolina speaks volumes about the talent of our workforce and the strength of our growing innovation ecosystem,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. “I’m thrilled to strengthen our state’s longstanding partnership with Samsung and look forward to working with them to get this new facility up, running and churning out high quality made-in-South Carolina products.”
When fully operational, the plant will employ workers across a broad range of advanced manufacturing roles, including craftsmen, operators, engineers and other both technical and non-technical positions. The facility will produce premium home appliances including washing machines from early next year. Samsung already operates a call center in Greenville, South Carolina, that supports 800 full time and contracted jobs.
“For nearly forty years, Samsung has steadily expanded our operations in the United States - creating thousands of jobs and investing billions of dollars in cutting edge manufacturing facilities, research and development,” said Samsung Electronics America President & CEO Tim Baxter. “With this investment, Samsung is reaffirming its commitment to expanding its U.S. operations and deepening our connection to the American consumers, engineers and innovators who are driving global trends in consumer electronics.”
Today’s announcement from Samsung comes on the heels of a series of recent investments in the U.S. totaling over $10 billion. Over the past 18 months, Samsung has:
• Acquired Connecticut-based HARMAN International for $8 billion, Samsung’s largest acquisition to date that positions the company to be a leader in the connected car market
• Committed $1.2 billion to U.S.-based Internet of Things R&D and investments over the next four years
• Committed $1 billion to expanding the Samsung Austin Semiconductor facility, established in 1996 and one of the largest foreign direct investments in the U.S. and the largest ever in Texas
• Acquired Dacor, adding the luxury home appliance company’s Los Angeles headquarters and 240 employees to Samsung’s operations
“Innovation is part of our DNA at Samsung and few markets have been more crucial to our company’s growth strategy than the U.S.,” said Byungsam Suh, Executive Vice President, Head of Digital Appliances Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to put even more U.S. engineering power behind our products and look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership with the people of South Carolina.”
