EV manufacturer enters South Carolina market with $12M facility

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An electric vehicle manufacturer has set it sights on Aiken County for its first South Carolina facility.

Columbia Vehicle Group has selected Aiken County for the company’s first South Carolina operation, according to a news release.

The company’s $12.2 million investment will create 180 new jobs.

Part of the Nordic Group of Companies, Columbia manufactures pure electric vehicles for industrial and commercial markets under the Columbia and Tomberlin brands, the release stated. The company’s products, which include golf carts, utility vehicles, maintenance vehicles and e-bikes, are distributed globally.

Columbia is relocating manufacturing operations from Florida and Wisconsin to Aiken County for closer proximity to customers and its supply chain. The company will purchase and upfit the existing 154,480-square-foot facility located at 2063 University Parkway in Aiken.

“We’ve been investing in great communities since 1947 with Aiken being a superb fit to our continued global expansion of the Tomberlin and Columbia brands,” Columbia Vehicle Group CEO Michael Tomberlin said in the release. “It has been a pleasure working with Aiken County and the S.C. Department of Commerce.”

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Operations will be phased in over the next 18 months, according to the release.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project, the release stated. The council also awarded a $100,000 Set-Aside grant to Aiken County to assist with the costs of building improvements.

“Columbia Vehicle Group’s selection of Aiken County for its manufacturing operations highlights our county’s low tax, manufacturing-friendly environment. We appreciate the confidence that Columbia places in our community and look forward to partnering with them in attracting additional industrial investment and job creation,” Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker said in the release.

Added Western SC Economic Development Partnership Chairman Gary Stooksbury: “We would like to thank Columbia Vehicle Group for choosing Aiken County for this investment and the new jobs that will be created. The adoptive reuse of an existing building and the continued diversification of our manufacturing sector is impactful to Aiken County.”