source: Columbia Regional Business Report
The sprawling new Mark Anthony Brewing facility off Shop Road in Columbia represents what area leaders would like to see more of in Richland County: an influx of major manufacturers that will help the area catch up with other regions in the state that have become major manufacturing hubs.
The Mark Anthony project, located on 200 acres in the Pineview Industrial Park, is the second-largest development deal ever for Richland County, bringing a $400 million investment to the area and 300 jobs. Chicago-based Mark Anthony’s new facility will help the company respond to an exploding national market for its hard seltzer products. The Shop Road location will brew White Claw, Mark’s Hard Lemonade and Cayman Jack cocktails.
Mark Anthony came to the area as a result of aggressive promotion from both Richland County and the city of Columbia, as well as buy-in from local utilities such as Dominion Energy and the city’s water utility, which offered bulk water and sewer rates that offer per-gallon discounts for large users. Mark Anthony, which will need 3 million gallons a day for its operations, will be the city’s largest water consumer.
Area economic development leaders say more of the same will be needed to continue to attract large manufacturing projects to an area that in the past 30 years has seen other large manufacturers like Michelin, BMW, Boeing and Volvo look to the Upstate and the Charleston area to locate new facilities.