EDITORIAL: New industry to power up

A new industrial neighbor is moving into Aiken County with the addition of MTU Detroit Diesel which will make its home in the Sage Mill Industrial Park.

MTU is set for a $45 million capital project at the former SKF site at Sage Mill. Over the next four years the company will have 250 employees who will be assembling large propulsion systems for marine uses, mining equipment, agriculture and forestry machines, land and sea defense equipment and on-site energy systems to provide backup power.

MTU Detroit Diesel's operation in Detroit is moving to the new site, bringing some of its workers from Michigan and hiring others locally. According to MTU officials, production of the first engines is scheduled for October.

For months Aiken County residents have been aware of a Project X that was looking to our community. Aiken County Council provided tax incentives to induce MTU to our community.

Part of German corporate entity Tognum, MTU will use the Aiken County facility near Graniteville as the center for engine manufacturing in North America. One-fourth of MTU's business is in North America. with $1 billion in sales last year.

While the facility will begin with assembly areas for its 2000 and 4000 series of engines, plans call for the manufacture of engine components at the new facility with the possibility of expansion in the future.

Having a long-standing company - MTU traces its roots back over a century - select Aiken County for its new home is high praise for the efforts of those in local and state government as well as for the overall community. Having a clean manufacturing company come to the county is an added bonus.

We welcome MTU to Aiken County and to the company and its officials embracing the new community to which they are coming. This is good news for our local economy as it means additional jobs and a new tenant at Sage Mill, but it also is a promising note for South Carolina which has weathered the storms of lost industry and lost jobs for too long.