ST. MATTHEWS -- Starbucks Coffee Company announced Monday afternoon it will locate a 150,000-square-foot coffee roasting facility here.

The Seattle, Wash.-based company plans to invest $70 million and employ approximately 160 over the next five years at the Tri-County Electric Cooperative Industrial Park in Calhoun County. Starbucks is the first company to locate in the 325-acre industrial park near Interstate 26.

With the faint aroma of coffee wafting through the Calhoun County Museum and a display of Starbucks products and pastries for enjoyment, company, local and state officials gathered to celebrate what was unanimously identified as a "world-class" company and a significant boost for the local economy.

"We are a growing company, we are a lively company and we work very, very hard to operate the way we think we should," Peter Gibbons, Starbucks senior vice president for global manufacturing, told a standing room-only crowd gathered at the Calhoun County Museum.

"We get turned on by two things ... making product and we also get turned on by expanding our network," he said. "We need to build a new plant, we need to build a ... roasting facility and we decided we are going to build it here."

Following a round of applause, Gibbons said Starbucks chose the county because of its workforce availability, transportation access, quality of life and strong support from local and state leaders.

"We will produce a lot of coffee," Gibbons said. "We are very confident that we have found the right site."

The facility will house equipment and operations to receive, roast, package and ship via truck Starbucks coffee to distribution centers servicing company-operated stores, licensed stores and wholesale accounts throughout the Southeastern states.

Starbucks will break ground on the facility in July, with operations beginning in late 2008 or early 2009.

The company's average wage rate will be $17.50 an hour. The county's wage rate is typically $11.93.

"This new facility will help us meet increasing demand for our premium coffees and allows us to support our growth in the Southeast," Gibbons said. "We're very proud to play a positive role in the development of Calhoun County through the creation of new jobs and opportunities."

Starbucks owns and operates manufacturing/roasting plants in Kent, Wash.; York. Penn.; Carson Valley, Nev.; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

There are about 57 Starbucks stores throughout South Carolina, but none in The Times and Democrat region. With the addition of the new Calhoun County facility, company officials expect the number of stores to increase in the near future.

Gibbons noted the company takes pride in treating all its employees with respect, its diverse workforce and being involved in community service.

"We like to be the employer of choice," he said.

Company officials say they examined about 36 other Southeastern sites before settling on Calhoun County. County officials and the company began talks with Starbucks about five months ago.

The project, which was code-named "Project Willie," was kept confidential right up to the moment of the announcement.

The company is still working out the final details of its incentive package with the state and Calhoun County, but the traditional fee-in-lieu of taxes and other state incentives are expected to be included.

Percolating praise

Calhoun County Council Chairman David Summers welcomed Starbucks, saying "This is a world-class company that has extremely high environmental and corporate values."

Summers noted since the county joined the Central South Carolina Alliance in 1999, the alliance has helped attract about $600 million in capital investments and 500 new jobs to the county.

The CSCA is a public/private partnership engaged in the recruitment of jobs to a 12-county region, including Calhoun and Orangeburg counties.

"Today, we are making Starbucks coffee the official coffee of Calhoun County," Summers said, to a chorus of applause.

Calhoun County Economic Development Director Pat Black noted Starbucks' recognition in Fortune Magazine as the 16th best company to work for and its number 45 ranking in Business Ethics Magazine as best corporate citizen, saying that is what Calhoun County is all about.

"Starbucks is one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world," Black said. "This is a world-class facility and a world-class company and we are proud to be part of it. Calhoun County can compete with anybody in the nation."

Black also noted that former Beatle Paul McCartney signed a contract with the company's new record label, Hear Music.

"First it was Paul McCartney and now it is Calhoun County," Black said. "It gets better and better."

Gov. Mark Sanford, while acknowledging he is not a coffee drinker, said the wages Starbucks will pay are a "very, very big deal."

He predicted that like the re-energizing effect of its caffeine product, Starbucks will most likely re-energize the local economy.

"A lot of folks have been dreaming of this day, of an expansion like this. You are a reminder of how change and innovation and creativity are incredibly important," Sanford said.

State House Minority Leader Harry Ott, D-St. Matthews, said Starbucks will become the only coffee he drinks.

"You are now part of the Calhoun County family," Ott said. "We look forward to the increase and improvement of the quality of life. It is not everywhere you can go in Calhoun County and find a job that might pay $17 bucks an hour."

Ott said Starbucks will serve as the "anchor" of the Tri-County Electric Cooperative Park.

"We certainly believe this is simply going to be the first of many that will locate and we hope sooner rather than later," he said.

"This investment presents significant opportunities for Calhoun County as a job creator while giving more industries reason to look into this area as a strategic location for distribution," S.C. Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor said. "Once again, our state's business-friendly climate, access to markets, quality workforce and excellent infrastructure are opening new doors and working to grow our economy."

"Starbucks is a marquee company with an impressive growth history," he said. "They are a welcome addition to our ever-growing corporate community and we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship in the years ahead."

Starbucks was founded in 1971 in Seattle's Pike Place Market under its original name: Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices. Starbucks was found by English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel and writer Gordon Bowker.

Starbucks, named after the first mate in Herman Melville's Moby Dick, has 2,200 stores in the Southeastern region of the U.S.

The company has locations in all 50 states, where it operates about 9,300 stores. Internationally, the company has locations in about 38 countries with about 3,800 stores.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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