SANDY RUN -- U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, on one of the first stops of his fourth annual “S.C. on the Move” tour, visited Starbucks’ new Sandy Run Roasting Facility on Aug. 11, underscoring the importance of the new enterprise to South Carolina’s economy.

Edward Mills, manager of Starbucks’ Sandy Run plant, welcomed DeMint and his entourage as well as local dignitaries. After providing an update on the progress of construction of the roasting facility, Mills took the group on a tour of the $760 million operation.

Mills reviewed the history of the Starbucks Corp., which began in Seattle, Wash.. in 1971, and went global in 1997. Starbucks now has 15,011 stores worldwide, he said.

He commended all the entities involved in bringing Starbucks to Sandy Run, noting, “We have great community support.”

Mills said more than 1,200 people attended the Starbucks job fair at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, which resulted in 4,000 applications.

The plant manager said the facility will have 63 separate silos for coffee bean storage and will be able to process 100 million bags of coffee annually.

He presented DeMint with a framed Starbucks T-shirt.

C. Michael “Mike” Briggs, president and CEO of the Central South Carolina Alliance, which was instrumental in bringing Starbucks to Sandy Run, said, “This particular project is an example of when people come together.” He applauded state and county organizations that worked to make the plant a reality.

DeMint said the local governments and organizations were the ones who got things done, adding, “Washington tended to get in the way.” One of the aims of his “S.C. On The Move” tour was to “take the emphasis off Washington,” he said.

The senator noted that as a result of Starbucks building the roasting facility in Calhoun County, the direct jobs the company provides will only be the start of a “ripple effect” that brings in peripheral jobs.

“Washington can’t do that,” DeMint said, describing Starbucks Sandy Run plant as “a beginning in a part of the state that needs development.” He said there is a need to continue to grow jobs.

Among those on hand for the tour were S.C. House District 93 Rep. Harry L. Ott; C. Michael “Mike” Briggs, president and CEO of the Central South Carolina Alliance; Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College President Dr. Anne S. Crook and Calhoun County Councilman Roger L. Hill.

n T&D Correspondent Larry P. Jordan can be reached by phone at 803-874-3276. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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