The economy may have slowed, but it hasn’t stopped Starbucks Coffee Company’s Sandy Run roasting plant.

On Thursday, the company celebrated the opening of the Sandy Run facility, which has shipped 3 million pounds of coffee since November 2008.

“To open up a facility of this kind – a state-of-the-art facility – at a time in America when unemployment is reaching record levels and companies are not expanding, I think is a great signal not only to Calhoun County in South Carolina but, honestly, to our entire company,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ president and CEO.

About 200 gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the 120,000-square-foot coffee roasting plant. It is the first plant to open at the 325-acre Tri-County Electric Cooperative Industrial Park off Interstate 26.

Seattle-based Starbucks announced in April 2007 it was investing $70 million in the Calhoun facility and eventually would employ about 160. The plant currently employs about 100 with most being local hires.

Company officials say the economic slowdown may also slow the company’s original plans, but the investment and job numbers will happen.

“This plant is a key part of the strategy of Starbucks in the supply of our stores in the Southeast,” Plant Manager Edward Mills said. “Keeping in mind the economy, this is still a good and vital business.”

Company officials say they expect the plant to serve a growing market.

“We have a very robust business in South Carolina,” Schultz said. “We have stores and we are in the early growth stages of building more stores here. It is a great market for us.”

There are no Starbucks stores in The T&D Region.

Starbucks looked at sites in four other states before selecting Calhoun County. The company broke ground in June 2007, with officials moving into the plant in August 2008.

With 506 roasters and four packaging lines, Starbucks made its first shipment in November 2008.

The Calhoun County plant is the company’s fourth U.S. roasting facility and is LEED Silver certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED is a third-party national certification program which recognizes environmental sustainability.

The grand opening comes amidst challenging times for Starbucks.

Schultz, who led the company through its explosive growth in the 1980s and 1990s, came out of retirement in January 2008 and resumed his place as chief executive.

The company has announced the closure of hundreds of stores and layoff of thousands of workers.

But on Thursday, overcoming and beating challenges was the order of the day.

“We had lots of choices, lots of states and lots of municipalities, but the thing that really came through was the sense of humanity of this county,” Schultz said. “This was not just a sales pitch. These are real people who really wanted the kind of partnerships that Starbucks would bring.”

Calhoun County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Pat Black touted the announcement as a testament to the diligence of Starbucks’ leaders.

“Starbucks seems to be back on the right track,” Black said. “They are like all companies in trying to pull through this economy. But we prefer to be optimistic. They are a world-class company.”

South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor noted the global economic impact of a single coffee bean as it moves from the grower to the retailer.

“We take almost for granted what a facility like this means,” he said. “This is one of those things where you look at the impact of the folks in Calhoun County in the partnership with this great company and what they are able to do around the world.”

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551.

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