South Carolina Statehouse Blog

MAKER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO BRING NEW FACILITY TO UPSTATE

Columbia, S.C. - July 1, 2010 - Gov. Mark Sanford today joined state legislators and economic development officials to welcome CT&T, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art electric vehicles, to South Carolina. Headquartered in South Korea, the company will invest $21 million in its Upstate facility and create over 370 new jobs.

“This announcement is both great news for the Upstate’s economy and an incredible compliment to our state,” Gov. Sanford said. “CT&T’s decision to put down roots in South Carolina serves as a reminder that we’re making strides even in these challenging economic times, and for their work on that front I’d thank Secretary Joe Taylor and his team at the Department of Commerce, especially Project Manager Wayne Fritz. Today’s jobs and investment announcement is also the latest in a growing number of signs that South Carolina is taking the lead in attracting companies from a conservation-based and evolving energy economy,” Gov. Sanford said. “Whether it’s IMO in Dorchester County, Materials Innovation Technologies in Lake City, or Proterra in Spartanburg, South Carolina is emerging as a hub of new industries capitalizing on this larger theme of good stewardship of our environment.

“It’s worth remembering that this Grand Opening comes in the wake of an incredibly successful year of jobs and investment announcements by our Commerce Department. In fact, last year our state led the entire Southeast in job recruitment, and in just the last several months we’ve made five 1,000-plus job announcements. Boeing’s decision to land in North Charleston last fall marked the largest economic development announcement in state history. We’ve made strides in rural economic development, including six project announcements in Hampton, Allendale, Bamberg and Barnwell Counties totaling 1,139 new jobs. We’ve expanded our state’s QuickJobs training program, led the nation by certifying over 100,000 South Carolinians for Career Readiness, and graduated 94 percent of our Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG-SC) students, easily besting the national standard.”

At its new facility in Duncan, South Carolina, CT&T will manufacture its flagship eZone vehicle. The eZone is an all-electric low speed electric vehicle (EV) that offers a range of up to 70 miles in a single charge through its advanced technology lithium polymer battery. CT&T is an acronym for Creation Technology and Top.