How Do Automotive Companies Pick Their SC Sites?

By Mike Switzer

Published August 5, 2016 at 5:58 AM EDT

If you’ve been in South Carolina awhile, you know how important the automobile industry is to our economic health. And that importance keeps growing with the arrival of Volvo, not to mention all the tire companies that keep coming and expanding. Our next guest says that there are several things communities across our state can do continue to be successful in attracting these automotive companies.

Mike Switzer interviews Mark Williams, president of Strategic Development Group in Columbia, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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