About Us [ Home ]

Barnwell County's rural setting and low cost  business environment has proven to be an excellent business location for new and expanding industry. Our industrial community includes such recognizable, international companies as Milliken & Company, Hanesbrands, Inc., Dixie Narco, Inc.(a division of Crane Corporation), Dayco Corporation (a division of Mark IV Automotive), Allied Air, Inc. (a division of Lennox International), Energy Solutions, Washington Group International, Kronotex, USA and, most recently, Elkay Cabinet Division (a division of Elkay Manufacturing Company).

Barnwell County offers the amenities of a growing rural community coupled with the proximity to major metro areas in the southeast such as Columbia, Augusta-Aiken, Atlanta, and Charleston. In addition to the overall lower cost of doing business and the market access to the southeast, Barnwell County offers something unique that many other rural communities lack, a full-time professional economic development agency and adequate financial resources to fund economic development.

The Barnwell County Economic Development Commission was created in 1987 to provide Barnwell County with a full-time professional staff dedicated to economic development. Then in 1989, the Barnwell County Economic Development Corporation was formed to foster the growth of new and existing industries in Barnwell County through loans, leases and the providing of assistance with obtaining federal and state grants. The Corporation owns and/or manages three certified industrial parks and owns three industrial buildings. These two organizations are now self supporting, thereby requiring no funding from County taxpayers to operate. Both the Commission and Corporation are governed by a seven member board appointed by County Council. The mission of both the Commission and the Corporation is to facilitate and foster an environment in which community development takes place, jobs are created and capital investment is made in Barnwell County.