by Michelle Salater
Aiken has long been known for its beauty and charm, but now the region is gaining a reputation as the home to some of the world’s most accomplished individuals
and influential companies.
Aiken’s talent pool is beyond impressive. Renowned scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, doctors, scholars, and researchers – these individuals are the core of Aiken’s intellectual property.
Leaders in their respective fields and nationally and internationally known for their accomplishments, Aiken’s best and brightest minds are committed, passionate, and working hard for the future of Aiken, our nation, and the world.
Jim Little, President of Washington Safety Management Solutions (WSMS), headquartered in Aiken, sees the community’s workforce as a hidden gem that most people aren’t aware of.
“It’s this gem that’s going to see a tremendous opportunity. We’re seeing it now already,” says Little. “If you look at what’s happened in the United States over the last 30 years, there hasn’t been a lot of investment in infrastructure, notably the energy infrastructure.”
Little states that, by 2030, 40 percent of the U.S. population will live in the Southeast. As the population grows, the energy reserves will be exhausted.
“We’re going to need a new electrical generation of infrastructure here if this economy is going to grow and serve the population. We’ve got a perfect storm coming.
And what’s happening in the U.S. is a very real renaissance in nuclear energy,” he says.
“There’s a huge demand that needs to be satisfied, and the real gem here is that in this area, we have the largest population of experienced nuclear talent in the United States.”
Little adds, “There’s a fertile crescent of opportunity that’s going to extend from the Charlotte area down all the way to Atlanta to establish a brand-new nuclear industry. Aiken is sitting right at the center of it with this large talent pool, very rich and very deep in expertise.”
WSMS, which provides Integrated Management Services in the areas of safety, security, environmental, and operations, has 800 employees throughout the U.S., 300 of whom work in Aiken.
“We’ve got the experience and talent from all walks of life. We are truly a hybrid company,” says Little, referring to the work history of his employees. “I have engineers here
working on brand new nuclear plants for General Electric and Mitsubishi and Areva. Most of our work today is not the Savannah River Site; although, we support the Savannah River Site with their needs – engineering and safety analyses.”
Adding to Aiken’s already large and diverse labor force is the Savannah River National Laboratory. In 2004, the Secretary of Energy awarded the lab national status, making it one of 12 Department of Energy labs in the country.
Laboratory director, Dr. Todd Wright, attributes this acknowledgement to the capabilities and expertise within the lab, to the scientists, engineers, and skilled technicians that make up the lab’s diverse workforce, many of whom are respected internationally for the work they do.
Becoming a National Lab has opened doors for the site. SRNL is now considered one of the leading hydrogen technology research centers in the world. Hydrogen, though plentiful across the planet, is usually locked up in water or other compounds. Being able to use hydrogen as a fuel requires extracting the hydrogen from water or hydrocarbons. Since 2003, SRNL scientists and engineers have studied the technical and economic issues surrounding the use of a new generation of nuclear reactors to “crack” water to produce hydrogen that could be used to fuel America’s vehicles.
In addition to cutting edge technology like hydrogen, SRNL has a long tradition of creating practical everyday technology solutions, such as The Smart Latch ™ acoustic door latch detector. The Smart Latch was named one of the top 25 World’s Best Technologies for 2007, an accomplishment SRNL has achieved for a third year in a row.
SRNL also provides research for national and homeland security, energy security, and environmental and chemical process technology. In addition, the lab has received greater recognition and has the ability to recruit the brightest minds in the country.
Fred Humes, director of the Economic Development Partnership, sees Aiken as a community that is above average in its capability.
“A lot of that has been historic since the Savannah River Site was built. When you have all the educated residents that we have, then your schools are going to have a greater demand to put out quality people. This sets a culture within the community based on higher expectations,” he says, citing Aiken Regional Medical Centers as an example.
“There are very few hospitals with a heart program like we have for a community of our size. All of these things come about because of the higher-level income and higher expectations.”
High expectations also came into play when Bridgestone/Firestone was searching the world for a place to establish their most modern tire plant.
Humes said, “They were looking for a combination of people they could train in their culture, people who had the skills in a community where people would want to come to live that had all the right things as far as quality of life, such as medical treatment and a livable community. As a result, the Aiken facility’s productivity is higher – although it varies a bit – than just about every other plant that they have. They’ve won all kinds of awards and have been selected as one of IndustryWeek’s top 10 companies.”
When the larger companies succeed, smaller companies come in, such as Newman Technology and South Carolina Metal Products.
“Newman Technology originally committed to 100 people, and they are well over 300 now because they found a workforce that was ready, willing, and wanted to work and produce the product.”
Another example is Owens-Corning, which is now producing a new wallboard that “is taking the construction industry by storm because of the way it’s made,” says Humes. “They went through a twenty-five-million-dollar investment; they’re going to do some expansion in their distribution.”
He adds, “There are a lot of stories like this in Aiken.”
Humes also credits the plant managers who are committed to the community.
“At one time, GlaxoSmithKline was simply producing over-the-counter drugs,” says Humes.
“When Carson Sublett took over, he said, ‘We can begin to do more.’ He began working to bring in new products, such as the weight loss drug Alli. Aiken is now the sole source of that product internationally.”
In 1999, when Sublett became plant manager at GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical company, there was talk of closing the plant.
“We wanted to go after a huge opportunity,” says Sublett. “We began to look for a unique niche that was not fulfilled within our company. And as we looked around our company, we asked, ‘What need do we have that isn’t being fulfilled by anyone?’ What we targeted was a business strategy that took on a high-level regulatory compliance and transformed the site into a facility that produces over-the-counter switch drugs. We retooled the site and the workforce’s technological skills – lined up technological capabilities, engineers, scientists, and maintenance technicians – in order to prepare this site to introduce OTC switch products.”
Sublett’s leadership and his employees’ hard work paid off. In 1999, the plant provided products to the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Now, they export products all across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, South America, and some products into South Africa. Since 2004, the facility has increased its population from 230 people to 400 and has spent eighty million on expansion and equipment.
“This site is strategic in terms of new product production, specifically in consumer healthcare production. We now produce 16 different brands out of this site and supply from 15 to 20 markets around the world,” he says, adding that he is looking to market to other countries in Central and Southeast Asia, and, in 2009, the Alli diet pill will be launched in Europe.
Humes believes there is a vibrant leadership that recognizes Aiken has something to offer and has made the effort to attract high quality companies. As a result, Aiken’s talent pool continues to grow.
“I think what has developed over the years in Aiken is this culture, this attitude of we know what we want – we want a great quality of life – and we’re going to do what it takes to get it,” says Humes.
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