SC Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Alliance merge
Oct 14, 2025 | 3:15 pm ET
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Grant Burns, who will be the chair of the combined South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce, and Thomas Rhodes, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, sign a merger, as Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla; Gov. Henry McMaster; Sara Hazzard, president of the new group; and House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, applaud at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — The state’s two predominant associations advocating for businesses’ interests are merging into one organization, leaders announced Tuesday.
The state Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Alliance will form South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce, which will represent more than 900 business owners. The merger will officially take effect Jan. 1.
“Both organizations for decades have worked together on a variety of issues, and this was an opportunity to come together and build an organization that’s just bigger, better and stronger together,” said Sara Hazzard, who will lead the combined group.
The combined organization will build on major investments companies have made in the state in recent years, such as the $2 billion Scout Motors electric vehicle assembly plant just north of Columbia, said Hazzard, who has led the Manufacturers Alliance since 2018.
The two advocacy groups tossed around the idea of becoming one for years, but with the recent momentum, the time seemed right, Hazzard said.
The combined advocacy group is still hammering out the specifics of its policy goals, leaders said. At the top of the agenda will be pushes to reform the state’s taxes to be more competitive for business, increase access to affordable energy, reform the way lawsuits are handled, and ensure residents have the skills to enter the workforce, Hazzard said.
“At the end of the day, we’re just trying to find these views that help move South Carolina forward, for the people of South Carolina, for the businesses of South Carolina, and what will help take us forward into the future,” Hazzard said.
Gov. Henry McMaster, House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, praised the merger as a way of pushing for the needs of the business community.
“What were once separate voices advocating for our state’s economic future will now speak in unison with better strength and clarity to tell the stories of the businesses that make South Carolina home,” Alexander said.
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