Candy company to invest $675M, employ 1,000 people in South Carolina

ORANGEBURG — A candy company will build a $675 million confectionary and packaging plant in Orangeburg County.

Ferrara Candy Company, a company economic development officials previously referred to by the code name “Project Panther,” announced its plans Wednesday after at least eight months of negotiations with the state.

The company, which makes brands including Nerds, SweeTARTS, Laffy Taffy and Jelly Belly, has pledged to hire 1,000 South Carolinians over the next decade.

“This milestone investment in Orangeburg County, as well as the addition of 1,000 new quality jobs in South Carolina, is set to transform the community, strengthen the workforce and fuel economic prosperity for generations to come,” Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey said in a statement.

The global company, headquartered in Chicago for 118 years, will open its new 750,000-square-foot facility and an administrative office near Orangeburg’s municipal airport as well as existing industry, including a Hill’s pet food plant, cable maker The Okonite Company, Indevco plastics, metal powder supplier Ecka Granules and paving materials company Walker Emulsions.

The first production lines are expected to be operational in the first three months of 2029.

In exchange for its investment, the state has agreed to spend $85 million preparing the site for the company. The state Department of Commerce received approval in February from the state’s fiscal oversight board to borrow the money.

The spending includes:

• Wastewater improvements, estimated to cost $15 million
• Road improvements, estimated to cost $14 million
• Grading and site preparations, estimated to cost $19 million
• Wetlands mitigation, estimated to cost $10 million
• Plus $14 million to buy additional land, build a rail spur and cover any cost overruns

Late last July, the state Department of Commerce and the Orangeburg County Development Commission filed on behalf of the company a permit request with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fill in more than 7 acres of wetlands.

The state also approved the company for income tax breaks worth $250,000 for each new job.

And Orangeburg County Council on Wednesday approved tax breaks and a lease deal with the option to buy for the company. Details of those tax breaks were not immediately available.

“Orangeburg County is excited to add Ferrara Candy Company to a growing list of international companies that have discovered the advantages we offer business and industry,” county council Chairman Johnnie Wright said in a statement

Individuals interested in a job with Ferrara can go online to the recruitment website run by the state’s workforce training office, ReadySC.

The $85 million in state borrowing approved for Ferrara adds to the Department of Commerce’s existing $16.9 million debt. The lion’s share of that is the remaining debt from an incentive package offered to lure Volvo to the state in 2015, according to the state treasurer’s office.