The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. From taxation and facility costs to wages and salaries, doing business in the nine-county North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) Region is cost-effective, but that’s not the only reason new and existing companies are choosing to locate and grow in the area. The region’s temperate climate and diverse topography are other factors making it an easy place to live.

ROI was mandated by NESA to identify intelligent leads: companies that are growing, expanding and that would be a good fit with NESA’s value proposition.

Thanks to an intelligent lead provided by ROI Research on Investment, Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls opened its long-awaited battery recycling facility in Florence. The company’s $150 million capital investment, which will allow its current 200 employees to ramp up production of recycling 132,000 metric tons of automotive batteries per year, is estimated to create 250 new jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs.

Press release from Area Development:

I’d like to thank the leaders from the Florence area and throughout South Carolina for their support and collaboration through this process, including the Florence County Economic Development Association, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Senators Hugh Leatherman and Yancey McGill, and many others,” said President of Johnson Controls Power Solutions Alex A. Molinaroli. “They have been instrumental in helping us to achieve today’s milestone to be able to break ground on this important facility.