This week Honda has been celebrating 10 years of operation in the Pee Dee.
The plant, which started out making All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) has added personal watercraft to its production facility in Timmonsville.
As most will remember, the effort to bring Honda here hit some roadblocks, but a tremendous effort by community leaders, including Florence Mayor Frank Willis, was instrumental in making sure Honda knew how much the community wanted the plant.
That was in 1997.
The plant began production in July 1998, and the past 10 years have been marked by some important milestones and tremendous community impact.
The original plant had about 200 employees, known as associates.
It cost about $30 million to build the 200,000-square-foot facility.
Currently, the company employees more than 1,500 people.
According to a company press release, Honda of South Carolina has the capacity to produce 340,000 ATVs, 310,000 Engines and 29,000 PWCs annually.
The company has received many production quality and safety awards and taken many conservation and energy savings steps as well.
Today, the company estimates it has spent $266 million in Florence County on its 625-acre site and the two plants.
The company pays about $90 million every year in wages; $2.8 million in taxes for education, and there are now 18 companies in South Carolina that serve as suppliers to the plant and another 161 across the country.
And they have not forgotten about the community as they have contributed $3 million to charities and nonprofit organizations.
Recently, Honda gave $500,000 to the Southeastern Institute for Manufacturing and Technology in Florence.
It’s all of these things and more that Honda brings to the table.
We look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries and further successes.
The efforts and incentives to bring Honda here have more than paid for themselves.
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