Governor visits Hartsville’s Hilex Poly Co. site

HARTSVILLE — As Gov. Mark Sanford traveled through Hartsville on Tuesday, he stopped at the headquarters of Hilex Poly Co. LLC.

Hilex is the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic carry-out bags, with nine manufacturing facilities around the United States.

Sanford spent time with many of the 75 Hartsville-based Hilex employees, answering their questions on topics such as the current health-care debate and government efforts to attract more businesses to South Carolina.

Hilex CEO and president Stan Bikulege provided Sanford with an overview of the company and described Hilex’s environmental stewardship initiatives, as well as its efforts to collect, recycle and utilize both post-industrial as well as post-consumer plastic materials within the manufacturing process.

Bikulege also told the governor about current market challenges the company is facing from national, state and local government legislative actions proposing end-user taxes on plastic bags and in some cases, bans on usage of plastic bags altogether.

The company also provided Sanford with details on studies regarding sanitary concerns of re-usable carry-out bags, especially in light of the increasing spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and the importance of consumer awareness in order to avoid the potential health hazards of cross contamination.