$107 million investment to create 400 new jobs for Union, SC
January 14, 2022
Greenville, S.C. – Yesterday the South Carolina Department of Commerce announced that MycoWorks, a California-based biotechnology company founded in 2013, plans to establish operations in Pacolet Milliken’s Midway Green Industrial Park in Union County, SC.
MycoWorks specializes in mycelium-grown materials for use as sustainable, luxury-quality leather alternatives. Specifically, MycoWorks’ patented Fine Mycelium™ process – a globally-recognized breakthrough in materials science – uses mycelium, the vegetative tissue in certain mushrooms to produce a product that mimics the performance of animal leathers. The material offers creative solutions and new design possibilities for fashion and luxury brands, while lowering environmental impacts.
The company will locate its operations in an existing industrial facility constructed on a speculative basis by Lockhart Power Company in partnership with Union County. The combination of the immediately-available building, the reliability and capacity of existing utility infrastructure and Lockhart’s renewable energy profile were attractive propositions for MycoWorks,
MycoWorks’ decision to locate at Midway Green Industrial Park was also the result of strong collaboration between Pacolet Milliken’s Energy/Infrastructure and Real Estate Divisions, Lockhart Power, the Union County Development Board and Union County Council, the SC Department of Commerce, and the Coordinating Council for Economic Development.
The new facility will increase MycoWorks’ capacity to meet the fashion and luxury industries’ growing demand for its materials, including its flagship product Reishi™. Operations are expected to be online in early 2023.
“When Lockhart Power and Union County entered into an innovative partnership to build the speculative industrial facility in the Midway Green Industrial Park, we had great hopes for the type of quality company our long-term investment would attract. Today, those hopes were exceeded,” said Bryan Stone, President of Lockhart Power. “MycoWorks has a culture of innovation, sustainability, manufacturing excellence, and diversity & inclusion that resonates with our Milliken family of companies. We couldn’t be more proud of the result of our collaborative effort with Union County and State officials”, stated William Crawford, CEO of Pacolet Milliken.
MycoWorks Chief Operating Officer Doug Hardesty stated, “Deciding where to put down roots was a big decision, but the partnership offered by state and local officials in combination with access to talent and amenities in the area made it easy. We look forward to growing a world class team and operation in Union County, South Carolina.”
About Pacolet Milliken and Lockhart Power
Pacolet Milliken, LLC is a leader in the institutional management of private investment capital. Headquartered in Greenville, SC., Pacolet is a family-owned firm that directly owns and manages real estate, and energy and infrastructure assets located across the United States. Pacolet Energy/Infrastructure owns a diverse set of power, renewables and infrastructure assets, including a regulated electric portfolio, an industrial utilities company and a substantial solar and landfill gas portfolio. Pacolet Real Estate has a national portfolio of office, retail, industrial, multi-family properties, and currently focusses on multi-family and industrial warehouse development in the Southeast, the Southwest and Southern California. In both Divisions, Pacolet seeks to positively impact the communities in which we operate and be a steward of our environment from a generational perspective.
Lockhart Power Company is an investor-owned electric utility located in the Upstate of South Carolina. It was founded in 1912 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacolet. Lockhart provides cost-effective and reliable electric power generation, transmission, distribution and lighting services to a range of residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers. Its service area spans portions of five South Carolina counties: Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee, Chester and York.
