A beer garden, bowling alley and backing from the state, not to mention the planned recreation field, yoga studio, cycling room, amphitheater, food court and hundreds of new employees who’ll work there.
When it’s finished a year from now, the newest Red Ventures building ought to be something to see.
“We’re trying to build a campus and community,” said Ric Elias, CEO and co-founder, “a place we can all be excited to come to work at, but a place where we can continue to attract what ultimately will make us successful, which is more and more of the right level of talent.”
Red Ventures broke ground Thursday on the third building at its Indian Land site, part of a 16-acre expansion to create space for the 1,000 hires expected during the next five to seven years. Red Ventures came to Indian Land in 2009. It’s since grown from about 300 employees to nearly 1,600.
The four-story, 180,000-square-foot addition will help the company continue growing. There are more than 1,000 employees at the Indian Land headquarters and 1,600 nationwide. Another 400 Indian Land hires are planned in the next four months, Elias said.
“Our success has clearly exceeded all of our expectations when we started this business,” he said.
Gov. Nikki Haley and Larry McCullough, chairman of the Lancaster County Council, helped break ground Thursday. All the new jobs, plus a total of $35 million in investment to the state already, had Haley offering present and future support toward continued company growth.
“For South Carolina, this is an absolute point of pride right here,” she said. “You are seeing a very innovative company that is taking true gambles in a time when the economy is shaky, and they’re succeeding. They’re doing well.”
The fact that Red Ventures, which offers a variety of marketing services, chose Indian Land to begin with is a strong sign for its community, McCullough said. The fact that it’s thriving now and could choose anywhere to build, and is keeping close to home, is even better, he said.
“It is a very good day when a world class company evaluates you, selects you and decides to relocate to your area,” McCullough said. “Today is a great day.”
Red Ventures already was known for company amenities, like the large patio area and full indoor basketball court at its current headquarters just across the street from Thursday’s groundbreaking. Possible tennis and beach volleyball courts may come with the new addition. The multipurpose field, Elias said, could be used by the community, too.
Elias expects the new construction to be impressive, but mainly in hopes that more high-quality employees will be drawn to it.
“Our culture is stronger as we’ve grown,” he said, “and our future is brighter than ever before.”
By John Marks, Staff Reporter with The Fort Mill Times
(803) 327-9041
