U.K.-based manufacturer bringing 21 new jobs to Lancaster County

A manufacturing company based in the United Kingdom will launch its first U.S. operations in Lancaster County.

The new development by Don Construction Products is projected to bring about $6.2 million in capital investment and create 21 new jobs, according to the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

The company has helped serve the construction industry for more than 80 years, creating a range of chemical products like admixtures, sealants, waterproofing, and concrete repair materials.

The company’s new eight-acre facility will be in KCH Industrial Park at 1409 Kershaw Camden Highway in Heath Springs. The facility will be tailored to a new construction materials manufacturing operation that includes dry mortars, sealants, resins and polymer-based products.

Don Construction currently serves customers in more than 35 countries. The company is operated out of Cheddleton, about an hour south of Manchester, England.

 “We are very happy to start operating in the U.S. market,” said Don Construction CEO Tawfic Ghandour. “South Carolina has a lot to offer for the business and has a healthy environment to operate in. Construction in the Southeast is very healthy, and the plant should be well located to service this area.”

Jamie Gilbert, Lancaster County’s economic development director, said the project has been in the works since August 2016. Gilbert said state and county officials worked on creating an incentive package to bring Don Construction to the area.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development announced that it had approved job development credits for the project.

“With it being an international company, it was a huge team effort between the Department of Commerce and Lancaster County,” said Gilbert. “The size is small, but there’s a lot more potential for growth if things go well for them.”

The Chamber estimates that the facility could be online by the third quarter of 2018, with new hires beginning in the second quarter. Interested applicants are asked to visit the company website at www.dcp-int.com.

Lancaster County Council Chairman Steve Harper said manufacturing is the county’s strength.

Fellow manufacturer Nutramax Laboratories celebrated a $15 million expansion in Feb. 2016 that promised to add 125 new jobs to its operations in Lancaster. At the time, the company employed about 300 people.

“One of our top priorities is growing the manufacturing base in the central and southern areas of the county,” Harper said. “Don Construction will do just that.”

By David Thackham, Staff Reporter with The Herald