Sales and marketing firm Red Ventures is crossing the border into South Carolina with plans for a 1,000-job campus in Lancaster County.
In November, the company will move across the state line to 521 Corporate Center, a 67-acre business park three miles south of Ballantyne. It plans to occupy a 57,000-square-foot building and also is purchasing 7 adjacent acres for a planned expansion into what’s billed as a Silicon Valley-style corporate campus featuring a cafeteria and fitness center. The Charlotte company employs 250 workers at its current headquarters on Lancaster Highway — which also is near Ballantyne on the N.C. side — and 400 more across the country. Next week, Red Ventures will host a job fair to hire 100 employees.
Local and state economic developers in Lancaster County and South Carolina peg the company’s investment at more than $20 million. It’s unclear whether Red Ventures will receive any financial incentives for making the move.
The S.C. Department of Commerce and Lancaster County are providing a $250,000 infrastructure grant to Red Ventures.
Started in 2000, Red Ventures is a high-tech marketing firm that works on behalf of companies such as DirecTV to land subscribers and sales. The company has become a fixture on the Inc. 500 list in recent years. In 2009, Red Ventures anticipates a 33 percent increase in sales despite the recession.
Moves across the state line from Charlotte have been sparse of late. But five years ago and before, Mergent Inc., HSBC Mortgage Services Inc., CitiFinancial, Well Fargo Home Mortgage moved large operations to the border S.C. counties from Charlotte.
The latest to make the jump: Inspirational Networks Inc. and Continental Tire North America Inc.
A study financed by the Charlotte Regional Partnership in 2006 found there was little reason for concern about companies moving south. The study found the numbers of employees moving represented only a small percentage of the total Charlotte work force.
Source: Charlotte Business Journal
