WESTMINSTER, S.C. — CurTec USA, a maker of high-performance plastic packaging for the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries, will invest $10 million to expand its Oconee County plant, adding roughly 27,300 square feet of warehouse and production space and about 10 jobs, the company said in a release.
The project at 365 Oconee Business Parkway in Westminster will enlarge the existing warehouse by more than 2,000 pallet positions and add a new blow molding line, according to the company. The new line is intended to boost output and let CurTec make smaller packaging formats locally. The company said it plans to begin making 6- and 10-liter pails in Westminster before the end of 2026, with smaller wide-neck drums to follow in 2027.
CurTec said groundbreaking was planned for this month, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2027. FOX Carolina and Trade and Industry Development reported that operations from the expansion are expected to come online in summer 2027. The company, founded in 1991, produces drums, pails and jars and operates production sites in Westminster and in Rijen, Netherlands. The Westminster facility opened in 2023, and CEO Bart van Berkel told FOX Carolina the original goal was to move production closer to North American customers, with this expansion as the next step in that plan.
Gov. Henry McMaster welcomed the follow-on investment, saying, “We are proud to see the company continue investing in our state,” according to Trade and Industry Development. CurTec’s U.S. site director, Martin Lamar, said in the release that “Westminster was designed for future growth.” Jamie Gilbert, president and CEO of the Oconee Economic Alliance, said in the release that the project reflects the company’s confidence in the county’s workforce and business climate. Job seekers can apply through the company’s careers site, FOX Carolina reported.
For brokers, developers and investors, the project is a small but telling example of expansion capital flowing into an existing Upstate industrial site rather than a greenfield one. An on-site expansion by an established tenant can strengthen an industrial park’s pitch to other life sciences and advanced materials suppliers weighing the western Upstate. The added pallet capacity also points to demand for owner-occupied warehouse space tied directly to manufacturing rather than speculative distribution product.
The investment is modest compared with the region’s headline auto and energy projects, but it extends a run of growth for a company that first committed to Oconee County in 2022. At that time, the Netherlands-based company planned a $13 million investment and 32 jobs over five years, local radio station WGOG reported.
Sources: CurTec press release (PR Newswire), FOX Carolina, Trade and Industry Development, WGOG
Leave a Reply