Chinese Textile Company Bringing Yarn Factory, 500 jobs to Lancaster  County

中國(guó)紡織企業(yè)將在蘭開(kāi)斯特郡建紡織廠，帶來(lái)500工作崗位

The head of a Chinese textile company says he is bringing a new yarn factory and 500 jobs to Indian Land, S.C., part of what local officials call a growing trend of Chinese firms setting up shop in the Charlotte region.

中國(guó)紡織企業(yè)的一個(gè)負(fù)責(zé)人說(shuō)他將在南卡州印第安地塊上建造一家新的紡紗廠，帶來(lái)500個(gè)工作崗位，這被當(dāng)?shù)氐牟糠止賳T稱這將是中國(guó)企業(yè)在夏洛特區(qū)域范圍內(nèi)建立廠房的增長(zhǎng)趨勢(shì)。

Shang Qing Zhu, chairman of the Keer Group, a manufacturing company about two hours from Shanghai, told the Observer in a telephone interview that he is pleased to bring his company’s first overseas operation to the area.

科爾集團(tuán)是家離上海約兩小時(shí)車程的制造企業(yè)，集團(tuán)董事長(zhǎng)朱善慶在一次電話采訪中告訴“觀察者”報(bào)紙，他很高興將公司的第一家海外公司帶到該區(qū)域。

Speaking through an interpreter, he said he plans to start construction in February. He was drawn to the area for the low labor costs, particularly in Lancaster County, and the fact that he found a good parcel of land close to Charleston’s port.

通過(guò)翻譯人員傳述，他說(shuō)他計(jì)劃在2月動(dòng)工。他被該區(qū)域的低價(jià)勞動(dòng)力成本所吸引，尤其是蘭開(kāi)斯特郡的，并且他說(shuō)在蘭開(kāi)斯特郡找到了一個(gè)很好的地塊，離查爾斯頓港口也近。

The company will invest $218 million to construct and operate a 230,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at S.C. 160 and Old Bailes Road, according to the S.C. Department of Commerce. The industrial yarn-making operation six miles south of Ballantyne is expected to produce 501 jobs within five years.

根據(jù)南卡商務(wù)部消息，該公司將投資2.18億美金在南卡160和老貝爾斯路那邊建造和運(yùn)營(yíng)一個(gè)約230,000平方英尺的生產(chǎn)廠房。這個(gè)Ballantyne以南6英里處的紗線廠房預(yù)計(jì)將在5年內(nèi)創(chuàng)造501個(gè)工作崗位。

Zhu is also opening an office in uptown Charlotte to house engineering, financial and upper management functions. He said proximity to Charlotte’s financial sector bodes well for the company’s future growth in the region.

朱總還在夏洛特主區(qū)設(shè)置了一個(gè)辦公室，用于房屋工程、財(cái)務(wù)和上層管理。他說(shuō)靠近夏洛特的金融區(qū)域?qū)緦?lái)在該區(qū)域的發(fā)展會(huì)比較有利。

“We are going to continue the relationship for a long time,” he said.

“我們將會(huì)有長(zhǎng)期的合作關(guān)系。”他說(shuō)

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joined Lancaster County officials in trumpeting the announcement as one of the largest in the county’s history. Lancaster lost thousands of textile jobs in recent decades as Springs Global downsized its operations in Lancaster and Chester counties, said Keith Tunnell, president of the Lancaster County Economic Development Corporation.

南卡州政府官員Nikki Haley和其他蘭開(kāi)斯特郡的官員一起申明該公告是該郡歷史上最大的公告之一。蘭開(kāi)斯特郡經(jīng)濟(jì)開(kāi)發(fā)局主席Keith Tunnell說(shuō)蘭開(kāi)斯特郡在近幾十年損失了數(shù)以千計(jì)的紡織崗位，因?yàn)镾pring Global縮減了其在蘭開(kāi)斯特郡和切斯特郡的運(yùn)作業(yè)務(wù)。

“This is one of the largest onshorings back to theU.S.of a textile operation in recent memory, and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the company,” he said.

他說(shuō)：“這是近年來(lái)紡織產(chǎn)業(yè)在美國(guó)的巨大回歸之一，我們很高興能有這樣的機(jī)會(huì)與該公司合作?！?/p>

Zhu’s decision to build in Indian Land represents the latest example of a wider trend in which manufacturing jobs that left theU.S.in droves for lower-cost Chinese locations are increasingly coming back.

朱總在印第安地塊上建廠房的決定代表了最近廣泛趨勢(shì)的一個(gè)例子，這個(gè)趨勢(shì)是因中國(guó)低成本的位置而成群離開(kāi)美國(guó)的制造業(yè)的崗位正在逐漸的回歸。

With labor costs rising inChinaby 15 to 20 percent annually, experts say growing Chinese firms see less financial advantage in staying home. Low American energy costs and high-tech, highly-efficient modern plants help level the playing field.隨著中國(guó)勞動(dòng)力逐年15-20%的增長(zhǎng)，專家說(shuō)越來(lái)越多的中國(guó)企業(yè)對(duì)呆在中國(guó)看到的是更少的金融優(yōu)勢(shì)。美國(guó)低價(jià)的能源成本、高科技、高效的現(xiàn)代工廠幫助創(chuàng)造了更公平的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境。

“That advantageChinahas enjoyed is narrowing,” said Mike Zinser, a partner with the Boston Consulting Group who has studied the issue. “We are starting to see signs of textile manufacturers considering theUnited States. … It’s an industry we hadn’t expected to see” returning jobs toAmerica.

“中國(guó)之前有的優(yōu)勢(shì)正在逐漸變小，”Mike ZInser說(shuō)，他是波士頓咨詢公司的合伙人，對(duì)這方面有研究，“我們開(kāi)始看到紡織制造商開(kāi)始考慮美國(guó)的跡象，

Chinese firms generally have been stepping up their presence in theU.S.in recent years, buying everything from real estate to billion-dollar corporations such as the Smithfield pork producing firm in eastern North   Carolina.

今年來(lái)，中國(guó)企業(yè)已經(jīng)普遍開(kāi)始加快了他們?cè)诿绹?guó)的存在，他們購(gòu)買任何東西，從房地產(chǎn)到數(shù)十億美元的公司，例如在北卡東部的斯密斯菲爾德豬肉加工產(chǎn)。

Chinese companies spent a record $12.2 billion in the first nine months of this year on projects and acquisitions in theU.S., according to the Rhodium Group, a firm that tracks Chinese investments.

根據(jù)Rhodium集團(tuán)，一家專門追蹤中國(guó)投資的公司說(shuō)，在今年的前9個(gè)月中，中國(guó)公司花了創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的122億美金在各種項(xiàng)目和收購(gòu)上。

Zhu said that in his experience, most Chinese manufacturing firms looking to go outside ofChinahead to other Asian countries. His company, he said, is one of the first Chinese textile firms to come toAmerica.

朱總說(shuō)跟據(jù)他的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，很多的中國(guó)制造商都在尋早走出中國(guó)去其他亞洲國(guó)家發(fā)展，科爾是第一家來(lái)美國(guó)發(fā)展的中國(guó)紡織企業(yè)。

Heavy competition for firm  激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)

The firm’s announcement capped what Tunnell, the Lancaster economic developer, has described as a fierce competition between the two Carolinas and several Northeastern states.

公司的公告，蘭開(kāi)斯特郡經(jīng)濟(jì)開(kāi)發(fā)局的Tunnell說(shuō)，是南北卡州及其他東北幾個(gè)州激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的勝出。

Eileen Cai, the Charlotte Chamber’s Mandarin-speaking corporate recruiting specialist for Asia, worked for about two years with Keer, but the company found a plant site more suitable to its needs inLancasterCounty. Tunnell said he hired a Chinese-speaking translator from a local law firm to compete.

夏洛特商會(huì)會(huì)中文的專門招收亞洲企業(yè)的專家Eileen Cai, 致力于科爾兩年，但是科爾最后在蘭開(kāi)斯特郡發(fā)現(xiàn)了一塊更適合自己的廠址。 Tunnell說(shuō)他專門從當(dāng)?shù)芈伤钦衅噶艘粋€(gè)中文翻譯來(lái)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)該項(xiàng)目。

The Charlotte Regional Partnership, an economic development agency coveringMecklenburg, Lancaster and 14 other counties, said it also supplied Keer Group with research on the area.

“夏洛特區(qū)域性合伙公司”，一家覆蓋梅克倫堡、蘭開(kāi)斯特及其他14個(gè)郡的經(jīng)濟(jì)開(kāi)發(fā)機(jī)構(gòu)，說(shuō)他為科爾集團(tuán)提供了該區(qū)域的研究報(bào)告。

LancasterCountyoffered the company a 30-year fee in lieu of property taxes agreement, as well as $7.7 million in revenue bonds to defray project costs. The South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved a $4 million grant, as well as job development credits.

蘭開(kāi)斯特郡給科爾提供了30年財(cái)產(chǎn)稅返還， 770萬(wàn)美金收益?zhèn)瘉?lái)支持基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)。南卡州經(jīng)濟(jì)開(kāi)發(fā)協(xié)調(diào)委員會(huì)通過(guò)了400萬(wàn)美金的撥款及崗位發(fā)展優(yōu)惠。

Tunnell said the jobs – mostly high-tech production posts paying $13-$15 an hour – will provide a welcome jolt toLancaster’s economy. Springs Global employed more than 11,000 textile workers inLancasterandChestercounties in the late 1970s and 1980s, but Tunnell said that presence has dropped to a few hundred as jobs moved toSouth America.

Tunnell說(shuō)科爾的工作崗位—主要高科技生產(chǎn)崗位支付$13-$15每小時(shí)—將會(huì)給蘭開(kāi)斯特的經(jīng)濟(jì)帶來(lái)受歡迎的一次震動(dòng)。 Springs Global過(guò)去在1970年代和1980年代在蘭開(kāi)斯特郡和切斯特郡雇用超過(guò)11,000的紡紗工人，但是現(xiàn)在僅有幾百人，大部分的工作崗位轉(zhuǎn)移到了南美洲。

Lancaster’s jobless rate rose above 18 percent during the recession but has fallen to 9.1 percent.

蘭開(kāi)斯特郡的失業(yè)率在經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條時(shí)期升至18%，現(xiàn)在掉到9.1%

“Even though we welcome textiles,” Tunnell said, “we don’t want it to dominate again. But this is a good group of people (at Keer) to work with. We’re very excited about this.”

“盡管我們歡迎紡織企業(yè)”Tunnell說(shuō)，“我們不希望紡織企業(yè)再次占據(jù)主導(dǎo)地位。但是科爾是一個(gè)很好的團(tuán)隊(duì)，我們對(duì)他們的到來(lái)非常興奮?！?/p>

Chinese presence grows locally

Cai said even thoughCharlottedidn’t get the factory, theQueenCity’s airport and financial sector provided a strong part of the attraction for Keer officials. She said the project will help attract other Chinese companies to theCharlottearea.

Cai說(shuō)，盡管夏洛特沒(méi)有贏得該公司，但是皇后機(jī)場(chǎng)及該區(qū)的金融業(yè)構(gòu)成了吸引科爾來(lái)此附近投資的一部分。她說(shuō)該項(xiàng)目會(huì)吸引其他的中國(guó)企業(yè)來(lái)夏洛特區(qū)域。

“We see this as a win-win for the region,” said Cai, who interpreted for Zhu during his telephone interview with the Observer.

“這個(gè)對(duì)該區(qū)域來(lái)說(shuō)是雙贏的，”Cai說(shuō)，Cai在“觀察者”電話采訪中為朱總翻譯。

South Carolinaofficials said Chinese firms represent a growing part of their business community, citing research showing thePalmettoStateleads theU.S.in foreign-affiliated job recruitment per capita.

南卡官員說(shuō)中國(guó)企業(yè)代表了他們商業(yè)界不斷增長(zhǎng)的一部分，調(diào)查顯示南卡州在人均外資企業(yè)招聘崗位上一直處于領(lǐng)先地位。

Some 23 Chinese companies have operations inCharlotte, said Jeff Edge, senior vice president for economic development with the Charlotte Chamber.

夏洛特商會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)開(kāi)發(fā)部副總裁Jeff Edge說(shuō)，有約23家中國(guó)公司在夏洛特有運(yùn)營(yíng)部。

That’s fewer than Germany, which had 127 firms in Charlotte as of 2012; but this year, more potential relocation or expansion projects have come out of China than Germany.

雖然少于德國(guó)，德國(guó)到2012年為止已經(jīng)有127家公司在夏洛特，但是今年，跟德國(guó)相比，中國(guó)有更多的潛在遷移和擴(kuò)張項(xiàng)目。

Chinese textile firms especially know the Carolinas “are famous for the textile industry,” said Cai, aShanghainative. “When they look forU.S.operations, they automatically think about this region.”

Cai說(shuō)：“中國(guó)紡織企業(yè)都知道南北卡發(fā)紡織行業(yè)非常有名，當(dāng)他們?cè)诿绹?guó)尋找業(yè)務(wù)機(jī)會(huì)時(shí)，都會(huì)自動(dòng)的想到該區(qū)域?！?/p>

The Keer Group says on its website that it employs more than 2,000 people inChinaand has total assets of 2.2 billion yuan, or $370 million.

科爾集團(tuán)在其網(wǎng)站上說(shuō)他在中國(guó)有2000多名員工，總資產(chǎn)22億人民幣，或3.7億美金。

Zhu said he expects to come to the area in February and hopes to someday buy a house here.

朱總說(shuō)他預(yù)計(jì)2月份會(huì)過(guò)來(lái)，并且有意向在該地買房。