Twelve companies have announced plans this year to open or expand operations in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties. Together they have promised 490 jobs and about $269 million in investment, according to a Charleston Business Report tally of announcements by the S.C. Department of Commerce and the three counties’ economic development offices.

That is fewer jobs than the region was promised over the same stretch of 2025. From Jan. 1 through Oct. 22 last year, 12 announced projects promised 657 jobs, so this year’s total is down about 25%.

The investment total is up, but only because of one project. Alzchem Group, a German chemical maker, said in July it expects to spend about $150 million on a plant at Bushy Park in Goose Creek. Without it, this year’s announced investment would be about $119 million, down from about $163 million at this point last year.

The 2026 list

Each company announced the following, as reported by the state or county:

  • AVM Group, national headquarters in Mount Pleasant, March: $5 million, 30 jobs
  • Bittermilk, beverage maker moving to Ravenel, May: $8.2 million, 12 jobs
  • Red Metals, copper rod plant in North Charleston, June: $70 million, at least 45 jobs
  • Horse Spot, equestrian technology company in Charleston, June: 11 jobs
  • Venom EV, electric vehicle maker in Summerville, June: $645,000 initial investment, 60 jobs
  • Alzchem Group, specialty chemical plant at Bushy Park, July: about $150 million
  • IEB Americas, battery charger production in North Charleston, August: $1.5 million, 30 jobs
  • Translucent Solar, solar panel factory in Summerville, August: $15.7 million, 167 jobs
  • Arvaya AI Automations Consulting, North Charleston, September: six jobs
  • Carolina Heavy Steel, steel fabrication in Ridgeville, September: $15 million, up to 50 jobs
  • Stöbich Fire Protection Systems, smoke curtain production in North Charleston, September: $2.53 million, 33 jobs
  • Obatala Sciences, biotech lab at MUSC’s Blue Sky Labs in Charleston, October: $656,000, 46 jobs

Horse Spot and Arvaya did not disclose an investment figure. Alzchem has not said how many people it will hire, and it has said finalizing a contract with the U.S. government is among its next steps.

Factories carry the year

Manufacturing accounts for eight of the 12 projects, 397 of the 490 jobs and nearly all of the investment. The other four are a corporate headquarters, two technology firms and a biotech lab.

Translucent Solar’s Summerville factory is the biggest single source of jobs, with 167. Venom EV is next with 60, followed by Carolina Heavy Steel with up to 50, Obatala with 46 and Red Metals with at least 45.

Eight of the 12 projects are companies new to the region, and they account for 428 of the jobs. The four expansions by companies already here promise 62.

By county, Charleston County has seven projects, $85.4 million and 180 jobs. Dorchester County has four, $33.9 million and 310 jobs. Berkeley County has one, Alzchem.

Last year’s mix was different. Defense and aerospace work led 2025, with HII’s shipbuilding operation in Goose Creek promising more than 250 jobs, Keel promising 170 at its Meggett shipyard and Eaton $46 million for aerospace parts in North Charleston.

A thin slice of the state’s projects

The region’s share of the projects announced by the state Commerce Department has been small.

From Jan. 1 through Oct. 22, the department announced 38 projects statewide, promising about $6.2 billion in investment and about 6,240 jobs where figures were disclosed, according to the tally. Seven of them were in the three counties. Those seven promised $87.9 million and 207 jobs, or 1.4% of the investment and 3.3% of the jobs.

The Charleston metro area has about 18% of South Carolina’s payroll jobs, according to state employment figures for September.

The largest projects went elsewhere. Octapharma, a Swiss maker of medicines from human plasma, announced a $1.5 billion plant in York County with more than 1,500 jobs. USA Rare Earth announced about $1.2 billion and about 490 jobs in Cherokee County. Westinghouse announced about $1 billion to expand its nuclear fuel plant near Columbia. Ferrara Candy Co. announced $675 million and 1,000 jobs in Orangeburg County.

The region did somewhat better last year. Over the same stretch of 2025, the department’s nine tri-county projects accounted for 1.6% of the investment and 8.8% of the jobs it announced, mostly because of HII, Keel and Eaton.

What the tally doesn’t capture

Five of this year’s 12 projects, including Translucent Solar, Alzchem and Carolina Heavy Steel, were announced by county economic development offices or the company rather than by the state. They account for 283 of the region’s 490 jobs.

Some large investments fall outside the tally. Google said in October 2025 that it would spend $9 billion in South Carolina in 2026 and 2027. Dorchester County’s economic development office said the investment builds on two data center campuses Google is constructing in the county. The announcement did not say how much would be spent in the county or how many jobs it would add there, so it is not in the tally.

Announced figures are also promises, not results. They are companies’ own projections, often for several years out, and projects can grow, shrink or stall after the announcement.

The Charleston Regional Development Alliance, which markets the three counties to companies, uses a narrower count. Its annual report said seven announced projects in its 2025-26 fiscal year represented 249 direct new jobs and $15.57 million in new payroll.

How we did this

We listed every project announcement for Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties posted by the S.C. Department of Commerce, Charleston County Economic Development, Berkeley County Economic Development and Dorchester County Economic Development from Jan. 1, 2025, through Oct. 22, 2026, and checked each against its release. We counted investment and jobs as announced, using the stated figure when a release said “more than,” “at least” or “up to,” and left blanks where a company did not disclose a number. Announcements that gave neither a jobs nor an investment figure for the three counties, such as Google’s October 2025 data center announcement and Comact’s June 2025 lease in St. George, are not counted. Both years cover Jan. 1 through Oct. 22. Statewide totals add the figures in the Commerce Department’s project releases for the same periods of 2025 and 2026. Alzchem’s figure comes from the company. Grants, events and openings of previously announced projects are not counted.