Showa Denko Carbon plans major Ridgeville expansion with about 100 new jobs

Showa Denko Carbon Inc., which makes graphite electrodes for steel mills at its plant near Ridgeville, plans to significantly expand its Dorchester County operations.

The investment is expected to run in the hundreds of millions of dollars and to create about 100 jobs, the S.C. Department of Commerce said Wednesday. The company expects to finish the expansion by mid-2013 and to begin hiring by 2012.

The Ridgeville plant employs more than 220 people. It supplies about 40% of the nation’s large-diameter, ultra-high-power graphite electrodes, according to the announcement. Steelmakers use the electrodes to melt scrap in electric arc furnaces. The plant also makes granular graphite for automotive friction materials.

Showa Denko Carbon started operations in 1983 and was acquired by Japan’s Showa Denko KK in 1988, the department said.

“We operate quietly in rural Dorchester County, but our impact has been significant in the U.S. electric furnace steel industry and around the world,” said Robert C. Whitten, the company’s president and CEO. He said the company decided to expand because its business has been successful and it sees growing demand for high-quality graphite electrodes. The expansion fits within parent Showa Denko’s new medium-term business plan, called PEGASUS, he said.

Whitten thanked Dorchester County, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Santee Cooper and the state for helping bring the project to South Carolina.

“Showa Denko has been a great asset to our county,” said Dorchester County Council Chairman Larry Hargett.

“The Port of Charleston is proud to handle Showa Denko’s international shipping needs,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the S.C. State Ports Authority. Together with a sister plant in Omachi, Japan, the Ridgeville plant is a principal supplier of graphite electrodes to the world’s electric arc furnace steel industry, according to the company.

Gov. Nikki Haley said the state expects to draw more investments like this one by lowering taxes and regulatory burdens. People interested in the jobs are encouraged to contact the Summerville Workforce Center next year, the department said.