The
South Carolina Chamber of Commerce announced that its 2012 Business Leader
of the Year is Josef Kerscher, president of BMW Manufacturing. Kerscher will
be honored at the
33rd Annual Summit, The Stars of Business, November 8 at Wild
Dunes on the Isle of Palms.
Kerscher joined BMW in 1979 where he worked in various positions at the plant
in Landshut, Germany. In 1996, he became Vice President of Final Assembly at the
BMW Manufacturing facility in Munich, Germany. He then served as Munich Plant
Manager from 2004-2006. Since 2007, he has served as President of BMW
Manufacturing Co., located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW Manufacturing Co.
is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich and is the global producer of the BMW X3 and
X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupe.
Kerscher chairs and has revitalized the South Carolina Chamber Manufacturers'
Steering Committee, leading the effort to host the first statewide Manufacturing
Conference, which is now in its third year. The influential steering committee
pursues strategies and promotes the tools that allow South Carolina
manufacturers to compete at the highest levels locally, regionally and
internationally.
Otis Rawl, president and CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce,
said, "There is no doubt about BMW's enormous economic impact on South
Carolina. Josef Kerscher has also greatly impacted the Palmetto State,
working to make South Carolina more competitive for manufacturing and all
businesses. South Carolina is fortunate to have a business leader like
Josef."
Read
More.
The
resurgence of U.S. manufacturing
By Jay Timmons
The following article
originally appeared in South Carolina Business.
Manufacturing is poised for a renaissance in the United States, and the
upcoming elections will go a long way toward determining whether we achieve that
goal.
While there are some positive signs—for example, some manufacturers have
begun investing back in the United States—major challenges loom ahead.
Unemployment remains high in the stalled economy, and manufacturers will face
much uncertainty in the future. According to the NAM/Industry Week's most recent
quarterly survey, two-thirds of manufacturers cite an unfavorable business
climate as their primary challenge.
Bringing about a true manufacturing renaissance will require a comprehensive
agenda to reduce the cost of manufacturing in the United States and make this
country a more competitive place to do business.
Read more.
Legislative Scorecard released - 41 legislators earn perfect score
The 2012
Legislative Year-In-Review and Scorecard has been released with 41
legislators earning perfect scores and 62% of the legislators scoring 80% or
above.
Through the South Carolina Chamber's direct advocacy efforts at the State
House in 2012 and through strong alliances with other industry trade
associations, businesses will benefit from more than $800 million in legislative
reforms designed to make them more competitive.
Each legislative session, the Chamber tracks key business roll call votes and
tallies these votes to determine an overall score for each member of the General
Assembly. In 2012, the Chamber tracked key votes on a variety of business
issues, including: the Smith Land Company case, port expansion,
retirement system reform, unemployment insurance tax relief, a small business
tax cut, disqualification of unemployment benefits for workers fired for
misconduct, the Closing Fund and more.
Manufacturers will particularly benefit from efforts surrounding the
Smith Land Company case. The General Assembly passed one of the most
significant pieces of economic development legislation this session by
correcting the egregious Supreme Court ruling in the Smith Land Company
case. As a result of the 2011 ruling, any emission or discharge into the
environment would have required a permit, even if one did not exist. The ruling
also created a private right of action for citizens or citizens groups to sue
anyone deemed in "violation" of the Pollution Control Act (PCA). Correcting the
ruling was paramount to restoring regulatory certainty and fostering a pro-job
creating business climate.
Read more.
Manufacturing votes count this election season!
Elections
are right around the corner, and it is critical that manufacturers cast
their ballots on November 6. Voters in South Carolina must be registered by
October 6 to participate in the general election. The South
Carolina Prosperity Project provides all the tools manufacturers need to
be fully engaged this election season, including voter registration forms.
With just a month left until election day, now is the time to talk to your
employees about what's at stake this fall.
Save the Date for safety training in December
The South
Carolina Chamber of Commerce will offer safety training December 10-11, 2012 at
1301 Gervais Street, Suite 1100 in Columbia. The first day of training will
cover the very latest in Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
recordkeeping, a safety topic that generates more confusion and questions than
any other. The afternoon session will provide a multitude of information on
effective safety and health programs. The second day of training will focus
solely on OSHA and maintenance workers. Each of these sessions will include a
review of OSHA violations consistently cited by OSHA compliance officers during
inspections.
Attend this safety training and learn:
- How to avoid OSHA recordkeeping and reporting violations that can yield
penalties of up to $10,000 per occurrence and result in criminal prosecution
-
How to prevent accidents and injuries through an effective safety and health
program
- How to comply with OSHA regulations
- The benefits of
having an engaged safety committee
- Basic workers' compensation
information
- Fundamentals of machine guarding with photos to
illustrate key concepts
- Ways to lower the cost of doing business
-
Proper lockout/tagout (LOTO) practices and procedures to safeguard workers
from the release of hazardous materials
A discount is available to those individuals or companies who register for
both days or if you register before October 31.
Register today!