科尔资讯

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

中国纺织企业将在兰开斯特郡建纺织厂，带来500工作岗位

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.

中国纺织企业的一个负责人说他将在南卡州印第安地块上建造一家新的纺纱厂，带来500个工作岗位，这被当地的部分官员称这将是中国企业在夏洛特区域范围内建立厂房的增长趋势。

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.

科尔集团是家离上海约两小时车程的制造企业，集团董事长朱善庆在一次电话采访中告诉“观察者”报纸，他很高兴将公司的第一家海外公司带到该区域。

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.

通过翻译人员传述，他说他计划在2月动工。他被该区域的低价劳动力成本所吸引，尤其是兰开斯特郡的，并且他说在兰开斯特郡找到了一个很好的地块，离查尔斯顿港口也近。

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.

根据南卡商务部消息，该公司将投资2.18亿美金在南卡160和老贝尔斯路那边建造和运营一个约230,000平方英尺的生产厂房。这个Ballantyne以南6英里处的纱线厂房预计将在5年内创造501个工作岗位。

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.

朱总还在夏洛特主区设置了一个办公室，用于房屋工程、财务和上层管理。他说靠近夏洛特的金融区域对公司将来在该区域的发展会比较有利。

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

“我们将会有长期的合作关系。”他说

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.

南卡州政府官员Nikki Haley和其他兰开斯特郡的官员一起申明该公告是该郡历史上最大的公告之一。兰开斯特郡经济开发局主席Keith Tunnell说兰开斯特郡在近几十年损失了数以千计的纺织岗位，因为Spring Global缩减了其在兰开斯特郡和切斯特郡的运作业务。

“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.

他说：“这是近年来纺织产业在美国的巨大回归之一，我们很高兴能有这样的机会与该公司合作。”

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.

朱总在印第安地块上建厂房的决定代表了最近广泛趋势的一个例子，这个趋势是因中国低成本的位置而成群离开美国的制造业的岗位正在逐渐的回归。

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.随着中国劳动力逐年15-20%的增长，专家说越来越多的中国企业对呆在中国看到的是更少的金融优势。美国低价的能源成本、高科技、高效的现代工厂帮助创造了更公平的竞争环境。

“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.

“中国之前有的优势正在逐渐变小，”Mike ZInser说，他是波士顿咨询公司的合伙人，对这方面有研究，“我们开始看到纺织制造商开始考虑美国的迹象，

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.

今年来，中国企业已经普遍开始加快了他们在美国的存在，他们购买任何东西，从房地产到数十亿美元的公司，例如在北卡东部的斯密斯菲尔德猪肉加工产。

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.

根据Rhodium集团，一家专门追踪中国投资的公司说，在今年的前9个月中，中国公司花了创纪录的122亿美金在各种项目和收购上。

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.

朱总说跟据他的经验，很多的中国制造商都在寻早走出中国去其他亚洲国家发展，科尔是第一家来美国发展的中国纺织企业。

Heavy competition for firm  激烈的竞争

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，兰开斯特郡经济开发局的Tunnell说，是南北卡州及其他东北几个州激烈竞争的胜出。

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.

夏洛特商会会中文的专门招收亚洲企业的专家Eileen Cai, 致力于科尔两年，但是科尔最后在兰开斯特郡发现了一块更适合自己的厂址。 Tunnell说他专门从当地律所那招聘了一个中文翻译来竞争该项目。

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.

“夏洛特区域性合伙公司”，一家覆盖梅克伦堡、兰开斯特及其他14个郡的经济开发机构，说他为科尔集团提供了该区域的研究报告。

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.

兰开斯特郡给科尔提供了30年财产税返还， 770万美金收益债券来支持基础设施建设。南卡州经济开发协调委员会通过了400万美金的拨款及岗位发展优惠。

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说科尔的工作岗位—主要高科技生产岗位支付$13-$15每小时—将会给兰开斯特的经济带来受欢迎的一次震动。 Springs Global过去在1970年代和1980年代在兰开斯特郡和切斯特郡雇用超过11,000的纺纱工人，但是现在仅有几百人，大部分的工作岗位转移到了南美洲。

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

兰开斯特郡的失业率在经济大萧条时期升至18%，现在掉到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.”

“尽管我们欢迎纺织企业”Tunnell说，“我们不希望纺织企业再次占据主导地位。但是科尔是一个很好的团队，我们对他们的到来非常兴奋。“

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说，尽管夏洛特没有赢得该公司，但是皇后机场及该区的金融业构成了吸引科尔来此附近投资的一部分。她说该项目会吸引其他的中国企业来夏洛特区域。

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

“这个对该区域来说是双赢的，”Cai说，Cai在“观察者”电话采访中为朱总翻译。

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.

南卡官员说中国企业代表了他们商业界不断增长的一部分，调查显示南卡州在人均外资企业招聘岗位上一直处于领先地位。

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

夏洛特商会经济开发部副总裁Jeff Edge说，有约23家中国公司在夏洛特有运营部。

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.

虽然少于德国，德国到2012年为止已经有127家公司在夏洛特，但是今年，跟德国相比，中国有更多的潜在迁移和扩张项目。

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说：“中国纺织企业都知道南北卡发纺织行业非常有名，当他们在美国寻找业务机会时，都会自动的想到该区域。”

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.

科尔集团在其网站上说他在中国有2000多名员工，总资产22亿人民币，或3.7亿美金。

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

朱总说他预计2月份会过来，并且有意向在该地买房。