Area Development
Masonite International Corporation, a maker of residential and commercial doors, has announced it will invest $14 million to expand its Bamberg County, SC, operations. The project is expected to add 159 new jobs to a 50-person workforce when the firm's new technology is fully operational by early 2013.

"Investing in our Denmark facility made sense on so many levels, beginning with the great local workforce," said Glen Coulter, executive vice president of Global Operations & Supply Chain. "It's also conveniently located near several major interstates, near major customers and our company's Yulee, Florida, door fabrication plant that pre-hangs doors for our Southeast retail customers."

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Masonite is a leading global manufacturer of residential and commercial doors providing building products to customers in about 70 nations. It employs over 7,000 people worldwide. The company's Denmark, SC, facility produces a line of flush and molded interior panel doors. It previously operated for five decades as Lifetime Doors; a firm acquired by Masonite in 2010.

"We are pleased that Masonite chose Denmark as the location to grow their operations in the Southeast," said Mayor Gerald Wright of Denmark. "We believe that our workforce and our location played pivotal roles in their decision, and we will continue to work closely with the Masonite team to make them feel at home in Denmark."

Bamberg County will receive a $1.5 million grant, approved by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development, for building purchase and upfit purposes. The county will own the building and lease it to the company. ReadySC will provide training support to the door firm. Other partners who made the deal happen include the SC Department of Commerce, Bamberg County Council, and the City of Denmark.