230 new jobs coming to Lowcountry
By Jessica Holdman
SCDailyGazette.com
A California-headquartered water filter maker announced plans Tuesday, Oct. 21, to make Walterboro the home of its first East Coast manufacturing operations.
QMP, Inc., pledged to hire at least 233 people over the next five years. The company plans to invest $5.1 million in a 22,000-square-foot facility that previously housed a printing business.
The 30-year-old company based in Valencia, Calif., makes water filtration systems for both residential and commercial use. It will be looking for skilled craftsman, as well as general operators and laborers to run the facility in rural Colleton County, according to Brantley Strickland, who heads the county’s economic development alliance.
“While many manufacturers have chosen to move production overseas, QMP remains deeply committed to American manufacturing. Expanding into South Carolina allows us to continue building on more than three decades of excellence and innovation — right here in the United States,” QMP Vice President Vanessa Vidal Forsyth said in a statement.
The average wage, Strickland said, will be $25 per hour, which is a couple of dollars above the current county average.
Colleton County sees about 10,400 of its residents commute outside the county every day for work — about 15% of those for manufacturing jobs, Strickland said. QMP would offer an opportunity closer to home.
“Hopefully this can give some of those people a couple hours back in their day and put a little more money in their pocket,” Strickland said.
If QMP meets its jobs projections, it would become Colleton County’s largest manufacturer, Strickland said.
By comparison, food and beverage maker Gehl Foods employs 140 people in the county since coming to South Carolina in June 2022.
The building QMP plans to move into has been vacant since the printing company shuttered in 2020, Strickland said. QMP plans to buy an additional five acres and add on to the existing space.
In exchange for the company’s investment, Colleton County Council is considering a deal to offer the company tax breaks, though the details of that agreement aren’t yet publicly available. It will likely be December before a deal is finalized, Strickland said,
The state has approved the county for corporate income tax credits worth $20,250 per new job, as well as a $250,000 grant to help pay for improvements to the property.
Operations are expected to begin in January 2026. Those wishing to apply can email QMP at info@qmpusa.com.
Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the S.C. Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
