McMaster, Chester County SC celebrate opening of winemaker’s facility in Fort Lawn
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster talked Friday afternoon about all that comes with the new Gallo’s Operations Facility in Fort Lawn.
“This is a great thing,” McMaster said. “This offers careers, long-term employment, with good benefits and good work in a great company. This was a great step forward, not only for the state but for this area.”
McMaster and E&J Gallo’s CEO Ernest Gallo were in Chester County for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at what has been reported to be the winemaker’s first facility on the East Coast. A fact sheet on the Gallow website says there is a winery in New York.
Construction of the regional distribution facility started in June 2021, and there was a push to get it ready by the projected date of Oct. 3. However, company officials said this is just the first phase en route to a long and successful partnership with this state.
“It feels fantastic,” said Stein Edwards, Gallo’s Senior Director of Operations in South Carolina. “This community has been very welcoming, bringing us in. They welcomed us with open arms.
“A lot of our folks that we’ve hired are from this very local area. And they’ve been watching this project for several years, and a lot of them said, ‘hey, we can’t wait to get started, and we’re so happy what you’re doing for the community.’ So it’s really neat to be a part of.”
Gallo officials said they expect to add manufacturing lines in 2023 as they begin production and making further investments in the state.
Brooke Clinton, president of the Chester County Chamber of Commerce, said the facility will have an impact on the local area both now and in the future.
The facility is expected to bring almost 500 jobs to Lancaster and Chester counties. Fort Lawn is in Chester County, but close to the Lancaster County border.
There are currently about 80 people working at the site, and Gallo is currently adding new employees.
“We’re training the folks right now,” said Erich Kaepp, the vice president of Eastern Operations at Gallo. “We’re going through a new warehouse management system, so they’re learning how to do all those kinds of things and get ready to ship. We’ve successfully gotten eight trucks so far. We’ve gotten them all received, so it seems to be going okay, so far.”
The company cited access to the Southeast market and South Carolina’s infrastructure as reasons for choosing South Carolina as its east coast operations location.
McMaster said there will be more business opportunities coming to the state. He said the people and culture are what draw companies here.
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 10:36 AM.