Lancaster County eyes incentives for two European firms and their 200 new jobs
Lancaster County finalized a deal on Monday to lure one European company to the area, and got started right away on another. Combined, they could bring nearly 200 jobs.
Lancaster County Council voted unanimously to approve an incentive agreement for what had been known as Project Block. Council also passed the first of three votes, also unanimously, needed to set incentives for Project Janus. Actual company names aren’t revealed until agreements are finalized.
Project Block was the code name for Oldcastle APG. A subsidiary of Irish company CRH, Oldcastle makes stone materials for pool or other outside living areas.
Oldcastle bought a nearly 29,000-square-foot warehouse at 1683 Rock Hill Hwy. in late 2023. That 20-acre Lancaster County panhandle property, bought for $4 million, is south of the highway and borders the Catawba River.
Oldcastle projects a $21.9 million investment and 30 full-time jobs within five years. The 20-year tax incentive deal with the county requires a $15 million investment and 20 jobs.
The company would pay about $1.3 million in taxes and receive back about $319,000 in special credits within five years, county economic development director Brian Fulk said in March. Without the incentive, Fulk said, the company would pay about $1.8 million in that span but also could pursue options outside Lancaster County with a better deal.
After five years, the county would get about $2.5 million in tax money through the rest of the 20-year term.
Oldcastle will bring average wages of a little more than $22 per hour when the site is fully operational, Fulk said Monday.
Lancaster County to offer tax breaks for Project Janus
Project Janus is the placeholder name for a European company looking to add a 400,000-square-foot distribution center in Lancaster County. Along with state tax credits, the company would get a 20-year incentive deal from the county.
That’s based on a projected $41 million investment and 125 full-time jobs.
The county would fix a tax rate and allow the company to pay a fee rather than traditional taxes. Lancaster County would provide $5.9 million in credits during the course of the incentive agreement. The county would receive about $22 million in revenue fees in that same span.
Like other area incentive deals, the company projects a higher investment and more new jobs than the agreement with the county requires. Project Janus, according to the county resolution authorizing the incentives, expects to create a $51.4 million investment and 163 full-time jobs.
The company would distribute and assemble “power-related” products, most of them imported from Europe, in Lancaster County, Fulk said. Company products are mostly sold to commercial users. The move would consolidate company sites that are outside South Carolina, Fulk said.
Of the projected jobs, up to 50 would be new positions as opposed to relocating existing workers, Fulk said. Average wages will be more than $32 per hour and wages for unskilled laborers will be more than $22 per hour, he said.
The company imports products through the Port of Wilmington in North Carolina, but is in discussion as part of a move to Lancaster County to start using the Port of Charleston, Fulk said.
Tax incentives and Lancaster County job growth
Lancaster County, like York and Chester counties, often uses tax incentive agreements to entice large companies. Counties agree to take less tax revenue than they would if a company set up shop without a deal. But, economic development officials say, the large companies likely wouldn’t look at the area without the incentives.
That’s because counties all over the region are offering similar packages, they say. Economic development teams also point to the fixed time period for incentive deals.
“The (incentives) will end but the property tax stream should continue for many years,” Fulk said.
Lancaster County has been effective in bringing in new companies, including corporate headquarters sites. The Indian Land panhandle is home to several such large employers.
Lancaster County has been one of the highest residential and business growth areas in the Charlotte region for more than a decade. Only Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, home to Charlotte, has a higher average weekly wage than Lancaster County does in the 11-county metro area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Mecklenburg County rate is $1,569 followed by Lancaster County at $1,205. Iredell ($1,168) and Union ($1,145) counties in North Carolina are next, followed by York County at $1,142. Rowan County in North Carolina ($1,108) slots just ahead of Chester County at $1,105.
Across South Carolina, the three-county Rock Hill region is a new job magnet.
Recent projections from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce forecast a 13.3% uptick in jobs across York, Lancaster and Chester counties between 2022 and 2032. That’s the highest rate of any area in the state.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 9:57 AM.
