South Carolina
South Carolina exhibits recruitment success: BMW's largest global plant, Boeing 787s, and Volvo cluster around right-to-work labor and Charleston's port.
South Carolina transformed itself from textile dependency to advanced manufacturing through aggressive recruitment. BMW's Spartanburg plant—the company's largest factory globally—assembles X-series SUVs for export worldwide, demonstrating that right-to-work states can attract premium manufacturing. Boeing's North Charleston facility produces 787 Dreamliners, though with more labor disputes than the company's Washington operations experienced.
The Port of Charleston provides East Coast access that complements manufacturing investments. Companies can ship finished vehicles and aircraft globally while importing components through the same infrastructure. Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and numerous suppliers have followed BMW, creating an automotive corridor that rivals the Midwest's historic concentration.
Charleston itself has become a tourism and technology hub, attracting retirees, remote workers, and companies seeking alternatives to higher-cost metros. The low-tax, business-friendly environment trades off against public services: education funding ranks among the nation's lowest, potentially constraining the workforce quality that advanced manufacturing requires. South Carolina's model works as long as imported talent fills skill gaps that domestic education doesn't address—a dependency that could become vulnerability.