FLORENCE, S.C. — Crown Cork & Seal USA, a manufacturer of metal cans and other packaging, will be investing nearly $21 million over the next three years in a Florence County manufacturing center that will create almost 30 full-time jobs.

The Florence County Council approved an economic development agreement with the company, which was previously identified as “Project Mimosa” to protect the company’s identity while the agreement was finalized, at its meeting on Thursday. Crown Holdings, which is Crown Cork & Seal USA’s parent company, is a leading global supplier of packaging, primarily metal drink cans.

“Based on representations made by the Company to the County, the County has determined the Project and the Infrastructure will enhance the economic development of the County. Therefore, the County is entering into this Agreement for the purpose of promoting the economic development of the County,” the economic development agreement says.

The new plant will be included within the joint Florence and Williamsburg County industrial park, and expanding the park’s borders to include the plant is part of the economic agreement between the company and the county.

Because the plant will be within a multi-county industrial park, the county can charge the company a yearly fee instead of a traditional property tax. For 10 years, that fee will be 35% lower than the site’s property taxes would normally be because of what is known as an “infrastructure credit.”

This credit can only be used to pay for designing, building or improving infrastructure and cannot exceed the amount of money the company spends on infrastructure. The credit also depends on the company hitting certain investment and job creation requirements.

In total, Crown Cork & Seal USA is expected to invest $20.9 million in taxable property and create 29 full-time jobs before August 1, 2026.

The economic agreement passed first reading before Florence County Council on May 18, then passed second reading with a public hearing on July 20. Both times, the company was identified only as “Project Mimosa.”

Crown Holdings was founded in 1892, has 26,000 employees and had $11.4 billion in net sales in 2021, according to its website.

McCall Farms economic development agreement

McCall Farms expects to invest an additional $38 million in the county.

At Thursday’s meeting, the Florence County Council unanimously approved on second reading an expansion of the original economic agreement from 2019, in which the company agreed to invest $50 million and create 1,000 jobs.

“McCall Farms has really been a good partner for Florence County,” Chairman Willard Dorriety Jr. said. “They have really grown, and they are doing an excellent job with what they provide to the community, and we’re thankful to have them here.”

The expanded agreement would give the company 10 more years of lower fees, which were negotiated in the original economic development agreement. It also extends the investment period, or the timeframe during which the company is required to invest the promised money, by five years.

In addition to more time, the company would also get additional benefits under the expanded agreement. For the next five years, any investment in infrastructure will be paid back to the company through infrastructure credits, which will further lower the company’s yearly fee by 50% for 10 years and 25% for the following 10 years.

The expansion to the agreement still needs to pass a third reading.

Honda economic development agreement

Honda was entitled to get 35% of its property tax bill back from the county from 2016 to 2023, but Florence County recently realized that it never paid the company the incentives it agreed to.

The company agreed to receive $135,790 per year for five years, to be applied to the 2022-2026 tax bills, instead of an immediate refund of $678,951 or potentially more. To make the changes, Florence County Council members unanimously approved on third reading an amendment to the economic development agreement.

“After consultation with county leadership, we decided to approach the company proactively to address the issue openly and honestly and proposed that in lieu of an immediate refund, the company agreed to a future credit to provide them with the benefit they would have otherwise obtained,” the agenda item says.

Other business

Johnsonville will no longer do its own planning and code enforcement and has turned that responsibility back over to the county. The Florence County Council unanimously approved a resolution agreeing to the change.

An ordinance to increase marriage license fees to $100 for South Carolina residents and $150 for out-of-state residents has passed second reading. The fee change will not go into effect until after the ordinance passes third reading.