Officials County-Wide React To Golf Manufacturer’S Arrival – Easley Progress

By Joe Toppe
PICKENS COUNTY – TaylorMade Golf Company’s $13 million investment into Pickens County has city and county officials talking about the future.
“We would like to join Pickens County and Alliance Pickens in welcoming Taylormade to our community,” said Pickens City Administrator Katherine Brackett. “The continued growth of the Pickens County Commerce Park demonstrates that our county is committed to recruiting jobs and encouraging economic stability for all of our citizens which helps make our future just a little brighter.”
Brackett expects the City of Pickens to benefit from the plant’s arrival.
“The City of Pickens is just up the road from the new headquarters of TaylorMade, and we are poised to benefit from their investment and provide a great place for our citizens to work without ever leaving the county,” Brackett said.
Pickens County has been working on this project for over a year.
“This had been in the works for 15 months,” said Ray Farley, executive director of Alliance Pickens. “We are expecting the addition of this plant to provide 125 new jobs to Pickens County.”
According to Farley, it was TaylorMade’s aggressive marketing that helped provide this opportunity.
“They have a very aggressive growth and marketing plan,” Farley said. “They needed the best place to grow their business, and they chose Pickens County.”
Farley said that their aggressive marketing approach would translate into more jobs for the county.
The City of Easley hopes the plant will bring a positive effect on the local economy.
“We are very excited to have TaylorMade come to Pickens County,” said Easley City Administrator Fox Simons. “We welcome them and hope their arrival will spur the local economy. “
Simons said that he would like TaylorMade to consider the City of Easley for any of their business needs.
In light of recent economic issues, the City of Liberty is expecting the plant’s arrival to a have a positive impact on the unemployment rate.
“This is the most exciting news I’ve heard for Liberty and Pickens County,” said Liberty Council Member Dwight Yates. “Unemployment rate for this area should drop. TaylorMade is one of the big boys in golf, and the only way it could have been any bigger news for Liberty would have been for it to be built here inside the city limits.”
Yates praised the businesses already in place and offered a special thanks to all those who worked to make this dream come true.
“Industries are beginning to look at this area because we have a workforce second to none, loyal, dedicated, and with an eagerness to work,” Yates said. “This can be seen by the businesses already here.”