Governor renews call for DOT reform

To assess small-business manufacturing where the rubber meets the road, Gov. Nikki Haley visited Taylors Tuesday and toured Calder Brothers Corp., a commercial asphalt paving product manufacturer that employs about 75.

While touting recent honors that proclaim South Carolina to be among the nation’s friendliest, most patriotic and most attractive to new residents, she reiterated a call for further reform of the state Department of Transportation, a move that she said is needed to fix the state’s deteriorated roads.

“The conversation in South Carolina is not revenue,” Haley said in addressing questions from employees of Calder Brothers, the makers of Mauldin Paving Products. She did not answer questions from media members.

“We’ve got the revenue,” Haley said. “I don’t need another tree bill. I need a pothole fixed. I need my interstates widened. I need to make sure that we’ve got roadways that work, that we don’t have dangerous bridges anymore, and so what I think you will see is a conversation again with the Legislature saying we can’t truly fix the problem if we don’t fix the system.”

The next session of the state’s General Assembly starts in January.

Legislation Haley signed in June enables officials to borrow $2.2 billion to jump-start road improvements, but she said it does not do enough to alter Department of Transportation governance that relies on legislators looking out more for local pet projects rather than statewide priorities.

“Everybody has been told that if we just increase gas taxes somewhere, if we just add – that’s not the problem that we have,” she said. “The problem is how you spend the money that we have. The best thing you can do is find out who your House member is, find out who your Senator is, and ask them to stop legislatively appointing commissioners. This should either be a cabinet agency like almost every one of my other agencies where we have state planning and inventory that way, or they should be able to allow me to appoint the commissioners so that we can have accountability. At the end of the day, after that happens, the buck stops with me.”

Infrastructure investment and workforce development dominated the governor’s discussions with the Calder brothers – Glen, David, Wayne and Cameron – and a few of their colleagues, Glen Calder said.

“She’s a strong advocate for manufacturing, but in general, from the standpoint of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, we’re trying to get the message out to the country at-large that we need to be a better manufacturer as a nation,” Glen Calder said. “There are people like us all over South Carolina, all over the country, really, that are trying to keep manufacturing alive. Manufacturing is important and vital to good jobs and commerce, overall.”

One of the industry’s biggest needs is in workforce development.

“It’s hard finding welders, machinists, truck drivers. Those kinds of skills are in short supply and big demand,” Calder said. “There’s an education process that needs to happen with parents to understand it’s a heck of an investment in a four-year education. And she can’t guarantee you a job when you graduate. But if you want to go learn a welding trade at a fraction of the investment, she can guarantee you a job and a good-paying job. If the state stays focused on manufacturing, it’s going to be a job in a career that you can carry forward the rest of your life.”

Haley press secretary Chaney Adams said investments to promote technical education have already been made and are paying dividends.

“We are not only investing in education; we are investing in workforce training for those who are interested in opportunities besides four year undergraduate degrees – and thanks to our investment, companies that call South Carolina home are flourishing,” Adams said. “What we see at companies like Calder Brothers gives us all the motivation we need to continue strengthening our workforce and build on the momentum of the last six years.”

- Follow Michael Burns on Twitter @MikeNearGreer