The Get Motivated Business Seminar featuring world famous soldier-statesman General Colin Powell, America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former First Lady Laura Bush, acclaimed CEO of Southwest Airlines Howard Putnam and renowned Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz is coming to the BI-LO Center. The day-long presentation will take place on Wednesday, August 10 from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Additional speakers will include President and CEO of Forbes, Inc. Steve Forbes, America’s favorite comedian Bill Cosby, sales and negotiation expert Brian Tracy, America’s most inspirational speaker Dr. Robert Schuller and other renowned teachers and motivators. The seminar takes place in about 30 cities annually and has for more than 37 years.

Among the speakers' topics will be "Take-Charge Leadership” (Powell); “The Tenacity to Persevere: How to Make it Through Any Crisis”
(Giuliani); “ The Keys to Stability in Uncertain Times” (Bush); "Success Strategies for Turbulent Times“ (Putnam); “How to Lead Your Team to Victory“ (Holtz); “America’s Promise: Your Keys to Growth and Prosperity” (Forbes); “Humor at Work: the Secret Success Factor” (Cosby); “How to Strengthen Your Sales and Negotiation Skills” (Tracy) and “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do” (Schuller).

An entire office of people can attend this seminar of a day of training, inspiration and motivation for a total investment of only $9.95 - not per person, but per office. To take advantage of this very limited-time offer, call 1-800-217-1339. For more information, view the flyer here.

SPARTANBURG, SC--- The Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (SCVB) has awarded Launch Something of Spartanburg, a contract to produce the 2012 Official Spartanburg Visitors Guide.  Launch Something was awarded the contract from a competitive bid process, and also produced the 2011 edition. The new contract is for one year, with two one-year options to renew.

The guide highlights Spartanburg County’s hotels, attractions, and other traveler services. This will be the fourth annual comprehensive guide to Spartanburg’s travel and tourism offerings.
  
The guides will be distributed at state welcome centers, AAA travel agencies, local hotels, attractions, and tourism businesses, and will be available online as a downloadable PDF and e-book, as well as through mail and phone requests for Spartanburg County information.

“We are excited about working with Launch Something on this project again this year. They exceeded our expectations for the 2011 guide and produced an impressive piece that truly showcases the assets of our county,” says Amy Phillips, Marketing and Communications Manager for the SCVB.

Launch Something will be responsible for design, layout and printing of the 2012 Spartanburg Visitors Guide.  Amy Phillips will supervise the project for the SCVB and will also be handling all ad sales.  For advertising opportunities in the 2012 Spartanburg Visitor Guide, contact Amy Phillips at 864-594-5050 or aphillips@visitspartanburg.com.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – June 22, 2011 – Gov. Nikki Haley, the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Futures Group of Spartanburg County today announced that Draexlmaier Automotive of America LLC, an affiliate of the Dräxlmaier Group, will expand its current facility in Spartanburg County. The $22.35 million investment is expected to generate 150 new jobs over the next five years.

“This investment will allow Dräxlmaier to grow and remain competitive,” said Stefan Bude, chief financial officer for Dräxlmaier Group, North America region. “It also shows our commitment to the Upstate and South Carolina as a long-term production site.”

Dräxlmaier will upgrade its facility, located at 1751 East Main Street in Duncan, to accommodate increased production. The investment includes the previously announced addition of a $10 million, 64,500-square-foot production building to the existing facility, as well as upgrades to the plant infrastructure and equipment. Earlier today, Gov. Haley met with executives at the Dräxlmaier headquarters in Germany.

“We are on a roll creating jobs for the people of South Carolina,” Gov. Haley said. “Please join me in thanking Draexlmaier Automotive of America for their commitment to the people of our great state.”

“South Carolina’s automotive sector continues to grow, and this expansion announcement by Dräxlmaier is another indication of that fact. Our state’s business-friendly climate and skilled workforce continue to attract investment and help our existing businesses grow. We appreciate Dräxlmaier’s decision to continue to do business in the Palmetto State,” said Bobby Hitt, Secretary of Commerce.

The new production hall will expand the plant’s capacity by more than a third and house state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge technology for the assembly of vehicle interiors and components, including instrument panels, center consoles and door panels.

“We are extremely delighted that Dräxlmaier has chosen to expand their Duncan facility. We are always excited when existing companies grow, verifying Spartanburg County as an excellent location to do business.  We appreciate their continued commitment to our corporate community and their ongoing investment of operations and job opportunities,” said David Britt, chairman of Economic Development Committee of Spartanburg County Council and board member of the Economic Futures Group.

A Tier I supplier to the international automotive industry, Dräxlmaier manufactures premium interiors and plastic components at its Duncan site, which is also home to the company’s U.S. headquarters. Built in 1998, the facility has been expanded twice since then, the last time in 2005 when a new R&D wing was added to the existing building.

“Our Duncan plant plays an important strategic role for our North America business,” said Karl Wallner, board member of the Germany-based Dräxlmaier Group. “The expansion shows that we are committed to a steady growth in this region. The well-trained and highly-skilled workforce in South Carolina will help us to design and manufacture high-quality products for the international automotive industry.”

“As the demand for our products increases, this expansion will help us meet the needs of our customers and position us for future growth,” Ulrich Eichler, chief operating officer for Dräxlmaier Group, North America region.

Construction of the building addition has been underway since early March and is expected to be completed by mid-September. The addition was designed by Germany-based DELTA ImmoTec GmbH. Local contractors include Context Design Group PLLC of Greenville, S.C.; MB Kahn Construction Company of Greenville, S.C.; Paragon Engineering & Geosciences LLC of Greenville, S.C.; and Collins Hammett Construction LLC of Greer, S.C.

The company will begin hiring for the positions in July. Anyone interested in job opportunities with the company should submit his or her resume to JDUN@draexlmaier.us or contact Dräxlmaier Corporate Recruiter Lisa Alexander at alexander.lisa@draexlmaier.us.

Draexlmaier Automotive of America is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dräxlmaier Group of Germany. Dräxlmaier currently operates at 57 plant sites in 21 countries. The company’s main lines of business include interior components, cockpits, wiring harness and electrical management systems. Customers in North America include BMW, General Motors/Cadillac and Volkswagen. For more information about the company, please visit www.draexlmaier.de/index_en.htm.

SPARTANBURG, SC--- The Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) proudly announces Spartanburg as host of the North American Ethnic Ministries Summit on April 19-21, 2012. The summit will be held at Evangel Cathedral.

“Ethnic America Network (EAN) has sponsored the annual summit since 2001, but the conference has always been held in much bigger cities, with major league sports teams,” according to Dr. Jim Goodroe, co-chair of the 2012 summit. The 2010 summit was held in Boston and the summit will be held in Chicago in 2013.

EAN, headquartered in Wheaton, IL at the Billy Graham Center, promotes cross-cultural advancement of the gospel and intercultural unity in Jesus Christ. Summit attendance is typically two-thirds from the local region and a third from across the nation. This is the first summit which has had three years to prepare, and a large multi-ethnic, interdenominational coalition staffs its twenty task forces. Conference organizers expect over a thousand registrations and over 3,000 in the evening services.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to host this event and be able to showcase Spartanburg to people from around the nation,” says Chris Jennings, Executive Director of the SCVB. 

Summit evening sessions at Evangel Cathedral are free & open to the public. Plenary speakers for these multi-ethnic worship services are announced on the summit Website (www.interculturalnetworkcarolina.org). Friday & Saturday daytime sessions, by paid registration, include affinity groups and four seminar periods (choice of fifty topics).

For more information, email 2012summit@bellsouth.net or call 864-582-2564.

Spartanburg, SC—The Chapman Cultural Center has launched a new website that highlights select cultural, artistic, and entertainment activities in Spartanburg—activities that might be appealing to tourists and local citizens alike. SpartanburgCulture.com is now live and available for public use. It was developed as an adjunct website to the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website, VisitSpartanburg.com, which is directly linked to the new site. SpartanburgCulture.com is not meant to be a comprehensive calendar of events. Rather, it promotes selected activities that are considered of high interest to out-of-town visitors. On the site, 10 activities are listed with descriptive information, a photo or graphic, and follow-up information, such linking websites and telephone numbers. The new site also has a blogging feature that allows people to comment on activities. SpartanburgCulture.com was paid for by a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, please call 542-ARTS or email to sWong@SpartanArts.org.