Char-Lanta!

Greenville, South Carolina

Greenville, SC, lies at the heart of the Char-Lanta megaregion. Greenville is a mid-sized city, city population of 56,006 and SMSA population 575,681 in 2000, located in northern South Carolina. It is the county seat of Greenville County. Greenville is the largest city of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area (CSA) which has a 2006 estimated population of 1,203,795. The CSA, an 8-county region of northwestern South Carolina, is known as "The Upstate". Greenville is located approximately halfway between the cities of Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina (Char-Lanta) along Interstate I-85

In earlier times Greenville's economy was based largely on textile manufacturing. In recent decades, low wages and favorable tax benefits have lured foreign companies to invest heavily in the area. The city is the North American headquarters for Michelin and sole manufacturing location for BMW in The Americas. The International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR) was created by a consortium including Clemson University, BMW, Timken, IBM, Microsoft, Michelin, and the Society of Automotive Engineers International. Surrounding ICAR along Interstate 85 is a large office park, The Millennium Campus, built to attract more investment by large companies. Among the first to locate on the campus was Hubbell Lighting, Inc., a major manufacturer of commercial lighting systems.

Lockheed Martin Aircraft & Logistics Center is a large aircraft maintenance facility located in Greenville at Donaldson Center Industrial Air Park. Donaldson Center is also home to facilities owned by 3M, Honeywell, and Stevens Aviation.