News - Business

Saturday, Jul. 05, 2008

EBARA plans $3.2 million expansion in Rock Hill

The folks at EBARA Fluid Handling must have missed the memo on the supposedly bad economy.

The water pump manufacturer, located in Rock Hill's Waterford Business Park, plans to expand its current facility with a $3.2 million, 36,000-square-foot expansion that will double the size of its current plant. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the site, 1651 Cedar Line Drive in Waterford.

The new space, which will take about eight months to complete, will help the company execute its plans to begin building bigger pumps in Rock Hill. When complete, the facility will house an 81,000-gallon testing area.

The expansion could create the need for a few new jobs in the future, too, company officials said.

William E. Bruce of Charlotte was the architect for the project, and the construction will be managed by J.M. Cope Construction in Rock Hill.

Mortgage help is on the way

A Charleston-based nonprofit will host a series of mortgage default counseling workshops in York County this month.

The Homeownership Resource Center will hold workshops to help homeowners having trouble paying their mortgages on Tuesday and on July 17 and 22. Homeowners at risk of foreclosure are encouraged to attend one of the free, HUD-approved counseling workshops.

Upcoming workshops will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday and at 6 p.m. July 22 at the City of Rock Hill Housing and Neighborhood Services Department, 150 Johnson St. Another workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m. July 17 at the Martha G. Donahue Learning Center, 112 Bozeman Drive, Fort Mill.

The workshops are free, but pre-registration is required. For more information about the workshop or to register, call 1-888-320-0350, or visit the Web site www.ForeclosureHelpforSC.org.

Office professionals can improve communications

The Rock Hill-area chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to hear Scott Falcone, director of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, speak on "Communication, Staying in the Loop."

The meeting will be at the School of the Deaf and the Blind, Midlands Outreach Center, 197 Piedmont Boulevard, Suite 202 in Rock Hill.

All administrative and office professionals are encouraged to participate. More information is available by e-mailing Sara Hancock, membership chair, at sbhcps@comporium.net or visiting the Web site www.rockhillarea-iaap.org.

Earth Fare partners with Second Harvest

Earth Fare, a new organic grocer in Rock Hill, and Second Harvest food bank in Charlotte are partnering to raise money this month.

This coming Friday through Sunday, Earth Fare will host the "Fill the Back Pack Weekend," a kids festival with activities, music and kids culinary classes to benefit Second Harvest. The weekend will help kick off the backpack program in Rock Hill, a program that helps create discrete bags of food for impoverished children to take home on the weekends. Throughout Earth Fare during the weekend, customers will find lists of products needed to fill the backpacks.

Five percent of total store sales on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be donated to Second Harvest. Additionally, every time a customer brings his own bag or doesn't use a bag at all, Earth Fare will donate 5 cents to Second Harvest.

Earth Fare is located on Cherry Road in the Winthrop Commons shopping center.

Economic development group opens new office

Move Fort Mill Forward will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. Thursday at its new home at 101 S. White St. The office is located in the little red caboose at the corner of Main and White streets.

Move Fort Mill Forward is a civic organization focused on stimulating economic growth and development in downtown Fort Mill. The group has been in existence for four years, but it reorganized and merged with Fort Mill Downtown Association in December.

The office will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call Move Fort Mill Forward at 547-1002, or visit www.movefortmillforward.com.