SCRA Contributes $1.45 Billion to South Carolina’s Economy in 2011
February 7, 2012
28 Year Cumulative Contributions Total over $14 Billion
COLUMBIA, SC – February 7, 2012 – SCRA continued to drive South Carolina’s technology-based economy with annual contributions of over $1.4 billion throughout Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, according to an economic impact study completed by the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business. USC Division of Research Director Dr. Douglas Woodward led the study, which incorporated all in-state SCRA operations from their three sectors: SCRA Technology Ventures, SCRA Applied R&D and SCRA R&D Facilities.
“SCRA continues to have a major impact on South Carolina’s economy,” said Dr. Woodward. “The numbers in the study indicate that SCRA supports over 15,000 technology jobs in the state with an average wage between $55,000 and $75,000. These jobs are not only high-paying, but highly technical and dramatically improve South Carolina’s economy while making our state more competitive.”
SCRA is an applied research and commercialization services company with operations in Anderson, Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. SCRA also operates offices at Clemson University ICAR and in Washington, DC. Combining the current Moore School study with prior surveys, SCRA’s cumulative economic output represents a contribution of over $14 billion to South Carolina’s economy. Over the last six years, SCRA has more than doubled revenues, growing from $74 million to $195 million. In keeping with that growth, the company’s economic contributions also doubled in the time period. In the last year alone, revenues increased by $23 million, a 13 percent rise. In the same timeframe, SCRA’s annual South Carolina economic output, as measured by the Moore School, grew from just over $1 billion to $1.45 billion.
“We are thrilled to once again work with Dr. Woodward and USC’s Moore School to measure our economic output in South Carolina,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. “Our mission is to be a global leader in applied research and technology while developing the Knowledge Economy and creating jobs in South Carolina. We continue to fulfill our mission by competitively winning and delivering programs for our federal and corporate clients and supporting emerging, high-tech companies in the state through our flagship SC Launch program. To augment these efforts, our three Innovation Centers house high-tech companies and foster their growth as they bring innovative technologies to the marketplace. Our operations ultimately create jobs and dramatically affect economic development in South Carolina, and we are pleased to once again be quantified as a driving force in improving South Carolina’s technology-based economy.”
About SCRA
http://www.scra.org/
SCRA is an applied research company with over 28 years of experience delivering technology solutions with high returns on investment to federal and corporate clients. To fulfill our mission, SCRA has three sectors: Our Technology Ventures sector helps early-stage companies commercialize innovations and create jobs, our Applied R&D sector manages over 100 national and international programs worth over $1.5 billion in contract value and our R&D Facilities sector builds and manages research facilities that include wet labs, secure rooms for sensitive work and advanced high-tech manufacturing shops.
