Volvo Cars intends to fully electrify its three-year-old plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, which currently makes the S60 model.

Earlier this month, Volvo and Polestar announced that the Ridgeville plant will produce the upcoming all-electric Polestar 3 performance SUV, starting in 2022. For Polestar, it's important to produce cars in the U.S., as the Polestar 2 produced in China is affected by a 27.5% tariff on China-made vehicles.

Volvo will invest an additional $118 million into the site and produce there also the upcoming new all-electric Volvo XC90, based on Volvo Car Group’s next-generation electric architecture, starting in 2022.

As we understand, both models will be based on the new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA2), which will be dedicated to BEVs, compared to the first SPA that was designed to handle ICE and PHEVs for 60- and 90-series cars.

Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson said that the Ridgeville plant will be the first to make use of the new platform, and first to go 100% electric:

"...first company factory in the world building our all-new-generation all-electric cars — before Europe and before China. This factory will ... also be the only plant in the Volvo Group which only makes full-electric cars."

"We have developed a new technology, including an all-new architecture, which is all-electric. No compromises,"

This one statement immediately raises the question of what will happen to the S60 ICE/PHEVs then? The S60 has been produced since August 2018, but according to Automotive News' article, less than 26,500 were produced in 2020, which is a small part of the plant's capacity of 150,000 annually. We guess that S60 will be electrified as well, probably also with the SPA2 platform.

According to the article, Volvo is finalizing its supply agreements for BEVs and soon will chose a battery supplier for the Ridgeville plant.

A matter of speculation is that the plant will produce also the all-electric successor to the Volvo XC60 model that will be powered by Northvolt battery cells.

By 2030, Volvo will go 100% battery-electric anyway, so it's just a matter of time when plant after plant will get rid of ICE manufacturing lines.

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More details were revealed Wednesday about Volvo’s fully electric SUV that will be built in Ridgeville – and the massive effort it will take to roll them off the assembly line.

The Volvo EX90 made its debut in November as the Swedish car company’s new fully electric vehicle.

David Stenström, Volvo Cars USA VP manufacturing Americas, said at the 12^th annual South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance Automotive Summit on Wednesday that it will feature recycled plastics for the interior, which will be all animal/leather-free, among many other top-of-the-line and sustainable features.

He said it’s been a big challenge, but they are confident in overcoming those challenges.

The biggest of those challenges being:

Fifty percent more machines will need to be installed ahead of building the EX90s at Volvo’s Ridgeville plant — in addition to 1,300 new team members to be hired for its launch. The new employees will need to undergo eight weeks of training.

It takes seven years to design, build and then launch a new vehicle, said Stenström.

“The competition will be brutal for Volvo,” said Stenström. “If you’re not out there being the first, you probably will not survive (in this industry). But there is nothing hindering us from expanding what we have today and with the right people there is nothing we can’t do.”

Volvo CEO Jim Rowan said the EX90 ushers in a new era for safety for Volvo drivers and passengers.

“Born electric, born with lidar. The start of a new era of electrification, technology and safety,” Rowan said in a video presentation at the end of September. All Volvo EX90s will come with a combination of the latest technology powered by an understanding of the car’s outside environment and the person driving the vehicle, the company said.

Greenville and Spartanburg County Councils approved Volvo Cars USA’s fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreements in October. The FILOT applies to specific sites occupied by parts makers in the Upstate to prepare the company’s Ridgeville plant for building the electric SUVs.

Stenström said by 2025, they plan for a zero-carbon neutral site, in addition to these other mid-decade business ambitions:

Long-term Volvo ambitions include climate neutral company by 2040, pure electric car company by 2030, circular business by 2040, and recognized leader in responsible business. Currently, 90% of the EX90’s build is localized.

“South Carolina is blessed to have Volvo Cars here, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds as Volvo continues to innovate and grow here,” said Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance.

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A cold storage solutions company plans to invest more than $70 million to establish operations in Dorchester County, the governor’s office announced Thursday.

Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics is a third-party cold chain services provider that focuses on handling, storage, distribution and value-added services for the food industry. The company works to bridge supply gaps within the cold chain industry through modern cold storage warehouse development and services.

“We are extremely excited about this project and want to express our sincere thanks to the South Carolina Ports Authority, Dorchester County, our Saxum Real Estate partners, the Governor and the Department of Commerce in the great state of South Carolina for their support,” Arcadia CEO Chris Hughes said. “We are very bullish on the Charleston market — the advantages of the Port of Charleston as a Southeast gateway out of and into the U.S. — and on our ability to provide the specialized and unique handling and storage services that will be required for retailers, frozen and refrigerated food manufacturers, and fruit and produce importers to grow their market share in the region. Most importantly, we are proud to bring new jobs to Dorchester County and the surrounding communities.”

The new operation, which will be located at the Ridgeville Industrial Campus, will support high-volume throughput handling services including a variety of value-added services, full pallet handling, case picking and transportation management. The company will utilize the Port of Charleston to support both import and export trade.

“The demand for efficient food distribution across the United States will only continue to grow, and it’s innovative companies like Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics that are answering the call and addressing supply gaps,” Gov. Henry McMaster said. “We are proud to welcome this company to Dorchester County, and look forward to the positive impact they will make in South Carolina and on the U.S. food supply chain.”

The company expects the investment will create 69 new jobs.

“We are excited to welcome Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics to Dorchester County and celebrate the 69 new jobs that the company will create,” Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey said. “South Carolina’s talented workforce, ideal East Coast location and efficient infrastructure network make our state the perfect location for Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics’ new operations.”

The facility is expected to be operational by early 2024. Those interested in joining the Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics team should visit the company’s careers page.

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RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — The Ridgeville community gathered Sunday evening to reflect on and honor the memory of Lavel "Tyler" Davis Jr., a victim of a shooting on the University of Virginia campus.

“Lavel was the type of person who wanted to reach back and bring everyone with him and it was that pay-it-forward mentality that I love the most," said Anitra Doctor, who grew up in Ridgeville with Davis.

Read More: Woodland football team to honor Lavel Davis Jr. with UVA stickers, moment of silence

Davis was known as a football star at the University of Virginia, but in his hometown he was more.

“Lavel had natural leadership ability from the time he was small, people naturally gravitated towards him and were drawn to him and that was something you didn’t see in people that age," said Calvin Lenning, a coach from Woodland High School.

Hundreds of people came out to Sunday's vigil to light a candle for Davis's love, peace, and faith.

Lavel 'Tyler' Davis Jr. remembered with candlelight vigil in Ridgeville Sunday. (WCIV)

“Lavel was a loving young man who loved everybody and I think that’s representative of everyone who came out tonight to celebrate his life, his love, his legacy, and his memory and we just want the world to know what we got to experience first hand," Doctor said.

As a football alum from Woodland High, coaches said he was an inspiration.

“The love he had for the game, the love he had for his teammates, his coaches, his community, is woven so deep in our program that these guys that were playing this year were feeding off of the love that he displayed," Lenning said.

Read More: Former Woodland High School football player Lavel Davis Jr. killed in UVA shooting

Friends also shared their favorite memory of Davis.

“I just remember having to prepare myself for practices because I remember he was going to give it his all every day, whether it was scoring touchdowns or hitting me as hard as he could, I could see that playing with him by my side was the best feeling," said Mark Parsons, whose son was best friends of Davis.

Despite the time of sadness, the town of Ridgeville came together to heal.

Read More: Police working to determine motive in UVA shooting as Virginia AG begins external review

“I think Lavel would say this is the Ridgeville that he experienced, this is the Ridgeville that he wanted the world to experience and I think that was evident today," Doctor said.

A GoFundMe has been set up in memory of Davis. As of Monday morning, it had raised more than $183,000 towards a goal of $200,000.

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — Phase two of construction of the Campus 4 in Camp Hall Commerce Park is underway.

The second phase involves the construction of a 1,123,360-sq-ft industrial facility on 110.6 acres of land.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made on Phase I of this project, and our team is excited to carry that momentum through to Phase II. Camp Hall is an expertly planned, best-in-class park, and we’re honored to be involved in the full development of Campus 4," said Keith Horton, senior project manager at Frampton Construction.

Read More: Clyburn: $25M in federal funding for new railway tracks to support Camp Hall Commerce Park

The Camp Hall project was designed and promoted by Santee Cooper in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Berkeley County, Edisto and Berkeley Electric Cooperatives, the South Carolina Power Team, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, and the South Carolina Ports Authority.

“The full development of Campus 4 at Camp Hall Commerce Park gives Portman Industrial a substantial land position with state-of-the-art logistics facilities in the highly constrained Charleston market. Campus 4 provides us with the ability to target a diversity of tenants desiring smaller, single-load facilities that have been the hallmark of Charleston’s tenant demand,” says John Gaskin. “Campus 4 also fills a void in immediate supply of cross-dock logistics facilities of +/- 500,000 square feet and +1,000,000 square feet, which are in short supply in Charleston and desired by present and future port customers.”

Frampton Construction Company, LLC. is leading the construction project.

Read More: McMaster touts new Volvo Car University, electric vehicle investment in Ridgeville

Phase one of the Campus 4 construction is still underway. It includes three industrial facilities with a combined 940,000-sq-ft. That phase is over 60% leased at this time.

Last June, nearly two dozen miles of new railway track were given federal funding to the tune of $25 million.

The money was slated for the South Carolina Department of Commerce's Palmetto Railways division to construct approximately 22.7 miles of new track and related facilities. This will connect the Camp Hall Commerce Park in Ridgeville to the CSX multi-state rail network.