MeadWestvaco Corporation Specialty Chemicals and Chemserve today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to establish an equal partnership in the joint venture Resitec Industria Quimica Ltda., a Brazilian company which serves the South American pine chemicals market.

Visitors to the Charleston area last year helped pour some $3.09 billion into the local economy, according to a new report, which said that tourism’s local economic impact increased by about 1% from 2006.

The Port of Charleston anticipates a boost in business this month, thanks to new or returning port calls by an upgraded South America service and a relaunched Asian service. The service is a joint operation of the CKYH alliance, which consists of Cosco, K-Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping.

Revolutions Medical Corp., a Mount Pleasant-based medical equipment developer, has received regulatory approval to start trading its stock on the over-the-counter bulletin board, the quotation system on which microcap stocks are bought and sold.

BMW X5 sport utility vehicles built in the upstate South Carolina are parked along the S.C. Port's Authority's Union Pier terminal dock awaiting export. During these times of economic woes, with consumer spending in a slump and imports staying at home, there is a silver lining at the Port of Charleston — exports are up.

Force Protection has received congressional approval for two contracts to sell 157 armored Cougar vehicles to the United Kingdom. The combined value of the contracts, which were awarded April 29 and May 1, respectively, is $94 million.

Systems Applications and Solutions LLC, a provider of security systems used by defense contractors, has a permanent home in Hanahan. The company, which provides services to contractors affiliated with SPAWAR and other military facilities in the area, employs 80 and is expected to move into the new location July 1.

Assay Designs, Inc., a leading provider of immunoassay kits, antibodies, and reagents to the life sciences and translational research markets, announced a collaboration on a joint antibody research project with the Medical University of South Carolina and Dr. Jennifer Isaacs' laboratory. Under the terms of this agreement, Assay Designs will provide anti-Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) antibody for both cell-based and animal-based work.

AAI Services will design and manufacture an aircraft systems maintenance training device at its Goose Creek plant for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the company announced today. Lockheed Martin awarded AAI the contract for an undisclosed amount.

Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. successfully delivered its fifth composite aft fuselage section for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on April 13. The fuselage, designated for Airplane #3, is the first airplane shipset delivered by Vought that includes structures and the start of systems components.

Government officials, economic development leaders and high-ranking DuPont executives donned white construction hard hats and pushed their shovels ceremoniously into a mound of dirt. But in the distance, dump trucks and other construction vehicles did the real work, preparing the ground for the Delaware-based synthetic textile maker's $500 million Cooper River Plant expansion.

The College of Charleston has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to develop an innovative curriculum and to support student-faculty research in biomedical sciences. The 4-year award was one of only 48 awards made to universities nationwide, and one of only 12 new awards.

The U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston has awarded a $49 million prime contract to CACI International to help the Navy provide operational support to the FBI. The award, which has one base year and four option years, is the first prime contract that SPAWAR has awarded to CACI's Charleston facility.

Dr. Marc Chimowitz, one of the country's leading researchers in the field of neurodegeneration, is now a South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Endowed Chair and will lead a $25 million clinical trial on stroke prevention at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The clinical trial is funded by the National Institutes of Health and is among the largest extramural research grants in state history.

avVenta Worldwide Inc., a Mount Pleasant-based digital production and interactive services company, has announced the opening of a new high-tech facility in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Graduates of Clemson University’s digital production arts program (DPA) are part of a team that won the Oscar for visual effects for the movie “The Golden Compass.” The Master of Fine Arts in Digital Production Arts (DPA) at Clemson is a professional degree program aimed at producing technically savvy, artistically talented graduates who are sought after by the growing electronic arts industry, particularly by those companies engaged in special effects within the entertainment and commercial video, film and gaming industries.

While job growth in the United States dipped from 1.0% six months ago to a 0.4% year-over-year growth for the year ending February 2008, Charleston ranked sixth in the nation for job growth, posting a growth rate of 2.1% as of the end of February.

The Clemson University School of Architecture has won two of the six national 2008 NCARB prizes for creative integration of practice and education. One of Clemson’s winning entries explored how innovative architecture improves health-care environments. The other localized global climate change by illustrating how Charleston’s historic peninsula might be defended against the twin threats of rising sea level and increased storm severity.

AT&T Inc. is investing more than $30 million in South Carolina this year to expand its wireless coverage around the state, including in Charleston, and upgrade service to the higher-speed network now available in Columbia.

Myconostica Ltd, a Manchester UK-based medical diagnostic company specializing in rapid and highly specific tests for life-threatening fungal infections, today announces that it has closed an $7.7 million oversubscribed round of financing from a number of leading private equity international investors. The new funds will be used to launch the company’s first two products and establish new US headquarters in Charleston, S.C.

A year ago, The Art Institute of Charleston launched classes at 24 North Market St. with 59 students. Today, the career-focused school is instructing more than 300 students, adding curriculum and seeking space for expansion.

The recruitment of an internationally acclaimed cardiovascular researcher and a $5 million grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation to support his work promise to put South Carolina at the forefront in this field. His appointment includes a unique three-way faculty appointment at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he will be based, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.

A novel imaging technique enables comprehensive diagnosis of heart disease based on a single computerized tomographic (CT) scan, according to a team from the Medical University of South Carolina’s (MUSC) Heart & Vascular Center.

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB), announced today that it has created Blackbaud Interactive, a new division focused exclusively on Internet solutions and services for nonprofits. Bringing together several large, existing teams, the division was formed to better meet the needs of the company’s rapidly growing Internet solutions customer base.

After months of developing an engineering and project management brain trust here, Jafza International said it plans to use its Charleston location as a “springboard” into other markets in North and South America. The company has formally established its North American headquarters in the Holy City. The office will soon be home to the company's administrative and business operations for the Western hemisphere.

The Charleston facility of AAI Services, a subsidiary of Hunt Valley, Md.-based AAI Corp., has been awarded a $12.6 million contract by The Boeing Co. to provide an additional landing-gear trainer in support of U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor combat aircraft.

The South Carolina Research Authority announced this week that one of its programs is the beneficiary of a $1 million federal contract to help improve the health and readiness of America’s military recruits.

Today Benefitfocus announced the release of the next phase on Beta site icyou which merges the healthcare video and virtual communities with credibility. This user-generated health video community provides the ability to post and search healthcare videos, as well as communicate with other users on important healthcare topics.