American LaFrance expanding in the Charleston region – 200 jobs to come

American LaFrance plans to boost its payroll by at least 200 jobs by expanding its line of commercial vehicles as it consolidates its main operations at a new $35 million assembly plant and headquarters next to Charleston Southern University.

In a highly unusual pairing between academia and industry, the North Charleston-based manufacturer and its development team said Wednesday the company is leasing about 45 acres from the private college for undisclosed terms.

The site near Interstate 26 and Highway 78 will house a 420,000-square-foot assembly plant and a separate 57,000-square-foot corporate headquarters.

The company said it plans to start moving its 420 current workers from its existing assembly plant off Ladson Road and a smaller Jedburg location to the CSU property by next spring. It expects to complete the changeover by July 2007, said John Stevenson, president of American LaFrance.

“Having a manufacturing company adjacent to a university campus is very unique in today’s business world,” Stevenson said. The vehicle-maker said it will create a special endowment for CSU and offer students internships and other cooperative job-training programs.

In all, American LaFrance reviewed 12 sites. “Some in-state, some out-of-state,” Stevenson said.

CSU President Jairy C. Hunter Jr. said a college and an automotive plant can co-exist. The arrangement will “provide educational opportunities for our students and our faculty” while helping the school’s bottom line, he said.

“Revenue the university will receive from leasing and developing our excess property will be used for student scholarships and other university priorities,” Hunter said.

American LaFrance is finalizing an agreement with four private real estate firms that have been tapped to design and build out the site. In addition to school officials, the negotiations involved the state Commerce Department, Charleston County and the city of North Charleston. The formal announcement capped several months of fast-paced negotiations.

“They had me in the trenches,” said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey.

“We burned the midnight oil … in getting here today,” said Ken Evans, who chairs the board of trustees and the company CSU created to shepherd the development of its excess property.

Time is critical for American LaFrance, which makes customized fire trucks and other specialized vehicles. The company must move out of its location in Palmetto Commerce Park by mid-2007. The existing plant wasn’t part of Patriarch Partners LLC’s buyout of American LaFrance in December from DaimlerChrysler AG, which is keeping the property off Ladson Road for commercial-van assembly.

The manufacturing complex proposed for the CSU campus includes a state-of-the-art fabrication and assembly plant, a store stocked with American LaFrance memorabilia, a test track, and a research and development center.

The headquarters will be equipped with a four-bay showroom, conference rooms, offices and a lounge. Also, several vintage American LaFrance fire trucks will be on exhibit, complementing the larger fleet of antique pumpers the company has agreed to display in a new museum being built by North Charleston.

The CSU deal “will prove to be both an exciting and epic moment in the vast history of American LaFrance,” said Lynn Tilton, chief executive and founder of New York-based Patriarch.

American LaFrance, which traces its roots to 1832, almost didn’t survive 2005, Tilton said.

“DaimlerChrysler wasn’t going to let it go,” she said. Instead, the German auto giant wanted to liquidate the troubled business unit, Tilton said. “It was very touch and go,” she said.

Stevenson, the company president, said American LaFrance’s turnaround under Patriarch’s ownership has exceeded expectations. “We’re literally building a new company while we’re moving the existing one,” Stevenson said.

Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or [email protected].