CLEMSON — Samsung Electronics America Friday announced a new research and development partnership with the state of South Carolina and its two largest universities, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.
Together with the state government, Samsung will create the Palmetto Consortium for Home Appliance Innovation (PCHAI), a robust R&D program designed to catalyze innovation, foster public/private collaboration and nurture the next generation of advanced manufacturing professionals in South Carolina.
The Consortium builds on Samsung’s existing manufacturing and customer care footprint in South Carolina.
“Samsung’s ambition is for South Carolina to become our U.S. hub for every stage in the home appliance lifecycle — from concept and R&D to manufacturing, quality assurance, distribution and customer care,” said Dochul Choi, senior vice president of R&D at Samsung Electronics America. “Today’s announcement is a down payment on that vision. By investing in R&D and the future of our workforce, we can better position Samsung and South Carolina to meet the high demands and desires of customers across America, our fastest growing and most important home appliance market.”
The creation of the Consortium comes six months after Samsung announced it would open a new state-of-the-art home appliance manufacturing plant in Newberry where production of washers will begin in the first quarter of 2018. It will be a critical component in Samsung’s commitment to researching, developing and manufacturing quality products in South Carolina and accelerate delivery of premium appliances to customers across the United States.
“With this partnership with two of our top research universities, Samsung is furthering its commitment to South Carolina and to their success here. We look forward to seeing the developments that will come from the collaboration between this world-class technology company and some of the brightest minds in our state,” said Gov. Henry McMaster.
The mission of the new partnership, which will be implemented over five years, is to enable world class research into areas such as new consumer electronics, energy efficient technology, advanced manufacturing technology, sensor technology and other areas that are core to the innovation and production of quality home appliances.
Samsung selected Clemson University and the University of South Carolina for the new partnership because of their nationally renowned research programs in engineering, information technology and computer science. They are the two largest universities in the state of South Carolina and are both classified as R1 Research Universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
“Clemson University has a strong history of collaborating on R&D opportunities with the best companies in South Carolina and from around the world,” said Clemson President James P. Clements. “We are extremely excited about Samsung’s commitment to South Carolina and look forward to working with the company on efforts ranging from workforce development to utilization of our newly announced Center for Advanced Manufacturing. Clemson has significant assets and is prepared to make a strong commitment to helping ensure that Samsung is successful both in South Carolina and the world.”
“We are delighted to welcome Samsung to the Palmetto State,” said USC President Harris Pastides. “The University of South Carolina brings an array of expertise and experience to this new consortium — from engineering and computing to design and global business knowledge and are eager to get started on new innovations that benefit both consumers and our work force. Our researchers and students have a long track record of successful private sector partnerships, from Boeing to IBM, and we are committed to helping bring new technologies to market.”
Samsung has already begun recruiting talent for its Newberry facility, having hosted seven job fairs and built an entire curriculum for workforce training since its announcement in June 2017.
More than 350 employees have been hired to date, and by 2020 the plant will create nearly 1,000 local jobs. Samsung’s investment in the site is projected to reach $380 million by 2022.
