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South Carolina's Lowcountry Oyster Company (LowCo.) has grown exponentially since Trey McMillan founded the sustainable oyster farm in 2017 in the ACE Basin. Now, as the state's largest oyster farm, LowCo. harvests millions of oysters annually—and McMillan has no plans of slowing down. Expansion is on the horizon as the company breaks ground on its latest venture, a 6.4 million dollar project that will bring at least 30 new jobs with it.
Construction is officially underway on LowCo.'s "Oyster Outpost," a state-of-the-art seafood processing and cross-dock facility in Green Pond, SC. Located just over an hour from downtown Charleston, LowCo. hopes to open its doors to other seafood producers and buyers to draw interest from wholesalers and trucking lines by the end of 2024.
"We are so proud of what we've accomplished over the past seven years in just 16 acres of water here in the ACE Basin," McMillan said. "Our goal from the start has always been to feed as many people as possible on the smallest footprint possible, and this expansion will allow us to reach more oyster lovers than ever before in the Southeast and beyond. As we invest in ourselves with this exciting expansion, we're also proud to be able to invest in others. We expect to create more than 30 new jobs in rural Colleton County over the next five years. Giving back to the community has always been important to us as a company, so we are excited about bringing economic opportunity to this area."
This facility will have a state-of-the-art chilled water wet storage system and climate-controlled processing and holding areas – boasting over 10,000 square feet of refrigerated space – making it the first of its kind in the state. The new machines will allow LowCo. to go from processing 5,000 oysters to 20,000 oysters an hour. McMillan hopes to increase LowCo.'s production and sales tenfold, aiming to deliver more fresh South Carolina oysters to shellfish lovers nationwide.
Lowcountry Oyster Company also plans to expand into a new retail space in West Ashley in the near future. Details for that project are forthcoming.
