Dorchester County Economic Development announced today that Carolina Heavy Steel LLC is establishing operations in Ridgeville, representing an investment of $15 million and the creation of up to 50 new jobs in the county’s growing industrial sector.
Located at 1002 Research Center Drive, Carolina Heavy Steel is a new heavy steel processing, fabrication and coating operation serving customers in the commercial, government and power generation industries. The company’s integrated capabilities include CNC plasma cutting, machining, precision sawing, forming and rolling, fabrication and welding, abrasive blasting and industrial coating.
Rather than limiting its operations to a single stage of steel production, Carolina Heavy Steel is designed to take projects from raw steel plate through processing, forming, fabrication and finishing under one roof. The facility’s equipment includes a 10-foot-by-40-foot CNC plasma cutting table, automatic vertical band saw, plate rolling and tandem press-brake systems, hydraulic bending equipment, a large-component abrasive blast booth and a 20-foot-by-20-foot-by-60-foot industrial paint booth.
“Carolina Heavy Steel is not simply bringing jobs to Dorchester County; it is bringing a specialized manufacturing operation that can support contractors, manufacturers and major industrial projects with more of their steel needs handled right here in our region. That kind of capacity creates opportunities well beyond the company itself, and it is exactly the type of long-term industrial investment we want to cultivate in Dorchester County,” said David Chinnis, chairman of Dorchester County Council.
“Carolina Heavy Steel was created to give customers a reliable, comprehensive source for heavy steel processing and fabrication,” said Dustin Corbin, owner of Carolina Heavy Steel. “We are excited to invest in this facility, build a skilled workforce and grow our business here in Dorchester County. Our goal is to provide the capacity, precision and finishing capabilities our customers need while creating good opportunities for people in the skilled trades.”
Once fully operational, Carolina Heavy Steel plans to employ up to 50 workers in skilled steel-trade positions supporting processing, machining, forming, fabrication, welding, surface preparation and coating operations.
The company is led by Dustin Corbin, a third-generation member of a family with more than six decades of experience in the steel industry. Building on that experience, Carolina Heavy Steel is establishing a modern, integrated steel operation designed to serve demanding structural, industrial and custom heavy-steel projects.