Volunteer Pastille Chooses Colleton County

Volunteer Pastilles to invest $2.5 million in Colleton County and create 25 jobs

October 01, 2015

On September 16, Volunteer Pastilles owner Steve Cook finalized the purchase of the former Castalloy Building in Walterboro, South Carolina, and announced that the company would bring their manufacturing operation to the 57,600 square-foot manufacturing facility at 304 Thunderbolt Drive.

Repairing and retrofitting the building and installing the equipment used in their process will delay the start of manufacturing until August of 2016.

According to a news article in The Press and Standard, Cook plans to start production with 7 employees and add 18 or more before the end of 2016 if they reach production goals.

In business for 13 years, Volunteer Pastilles converts raw products into a small granule or pellet form, which is called a “pastille.” This process is often a solution for companies which are faced with a material handling problem.

“Our mission is to provide safe, environmentally friendly and cost effective pastillating service to our customers in a spirit of partnership and constant improvement,” Cook explained.

Colleton County Economic Development Director Heyward Horton said that the company, based in Dayton, Tenn., chose Walterboro because of its location.

“It was a geography driven exercise,” Horton said. “They needed to be close to the ports, and they also needed to be close to some of their customers. I-95 is an important corridor for them.”

“We will convert our customer’s materials into the pastille form, package it for them, then return the material on pallets to their warehouses for distribution to their customers,” Cook explained.

Unlike the other manufacturers that established a presence in Colleton County recently, Volunteer Pastilles is not seeking a fee in lieu of taxes incentive. Horton said the company will be eligible for a property tax abatement on the equipment they will install in the plant, an incentive that was established by the state.

Horton added that SouthernCarolina Alliance also agreed to provide financial assistance to the company in  preparing  the  empty  building  for  occupancy.  Two  tall  silos  located  at  the  plant  needed  to  be demolished, and the company asked for assistance in getting them taken out.

“We went to our allies at Southern Carolina Alliance,” Horton explained.

Volunteer Pastilles’ slogan is “Focused on the little things,” because the diameter of their product is between two and eight millimeters.

For more information on Volunteer Pastilles, LLC, please visit their website: www.volunteerpastilles.com.