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South Carolina Business Review

The backstory about Scout Motors coming to Richland County, SC

By Mike Switzer
Published April 21, 2023 at 5:30 AM EDT
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Jeff Ruble
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Jeff Ruble

By now, most everybody has heard about the Scout Motors plant coming to Blythewood, SC, bringing a multi-billion-dollar investment by both the company and the state, and a goal of 4,000 jobs. We’ve learned that this deal was one of the fastest tracked in our state’s history with necessary legislation moving through the statehouse in only 10 days. And there’s a backstory we found pretty interesting, too. Mike Switzer interviews Jeff Ruble, director of the Richland County Economic Development Office in Columbia, SC.

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Mike Switzer
After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.
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