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R&D firm expands in Upstate SC

Applied Research Associates in Greenville, SC
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Applied Research Associates
Applied Research Associates in Greenville, SC

Most of the time when we hear of a new company expanding its operations in our state, we expect it to involve manufacturing because, quite honestly, we do have a reputation as a manufacturing state. But then we heard about our next guest’s national research and engineering company announcing a significant expansion of its Upstate operations. Mike Switzer interviews Matthew Fordham, with Applied Research Associates in Greenville, SC.

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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.