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South Carolina Business Review

Paper mill closures affecting SC economy

By Mike Switzer
Published August 26, 2026 at 6:30 AM EDT
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Pete Madden, president and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
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Pete Madden, president and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities

In case you hadn’t heard, paper mills in our state and neighboring states have been shutting down their operations, which has had a major effect on South Carolina’s forest economy and rural communities. Mike Switzer interviews Pete Madden, president and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities in Greenville, SC.

Cut logs ready for processing.
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Cut logs ready for processing.

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South Carolina Business Review SC Business Reviewbusiness newsbusinessPapermanufacturingeconomySC EconomicsSC News
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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.
See stories by Mike Switzer